‘If there is a lack of fertilizers this year, there’s going to be also food deprivation next year,’ the EU foreign policy chief said.
European Union foreign ministers gathered in Brussels on March 16 to address the escalating global impact of the Iran war, with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz dominating talks.
The meeting comes as U.S. President Donald Trump intensifies pressure on allies to help secure the vital shipping lane, through which about 20 percent of global oil supply normally passes.
Trump said on March 15 that he had asked roughly seven countries dependent on the waterway to contribute to its protection. A day before that, Trump said he hopes China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the UK will deploy ships to help patrol the Strait of Hormuz while U.S. forces continue targeting what remains of Iran’s naval capabilities.
Ahead of the meeting on March 16, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc was exploring ways to help restore maritime traffic through the strait.
Kallas said she had discussed with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres whether a maritime arrangement similar to the wartime Black Sea grain deal could be replicated to allow oil and gas shipments to resume.
The Black Sea deal was a wartime agreement that allowed Ukraine to safely export food despite Russia’s naval blockade. Brokered in 2022, the deal created a protected maritime corridor from Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea.
The Hormuz closure poses risks far beyond energy markets, she added, noting that fertilizer exports could also be disrupted.
“If there is a lack of fertilizers this year, there’s going to be also food deprivation next year,” she said.
Ministers were also set to consider whether to expand the mandate of the EU’s naval mission Aspides, which currently protects vessels from Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Any decision would require member-state backing, Kallas said.
