EU countries will next week discuss a plan to set up a naval mission to help protect Red Sea shipping following attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, diplomats said, AFP reports.

The proposal — in the pipeline in Brussels for several weeks — was mooted before US and British forces struck rebel-held Yemen.

Any EU effort would seek to complement a US-led coalition, which includes numerous countries from the bloc, already operating in the vital shipping route.

The exact details of the size and scope of any EU mission remain to be hammered out and European diplomats said a first discussion would take place in Brussels on Tuesday.