Key facts
- Six European officials said Saudi Arabia is pressing the EU to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization.
- The Houthis already face EU sanctions, including an arms embargo and asset freezes on 12 commanders.
- A terrorism listing would require unanimous support from all 27 EU member states, and only a small number back it, one official said.
- European officials said a listing could close off channels to the group and complicate work by aid groups in Houthi-controlled areas.
- The European Parliament adopted a resolution in October 2026 calling for the EU to list the Houthis as a terrorist group.
- EU foreign policy spokesperson Anouar El Anouni said the bloc is in regular contact with Riyadh but declined to comment on specific discussions.
Saudi Arabia is pressing the European Union to designate Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement as a terrorist organization, but has yet to overcome European concerns that a listing could undermine a future peace process, according to six European officials.
The campaign is part of a broader effort by Riyadh to increase international pressure on the group, which has carried out near-daily attacks on the kingdom in recent weeks after the resumption of a war that began more than a decade ago. The Houthis are already subject to EU sanctions, including an arms embargo and asset freezes on 12 commanders. The EU has designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a key backer of the Houthis, as a terrorist organization, but has stopped short of designating the Houthis themselves, a step taken by the United States, Australia and Canada.
European countries worry that listing the Houthis would close off the limited channels they maintain with the group and could undermine European involvement in a future peace process in Yemen, the six officials said. Adding the Houthis to the terrorism list would require unanimous support of the EU's 27 member states, and support so far is limited to a small number of them, one of the six officials said, declining to identify the countries because the discussions were private.