EU to hold joint naval exercises amid growing maritime security threats

FILE PHOTO: European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters, in Brussels, Belgium, February 1, 2023 REUTERS/Yves Herman

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union wants to hold joint naval exercises as part of plans to step up its efforts to protect critical infrastructure at sea, the EU environment policy chief said.

Concerns about security threats to Europe's maritime infrastructure were heightened by attacks in September on the Nord Stream pipelines, which left them spewing natural gas into the Baltic Sea.