Europe’s southern neighbourhood, for which the delineation varies according to the geopolitical and institutional frameworks considered, is critical from an economic and geopolitical perspective. Europe’s South remains affected by an arc of instability, running up from the Atlantic coast of Africa to the eastern fringes of the Middle East, encompassing several maritime spaces. For this reason, the EU has always approached its southern neighbourhood through a maritime security lens. At a time when all European States are anxiously monitoring developments on their eastern flank and seeking alternatives to Russian fossil resources, one should not lose sight of how Europe is meeting security challenges in the South and assess Europe’s ability to be a credible maritime actor in these vast regions.