EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday that she has discussed with U.N. Secretary General António Guterres a proposal to free up oil and gas transport through the Strait of Hormuz by replicating a mechanism similar to the wartime Black Sea grain export deal, Reuters reported.

The idea would seek to unblock a waterway now effectively choked by the conflict sparked by the U.S.–Israeli war with Iran, threatening energy flows that account for about one fifth of global oil supplies.

Arriving for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, on March 16, Kallas said she raised the concept, likening it to the Black Sea Initiative that kept grain moving out of Ukraine despite wartime conditions. Iran has effectively shut the strait amid the conflict, with its forces attacking commercial vessels in the narrow channel between Iran and Oman, exacerbating global energy market disruptions.

Kallas described the situation as “really dangerous” for supplies not only of energy to Asia but also for the production of fertilizers, warning that shortages could translate into food deprivation next year.

She offered few details on how such a replication might work or on any timelines for follow up talks.

Ministers are also set to discuss whether the mandate of the EU’s small naval mission Operation Aspides—currently focused on protecting Red Sea shipping from Yemen’s Houthi rebels—could be expanded or refocused to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open.

Kallas acknowledged there was skepticism among member states, notably from German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, about the utility of broadening the mission’s remit.