Mediterranean convoys would absorb southern NATO escorts

How would NATO protect convoys in the Mediterranean?

Primarily with French, Spanish, and Italian escorts that therefore would not be available in the North Atlantic.

The short exchange explains why a NATO-wide inventory cannot be concentrated in one ocean. Mediterranean shipping still needs escorts against submarines, aircraft, and regional threats. French, Spanish, and Italian frigates and destroyers would carry much of that burden. Their absence from a North Atlantic order of battle therefore reflects a real theater commitment rather than unused capacity that could simply be reassigned north.