- EU leaders call for halt to strikes on energy infrastructure.
- Statement urges protection of navigation through Strait of Hormuz.
- Oil and gas prices surge amid escalating Middle East conflict.
- NATO and EU discuss security measures and inflation risks.
The leaders of all 27 European Union nations called unanimously on Thursday for an immediate moratorium on strikes targeting energy and water facilities in the Middle East, issuing their sharpest collective statement yet on the Iran war at a summit in Brussels dominated by spiraling energy prices and the threat of a regional humanitarian catastrophe.
The summit statement also condemned any acts threatening freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, welcomed member states' increased efforts to help secure the passage once conditions allow; and called for reinforcing the EU's existing Red Sea naval mission Aspides and counter-piracy mission Atalanta with additional assets.
In a notable diplomatic development, the Council welcomed Ukraine's offer to provide Gulf countries with expertise in air defense and counter-drone systems, a transfer of hard-won battlefield knowledge from one conflict zone to another.
The summit took place as Brent crude briefly surged above $119 a barrel following Iran's retaliatory strike on Qatar's Ras Laffan LNG complex. European natural gas prices have risen roughly 60 percent since the war began on February 28. Hungary's Viktor Orbán used the summit to block a €90 billion EU loan package for Ukraine, tying his veto to halted oil shipments he blamed on Kyiv.
Speaking at a parallel press conference at the United Nations in Geneva, WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala issued a stark warning that the conflict's consequences were now reaching beyond energy markets.
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NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte told reporters on the sidelines of the Brussels summit that he was confident allies would find a way forward with Hormuz security and confirmed active talks with Washington were underway. The European Central Bank held rates steady on Thursday, warning that energy shocks could push eurozone inflation from its 2.6 percent baseline to as high as 3.5 percent.
