European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that recent weeks have demonstrated how “security is indivisible.” She asserted that any deal with Iran must include Lebanon and respect its “sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
EU leaders hosted a delegation of Middle Eastern leaders, including Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, on the second day of their summit in Cyprus. Talks over a working lunch on Friday involved representatives from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
Von der Leyen called for peace in Iran, containment of Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, and the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz “without tolls.” She stressed that a peace deal should include Lebanon: “A key lesson of the past weeks is that security is indivisible. You cannot have stability in the Middle East or the Gulf while Lebanon is in flames.”
Without explicitly naming Israel, which has stationed troops in southern Lebanon, von der Leyen implied that an Israeli withdrawal should be part of any eventual peace agreement. “We call for the respect of Lebanon’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. A temporary pause is not enough. We need a permanent path to peace,” she said.
Cyprus, located 300 km from the Lebanese coast, has been directly affected by the conflict. An Iranian drone struck a British military base there shortly after the war began in late February.
Von der Leyen and European Council President Antonio Costa both said the war had highlighted the dangers of Iran’s nuclear ambitions and that any peace deal must address its ballistic missile program.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned that negotiations to end the US-Israeli war with Iran risk producing a “weaker” agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program than the one reached a decade ago. She called for nuclear experts to be part of the proceedings.
Kallas stated that if negotiators fail to address Iran’s “missile programs, their support proxies, also hybrid and cyber activities in Europe,” there is a possibility “we will end up with a more dangerous Iran.”
Costa welcomed US President Donald Trump’s announcement of a ceasefire extension and called for the Strait of Hormuz to “immediately reopen, without restrictions and without tolling,” in line with international law. Iran has floated the idea of charging for passage through the strait.
French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters, “Europe must do even more. It is in all of our interests that stability be restored as soon as possible and that the world’s economies return to normal.”
Costa described the war in the Middle East as having “disastrous consequences for people, for infrastructure, for the global economy” and stressed that European security is closely linked to that of the region.
Von der Leyen proposed expanding naval operations and cooperating on defense against drones and missiles, saying, “A threat to a merchant vessel in the Strait of Hormuz is a threat to a factory, for example, in Belgium.”
On Friday morning, leaders debated the EU budget for 2028–2034. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz opposed increasing member state contributions and taking on new debt: “Europe must make do with the money we have. We will have to set new priorities.”
On Thursday, leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, approved a €90 billion loan for Kyiv, and adopted the 20th sanctions package against Russia. Kallas said the EU is already preparing the 21st sanctions package.
Source: www.dw.com