EU foreign ministers discuss tensions

Follow our liveblog on the conflict in the Middle East .

Foreign ministers from the 27 European Union (EU) countries will discuss developments in the war in Ukraine and the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran following US strikes on several Iranian nuclear facilities.

The meeting in Brussels comes a day before the NATO summit in The Hague – 23 of the 32 countries that make up the Atlantic Alliance belong to the EU – and a European Council meeting later this week in Brussels.

The meeting, which will be attended by the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs (MNE), Paulo Rangel, also takes place amidst the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran, after the President of the United States, Donald Trump, confirmed on Saturday night that US bombers had attacked Iran's main nuclear power plants, including the underground facilities at Fordow, with bunker-busting bombs.

“I call on all parties to take a step back, return to the negotiating table and avoid further escalation,” EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said on Sunday.

In the same statements, Kallas stressed the need to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon, “as this would represent a threat to international security”, and confirmed that the heads of diplomacy of the 27 EU countries would discuss the situation at their meeting this Monday in Brussels.

On the eve of the meeting, in a message on the social network X, the Portuguese Foreign Minister highlighted “an agenda in favor of maximum containment and a return to negotiations in the Middle East”.

Israel has been on an offensive against Iran since June 13, which it has justified by the progress of its nuclear program and the threat that Tehran's production of ballistic missiles poses to the country. The direct involvement of the United States, a traditional ally of Tel Aviv, is raising concerns about a possible loss of control of the conflict and the situation in the Middle East.

Also in this region, the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip, between Israel and the extremist group Hamas, and the serious humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave will also be addressed.

On Friday, a document from the EU diplomacy admitted that there were indications that Israel had violated the association agreement with the EU, specifically Article 2, on the obligations to respect human rights, with its actions in Gaza.

Based on this assessment by the EU External Action Service, Member States will have to move forward to a discussion with a view to reviewing and possibly suspending this agreement with Tel Aviv.

The agenda of the ministerial meeting also included the war in Ukraine, at a time when most European countries have committed to greater investment in defense and to including Kiev in this military effort.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha will discuss the latest developments in the conflict with his EU counterparts.

The possible threat that China may pose to the countries of the EU bloc will also be the subject of the ministerial discussion, as will the political and social situation in Georgia, whose authorities have acted in a manner contrary to the values ​​and principles of the EU, thus compromising the process of accession to the European bloc.