European Union leaders meet on Thursday to grapple with the conflict between Israel and Hamas while also aiming to show continuing support for Ukraine in its war against Russia\u2019s invasion.
\nThe summit in Brussels will be the first in-person meeting of the EU\u2019s 27 national leaders since the deadly Oct. 7 assault on Israel by Palestinian militant group Hamas, which prompted Israel to bombard and blockade Hamas-run Gaza.
\nWhile EU countries have all strongly condemned the Hamas attack, leaders have struggled to stick to the same message beyond that, with some stressing Israel\u2019s right to self-defense and others emphasising concern about Palestinian civilians.
\nIn the lead-up to the summit, EU countries were wrangling over whether to call for a \u201chumanitarian pause,\u201d with some arguing such a measure was vital to get aid into Gaza while others said it could limit Israel\u2019s ability to defend itself.
\nDiplomats said the EU appeared to be coalescing around a compromise call for \u201cpauses\u201d in the plural, as this suggested short breaks in fighting for specific missions such as hostage releases or aid convoys, rather than a formal cease-fire.
\nEU leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have visited the Middle East to express solidarity with Israel and bolster diplomatic efforts to prevent the conflict spiralling into a regional war.
\nWhile the EU\u2019s influence on the conflict is modest, officials fear that an escalation could have grave consequences for Europe, including a rise in tensions between communities, possible Islamist militant attacks and a large flow of refugees.
\n\u201cOur meeting comes at a time of great global instability and insecurity, exacerbated most recently by developments in the Middle East,\u201d said Charles Michel, president of the European Council of EU leaders, in an invitation letter to the summit.
\n\u201cThese developments require our immediate attention, without distracting us from our continued support to Ukraine.\u201d
\nUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address the summit by video link and support for Kyiv will have first place in the summit declaration.
\nThe EU and its member countries have provided billions of euros in assistance to Ukraine since Russian forces invaded in February last year.
\nBut some officials and diplomats have voiced fears that Ukraine may now struggle to get the same political attention and resources from the West, particularly the United States, due to the new crisis in the Middle East.
\nThe summit will not be able to sign off on multi-year plans for 50 billion euros in financial aid and up 20 billion euros for military aid for Ukraine, as they are part of a broader budget battle that officials hope to conclude by year\u2019s end.
\nAt the summit, the leaders will have their first debate on that budget package, which diplomats expect to be contentious.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s hard to ask for more money for the EU budget when national budgets are getting squeezed,\u201d said one EU diplomat.
\nDiplomats say there is broad support for more money for Ukraine but other elements of the proposal by the European Commission \u2014 the bloc\u2019s executive \u2014 are more contentious, as countries clash over priorities and sources of funding.
\nThe Commission has asked for 15 additional billion euros to deal with migration and further money to cover increased borrowing costs for joint EU debt as interest rates rise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
European Union leaders meet on Thursday to grapple with the conflict between Israel and Hamas while also aiming to show continuing support for Ukraine in its war against Russia\u2019s invasion. The summit in Brussels will be the first in-person meeting of the EU\u2019s 27 national leaders since the deadly Oct. 7 assault on Israel by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":256884,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[3501],"class_list":["post-364111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-european-union"],"yoast_head":"\n