EU Council president reiterates need for 2-state solution in Middle East

The European Council president on Friday reiterated the need to create conditions for a two-state solution in the Middle East.

"Europe must succeed in creating the conditions for a two-state solution in the Middle East, because continued neglect will not just undermine the stability of Europe's neighborhood, it will fatally weaken our moral authority in the world," Antonio Costa said in his opening speech at the 6th European Political Community (EPC) summit in Albania.

He described the situation in Gaza as "a humanitarian tragedy," in which international law is "systematically violated" and people are subjected to "crushing disproportionate military force."

"For decades, international trade and economic cooperation connected people and spread mutual prosperity. Now that interdependency is being turned into an instrument of power and pressure," Costa noted.

He said many sides are undermining Europe's "rules-based" order, citing Russia's "aggression" against Ukraine as the catalyst for "large-scale" war in the bloc.

"This war is an assault on the international community, on all the principles we hold dear," Costa added.

He urged Europe to increase defense spending and expand its global trade and prosperity networks, warning against succumbing to the "temptation of protectionism."