'Violations of international law must not be accepted anywhere,' EU Council chief says amid Mideast escalation

EU Council President Antonio Costa said on Wednesday that violations of international law "must not be accepted anywhere," amid ongoing escalation in the Middle East, stressing that the European Union must continue to stand firm on defending rules‑based international order.

Addressing the European Parliament plenary session in Brussels, Costa highlighted growing geopolitical instability, including the war in Ukraine and tensions in the Middle East, noting that the EU's response must be rooted in principles.

"Violations of international law must not be accepted anywhere. The European Union must continue to stand firm on this," Costa told lawmakers, emphasizing respect for the United Nations Charter, territorial integrity, and national sovereignty.

"The European Union will continue to be a force for stability, standing up for the international rules-based order. And we will take firm action to ensure our capacity to act in an unstable world," he added.

Costa reaffirmed the bloc's commitment to multilateralism and a rules‑based international order, noting that the EU must become a driving force in a multipolar world that supports international law and the United Nations.

The current escalation followed the Feb. 28 start of a joint US-Israeli offensive on Iran, which has since killed over 1,340 people. Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, along with US military assets in Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries.

In the meantime, the Israeli army has pounded Lebanon with airstrikes and launched a ground offensive in southern Lebanon since a cross-border attack by Hezbollah on March 2.

Beyond foreign policy, he highlighted the EU's economic competitiveness agenda, which he described as increasingly urgent amid the current geopolitical context.

High energy prices, Costa noted, remain a significant challenge for competitiveness.

He underlined the EU's commitment to decarbonization and accelerating homegrown energy sources in a technologically neutral way, arguing that this approach will reduce dangerous dependencies and lower costs in the long term.

"The current crisis in the Middle East and its impact on global energy supply confirm that the path we have chosen is the right one: decarbonization and the acceleration of homegrown energy sources, in a technologically neutral way, remain the right way forward to limit dangerous dependencies and lower energy prices in the long term," Costa said.