Written by Annastiina Papunen and Rebecca Zamponi
The two-day meeting saw discussions on the situation in the Middle East and its geopolitical and economic impact on the EU, EU defence and security, energy, competitiveness, Ukraine, and the EU’s long-term budget for 2028-2034. A notable moment on the sidelines of the meeting was the signing of the ‘One Europe, One Market’ roadmap by the Presidents of the European Parliament, the European Commission and Cyprus (representing the EU Council) – a document which sets clear timelines and deliverables to strengthen EU competitiveness and the EU single market by the end of 2027.
Back to back with the informal meeting, EU leaders were joined for an informal lunch by the leaders of key regional partners in the Middle East (Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Syria, and the Gulf Cooperation Council). The leaders on both sides welcomed the ceasefires between the US and Iran as well as between Israel and Lebanon. European Council President António Costa stressed that ‘the European Union is not a part of the conflict, but we will be a part of the solution’, which reflected the discussions and the general mood of EU leaders. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola underlined that ‘we all want the same thing: a swift and lasting end to the war’.
1. General
EU leaders met in Cyprus for an informal meeting, in Ayia Napa on 23 April over dinner, and in Lefkosia the next day. Security was heightened at the meeting venues, after the drone attack that had targeted the UK military base of Akrotiri in March. Furthermore, Cypriot farmers blocked roads to protest strict governments measures limiting the spread of the highly contagious foot-and-mouth disease. Over 100 farms have been affected and, as per EU rules, the infected animals need to be culled, adding to the plight of farmers harmed by rising costs and adverse climate phenomena.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, addressed EU leaders, as did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who attended the meeting in person. This would have been the last European Council meeting for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán after he lost the April parliamentary elections to Tisza leader Péter Magyar (EPP). However, Orbán, who is currently the longest-serving member of the European Council, with 16 years in post, did not attend.
2. European Council meeting
Ukraine
The informal European Council meeting started on the bright side, with President Costa welcoming the final approval of the €90 billion loan to Ukraine and the 20th package of sanctions against Russia on the doorstep. Latvian Prime Minister Evika Siliņa stressed that these two decisions demonstrated that the EU could deliver what it promised, even in turbulent times. EU leaders had agreed on the loan at the December 2025 European Council meeting. However, Hungary and Slovakia blocked the necessary amendment of the financial framework (requiring unanimity) until Russian oil deliveries to the two Member States, via the Druzhba pipeline, had resumed. The High Representative, Kaja Kallas, suggested that the EU should revisit previous sanctions red lines. Zelenskyy, after welcoming the unblocking of the €90 billion loan, raised the issue of the implementation of EU support to Ukraine, the need to pressure Russia towards real diplomacy, and his visit to the Middle East and the new security agreements concluded with partners in the region. He also called for ‘full-fledged EU membership’ for Ukraine, a country which is ‘defending common European values’.
Ahead of the informal meeting, Presidents Costa and Zelenskyy and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen released a joint statement that highlighted the progress Ukraine had made in its reforms and called for the ‘opening of negotiation clusters without delay’. There is, however, no unity on the accession process of Ukraine. While Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said that he favoured ‘accelerating’ Ukraine’s membership, Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden stated that enlargement should be seen in a geostrategic perspective, but that there could be no short cuts. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ruled out immediate membership but proposed partial integration to bring the country closer to the EU, for instance by participating in the work of the institutions without voting rights. Merz claimed there was support among his fellow leaders for the proposal, with the main hurdle being Ukraine’s involvement in the internal market.
Middle East
The discussion on the EU’s response to the evolving situation in the Middle East had two main components: 1) contributing to de-escalation and peace; and 2) the core principle of freedom of navigation. Fragile ceasefires between the United States and Iran as well as between Israel and Lebanon formed the background to the discussion. From the outset, the EU has been unified in calling for de-escalation; however, there has not been clear agreement on what the EU and the Member States could do to achieve this.
On Lebanon, President Costa reiterated earlier calls for negotiations to continue in full respect of international law and of Lebanon’s territorial integrity. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun was commended for banning the military activities of Hezbollah and reassured of EU support. In March 2026, the EU announced it was increasing humanitarian aid and financial support to Lebanon. Moreover, at the Foreign Affairs Council on 21 April, Spain, Ireland and Slovenia had put forward a proposal to suspend the EU-Israel Association Agreement over military actions in Lebanon and Palestine. In his doorstep statement, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said there was disunity between Member States on this possibility. However, if a total suspension, requiring unanimity, seems out of reach, some countries such as Belgium and the Netherlands are suggesting a suspension of the trade-related provisions of the Association Agreement, which only requires a qualified majority.
The US and Iran have been in a stand-off in the Strait of Hormuz, as both sides enact their own blockades, preventing free navigation. President Costa called for the Strait of Hormuz to be re‑opened without restrictions or tolling in full respect of international law and freedom of navigation. Von der Leyen stated that the EU must move past reactive crisis management and suggested expanding the scope of naval missions like ASPIDES.
After the informal meeting, Costa and von der Leyen both expressed the EU leaders’ general agreement that, given the brutality inflicted very recently by the Iranian regime on its people, it was too early to consider removing sanctions against Iran in exchange for lifting the blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. EU leaders consider that a number of milestones would have to be reached before the EU could consider lifting sanctions, notably assurances on the end of Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. The ongoing blockage of the Strait of Hormuz has had a negative impact on the European and global economy (see below).
European security and defence
Faced with this challenging geopolitical and security environment, EU leaders discussed Europe’s readiness to respond and to provide assistance to a Member State victim of armed aggression on its territory. Following a drone attack on the British base of Akrotiri in Cyprus on 1 March, Nikos Christodoulides, President of Cyprus, had put the possible use of the European mutual assistance clause under Article 42(7) TEU on the EU leaders’ agenda, prompting questions on its scope, implementation and the role of the EU institutions. Enshrined in EU primary law in 2009, the clause has only been triggered once, by France following the 13 November 2015 terrorist attacks in Paris. Similar to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, the clause envisages ‘an obligation [for EU Member States] of aid and assistance by all the means in their power’, i.e. not necessarily military means. For non-NATO EU Member States (Austria, Cyprus, Ireland and Malta), and amid doubts over the US’s readiness to honour the NATO Article 5 commitment, Article 42(7) appears particularly relevant.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk – whose country is NATO’s biggest defence spender proportionate to GDP, and one of Europe’s most pro-transatlantic countries – questioned the US’s ‘loyalty’ to the NATO Article 5 pledge. He stressed that the discussions on the clause were about defining practical ways for EU countries to support each other in the event of an attack. Likewise, Christodoulides called for the clause to be made operational, stating that ‘Europe must be ready to respond swiftly and decisively … . We must put this mechanism firmly in place’. Kallas briefed EU leaders on the ongoing work to provide guidance, which will result in a Commission blueprint, on when and how a country can trigger the mutual assistance clause, and what assets can be mobilised once it is invoked. However, with certain EU countries wary of steps that could be seen as undermining NATO, the Article 42(7) discussion remained part of a wider discussion on geopolitics.
Energy crisis and economic consequences of the war
At their regular March meeting, EU leaders agreed on a set of measures and recommendations to protect EU citizens and the EU economy from the crisis. As stressed at the Eurogroup meeting on 27 March: ‘The rise in oil and gas prices is directly affecting European households and businesses and will put pressure on inflation and dampen growth’. The situation has since grown even more dire; as the Strait of Hormuz is still closed to normal traffic, energy prices have risen further. The EU bill for imported fossil fuels has gone up by €25 billion in 54 days, and Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen has warned that the EU should be prepared for ‘a long-lasting energy shock’. Some analysts even consider that a recession may already be unfolding.
In their March 2026 conclusions, EU leaders asked the Commission to present ‘a toolbox of targeted temporary measures to address the recent spikes in the prices of imported fossil fuels arising from the crisis in the Middle East’ without delay. Published ahead of the Cyprus meeting, the toolbox, entitled AccelerateEU, aims in the short and medium term to shield Europeans from the crisis with timely, targeted and temporary measures, and to further accelerate electrification. President Costa stated that ‘coordination is key’ and that EU leaders were ‘ready to step up their response’ if needed. He also noted that, in the long term, there was only one option for the EU – to speed up energy transition and to use clean home-grown energy sources. While acknowledging that the Commission toolbox was a good step forward, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said ‘it is not enough’. Likewise, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever criticised it for not being concrete enough; he would have liked to see larger adjustments to the EU emissions trading system (ETS) and an EU-wide tax on windfall profits. According to Christodoulides, EU finance ministers are expected to work on further proposals to address the rising energy prices at the two Ecofin meetings in May.
Competitiveness
On Friday, on the sidelines of the EU leaders’ meeting, Presidents von der Leyen, Metsola and Christodoulides (on behalf of the Cyprus Presidency of the Council) formally signed the joint ‘One Market, One Europe roadmap‘, which is the result of discussions at the Alden Biesen competitiveness retreat in February and at the regular March meeting. Christodoulides called it ‘a strong signal of our collective determination to truly boost European competitiveness’. The Commission had promised the roadmap for the March regular meeting, but it was finally postponed by a month. In the European Parliament, some dissatisfaction with the preparatory process was apparent, since the draft was only circulated one week before the meeting, leaving very little time for reflection and negotiations. Nevertheless, as the Council’s press release underlines: ‘This agreement demonstrates the resolve of the three institutions to move forward together on a clear path. Against the backdrop of sustained geopolitical and economic volatility, this roadmap represents a decisive step to urgently strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, with concrete actions and targets for agreements, at the latest by end 2027.’
Main message of the President of the EP: Roberta Metsola said that the roadmap would allow the EU to deliver ‘what the citizens have asked from us’ in a fast and effective way, adding that ‘we are now at the point where commitments need to turn into delivery’. However, she also underlined that: ‘We also need the space – and the trust – to do our job of democratic oversight and legitimacy properly. 720 MEPs from more than 200 political parties are not, and will never be, a rubber stamp.’
Multiannual financial framework 2028-2034
EU leaders had an exchange of views on the next multiannual financial framework (MFF), notably on the contribution of the new EU long-term budget to the EU’s competitiveness agenda. As von der Leyen pointed out, there are four elements in the budgetary equation: the need to 1) repay Next Generation EU from 2028; 2) invest in new priorities; 3) sustain funding for the EU’s long-standing priorities; and 4) keep national contributions in check. Matching the EU’s resources with its ambitions and needs is challenging and will therefore not be possible without new own resources.
After the meeting, Costa reported that EU leaders had confirmed that new own resources would have to play an important role in funding the budget. The Commission’s new own resources package will constitute the basis for discussions, but EU leaders have also expressed openness to considering the suggestions put forward by the European Parliament, which is proposing to tax digital services, online gambling and crypto-assets. However, own resources are expected to be subject to intense discussions. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, the next holder of the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU, stated that ‘own resources is a difficult part of the file, in the sense that those [Commission] proposals haven’t garnered too much support across the 27 Member States’. Germany and the Netherlands, for instance, oppose a tax on the turnover of large companies, while revenue collected through the ETS does not seem popular among EU leaders.
As usual in this phase of MFF negotiations, groups of Member States try to influence the discussions by issuing positions or ‘non-papers’ on core aspects of the future MFF, such as the non-paper by Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden on the proposal for a European Competitiveness Fund.
Regarding the timeline, Costa’s objective is to ‘find an agreement by the end of this year’. However, some EU leaders such as Merz questioned ‘whether we’ll actually be able to finalise it this year’. The MFF is due to be addressed at the June meeting, based on a ‘negotiating box’ with figures to be put forward by the Cyprus Presidency, and at the regular meetings in October and December; in addition, there will be a special meeting on 26-27 November.
Main message of the President of the EP: Roberta Metsola pointed out that the European Parliament would adopt its position the following week. She stressed that Parliament supported a stronger focus on competitiveness and defence, while calling on EU leaders ‘to look with fresh eyes on own resources. We need new money to service the debt’. She added that ‘Europe cannot face a new era with an old framework. The current budget has been stretched to its breaking point by crises it was never designed to absorb. We made it work but we see its limits … What we need now is a budget that is fit for purpose – ready to deliver where, and when, it matters most.’
3. Informal meeting with key regional partners in the Middle East
Back to back with the informal meeting, EU leaders held an informal working lunch with leaders from Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria as well as the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council to discuss the situation in the region and regional cooperation. This lunch followed Costa’s two days of meetings with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar on 14-15 April. After the informal meeting, Christodoulides emphasised that the security and stability of the Middle East was interlinked with that of Europe. He also stated that the Pact for the Mediterranean was a crucial first step to strategically enhancing cooperation with countries in the region, but that much more needed to be done. Cyprus would put forward specific suggestions to achieve that, such as a step-by-step approach to removing sanctions and boosting cooperation with the Syrian regime. On 20 April, the Commission proposed the full resumption of the EU-Syria Cooperation Agreement (partially suspended since 2011). Von der Leyen emphasised that close relations between Europe and the Middle East was not just for now, but also for the future, outlining a number of upcoming conferences and high-level meetings with partners in the region.
Read this briefing on ‘Outcome of the meetings of EU leaders, 23 – 24 April 2026‘ in the Think Tank pages of the European Parliament.
]]>
