Today, 27 EU leaders meet in Brussels for the European Council. The official agenda highlights competitiveness and migration, but war overshadows it all. Your reporter does not yet know exactly what they will say. But we can certainly guess what keeps them up at night.
Especially, now that Russia’s war in Ukraine and the US-Israeli war in Iran have become deeply interlinked.
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With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, energy and petrol costs are soaring. And because that vital waterway handles a massive share of global fertiliser shipments, it also means higher grocery prices for everyone.
To ease the pressure, Trump announced last week that he is lifting some sanctions on Russian oil. The US Treasury issued a temporary permit allowing countries to purchase Russian crude currently stranded at sea.
Washington insists this only applies to already loaded cargo, strictly ruling out new trade or major financial benefits for Russia.
But European leaders are strongly pushing back. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called the move wrong, while Council President António Costa argued it directly undermines European security by letting Moscow cash in.
The bitter irony? Since Trump’s decision, oil prices have not drastically fallen. But European security has.
And this sanctions relief could hand the Kremlin a staggering 150 million dollars a day. That single day of revenue buys up to 7 thousand Iranian-designed Shahed drones or funds sign-up bonuses for 5,000 new Russian soldiers. Every single day.
After bashing traditional diplomacy, Trump is disappointed Europe is not rushing to help secure the Middle East.
But as EU leaders gather in Brussels just days after the Ides of March, they know a political backstabbing when they see one.
Watch the Euronews video in the player above for the full story.