BRUSSELS (AP) 鈥� Leaders from across the European Union are meeting Thursday to grapple with rising oil and gas prices caused by the war raging across key energy producers and shipping lanes in the Middle East.
Many of those leaders have deflected entreaties by U.S. President to send military assets to , a key waterway for the global flow of oil, gas and fertilizer. because of the war and fears in Europe of have pushed leaders to make the Middle East a priority at the summit.
鈥淲e are very worried about the energy crisis,鈥� said Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever ahead of of 27 leaders of European Union nations. He said that energy prices were too high before the war, but that the conflict 鈥渃reated another spike.”
鈥淚f that becomes structural, we鈥檙e in deep trouble,” he said. “At a European level, some measures can be taken to address the problem of the high energy prices.鈥�
The European Commission has told leaders it has a mix of financial instruments that member nations could deploy to lower energy prices, which will be up for discussion. No single policy will likely work to blunt the economic shocks from the war across the bloc’s myriad markets from Romania to Ireland.
European leaders have struggled to take a firm stance on the fighting in Iran and Lebanon. While they have been critical of the Iranian government, they have not provided military support.
鈥淭his is a war that was started by the United States and Israel against Iran on reasons that I can understand because the Iranian regime is brutal not only for its own people, but also for the broader region and a security threat for Europe,鈥� said Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 not a war that we are part of,” he said, calling for more sanctions on Iran and support for opposition groups.
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