EU leaders call for de-escalation in Iran, hold over decision on loan for Ukraine as Hungary and Slovakia resist

Meeting on March 19 as the European Council, EU leaders called for “de-escalation and maximum restraint” in the war in Iran, while holding over until April the issue of a 90 billion loan for Ukraine, the latter matter blocked by resistance from Hungary and Slovakia.

Conclusions adopted by the European Council said that developments in Iran and the wider region threaten regional and global security.

“The European Council calls for de-escalation and maximum restraint, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure and full respect of international law by all parties, including the principles of the United Nations Charter and international humanitarian law,” the European Council’s conclusions said.

“In this regard, it calls for a moratorium on strikes against energy and water facilities. The European Council deplores the loss of civilian life and is closely monitoring the far-reaching impact of the hostilities, including on economic stability.”

The European Council said that it strongly condemns Iran’s indiscriminate military strikes against countries in the region and expresses its solidarity with countries affected.

It called on Iran and its proxies to immediately cease these attacks and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries in the region.

“The European Council underlines the importance of concerted action to help partners strengthen counter-drone and air defence capabilities. In that context, it welcomes Ukraine’s readiness to provide support and expertise in air defence and counter-drone systems to Gulf countries.”

The European Council “highlighted” the role of the EU maritime defensive operations EUNAVFOR ASPIDES and EUNAVFOR ATALANTA, and calls for their reinforcement with more assets, in line with their respective mandates.

In comments before the start of the March 19 meeting of the EU leaders, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that when the bloc’s foreign ministers met earlier this week, there was no wish for expanding the ASPIDES mission to operate in the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier in the European Council meeting, EU leaders held an exchange of views with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine.

“As we enter the fifth year of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the European Council reaffirms its continued firm and unwavering support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders,” the conclusions of the meeting on Ukraine said, with a note that these conclusions had been agreed to by 25 our 27 member states.

The two exceptions were Viktor Orbán’s Hungary and Robert Fico’s Slovakia.

The statement of conclusions on Ukraine said that the European Union “will continue to provide, in coordination with like-minded partners and allies, comprehensive political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine and its people”.

“Following its December 2025 decision to provide Ukraine with a support loan of 90 billion euro for 2026 and 2027, the European Council welcomes the adoption of the loan by the co-legislators and looks forward to the first disbursement to Ukraine by the beginning of April. In this context, it also calls for intensified outreach to third countries to help close the remaining gap of 30 billion euro in Ukraine’s finances,” the statement on the conclusions said.

Deutsche Welle reported that Fico published a video statement on X, saying that he refused to support the conclusions from Thursday’s summit that “fully support Ukraine.”

He said the meeting had “focused exclusively” on the blocked Ukrainian aid package and the resumption of oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline, and said that “in neither case was any progress made.”

Orbán repeatedly has threatened to block the major financial assistance package for Ukraine unless Russian oil imports via the Druzhba pipeline are reactivated.

Kallas, speaking before the European Council meeting, said that European Council President António Costa was in talks with Orbán to try to reach an agreement on the support loan for Ukraine. Clearly, at the close of the EU leaders’ discussions on March 19, these talks had not produced a result.

“And it is really time to show our support to Ukraine, because the war in the Middle East is connected to the war in Ukraine, and unfortunately, Russia is gaining from the war in the Middle East,” Kallas said.

Zelenskyy, addressing the European Council meeting by video link, emphasised that the 90 billion euro support package for 2026–2027 remains critically important for Ukraine. For its part, Ukraine is doing everything necessary to unblock it, including with regard to the Druzhba oil pipeline, he said.

“Our team from the energy companies – Naftogaz and UkrTransNafta – is working productively to deliver on what we discussed. But the decision is yours – whether you want Russian oil to be imported by Europe, knowing that it helps the aggressor,” Zelenskyy said.