“The European Union is a champion of international rules-based order,” European Council President Antonio Costa told the enr in an interview with European news agencies on Monday.
Journalists from Lusa (Portugal), CTK (Czech Republic), EFE, Europa Press (both Spain), STA (Slovenia), dpa (Germany), and TT (Sweden) had the opportunity to ask Costa questions on behalf of the entire network, which currently includes more than 20 news agencies.
Europe is feeling the impact of the US-Israeli war with Iran in the Middle East as disruptions to the flow of oil are causing energy prices to spiral across the globe. At the same time, the EU is poised to provide Ukraine with a 90 billion Euro loan to finance its defence against Russia’s war of aggression.
On the Middle East, Costa noted “that the United States and Israel decided to launch this initiative without any information to their allies,” referring to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, 2026. “We express our deep concern about the consequences of this war on the international rules-based order, on the humanitarian consequences and also on the impact of energy costs in the global economy,” he said, while also condemning the Iranian attacks on its neighbours.
The former Portuguese Prime Minister also told the enr that the EU should prepare for possible talks with Russia. “It will come one day. But not now,” he said, adding that the EU should not interfere with the ongoing efforts of US President Donald Trump for peace in Ukraine.
Ahead of the meeting of EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday, the European Council chief called on Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to lift his government’s blockade on the 90 billion Euro loan for Ukraine. Slamming Budapest’s position as “completely unacceptable,” Costa recalled that all EU member states, including Hungary, approved the loan last December.
At the same time he criticised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for openly threatening Orbán in earlier statements. “We cannot accept when, even in an emotional moment, that someone addresses in a non-proper way a leader of a European Union member state.”
Finally, Costa said that “enlargement is a main priority” for the EU, but that countries hoping to join the bloc must first implement reforms. When asked whether he supports an option for new members to join without veto rights, Costa said: “We need to manage this enlargement process with a lot of creativity and not giving up in our criteria, in our merit basis, but with a huge sense of urgency”.
Photos: Markus Lenhardt/dpa-ENR Pool/dpa
