BRUSSELS
European Council President Antonio Costa described the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as “catastrophic” and deplored the human rights situation there.
"Human rights are being violated. The review of Israel’s compliance with our joint association agreement has confirmed this is an unacceptable situation," he said.
Costa said EU foreign ministers will discuss possible next steps, while underlining the need for "frank dialogue" with Israel.
His remarks came as the leaders of European Union member states gathered Thursday in Brussels for a summit.
Following the last gathering under the Polish presidency, Costa, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk held a joint press conference.
Costa called for a more coordinated European defense system, stressing the need for efficiency and fair burden-sharing rather than duplicating military investments across all 27 EU member states.
"We don't need to replicate the same capabilities in each member state. We don't need to multiply by 27 all our investments in defense. What we need is efficiency and fair burden sharing," he said.
He emphasized that Europe's security is directly tied to Ukraine’s, reaffirming the EU's commitment to supporting Kyiv and advancing its EU accession process.
"Now is the time to intensify our work and advance (Ukraine) on the path towards European Union accession," he added.
Von der Leyen described the meeting as taking place amid "serious geopolitical and geoeconomic volatility." She stressed that the stronger Ukraine becomes, the better it can defend itself and contribute to broader European security.
On Gaza, she called the humanitarian situation "abhorrent and unbearable," urging immediate aid delivery.
Von der Leyen also briefed leaders on trade negotiations with the US, noting that progress is being made.
"We are ready for a deal. At the same time, we are preparing for the possibility that no satisfactory agreement is reached. This is why we consulted on a rebalancing list, and we will defend the European interest as needed. In short, all options remain on the table,” she said.
Separately, in the summit conclusions, the European Council addressed the situation in Libya and its potential impact on European security and migration.
"The European Council recalls that the Türkiye-Libya Memorandum of Understanding on the delimitation of maritime jurisdictions in the Mediterranean Sea infringes upon the sovereign rights of third States, does not comply with the Law of the Sea and cannot produce any legal consequences for third States," it said.
Ahead of the summit, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said that Greece would request explicit references to the Türkiye-Libya maritime memorandum in the summit conclusions.