“We are interested in ensuring that the world is rules-based”

While Von der Leyen maintains that Brussels “can no longer be the guardian of the old world order”Costa replied this Tuesday that the European Union “is interested in ensuring that the world continues to be based on rules and cooperation.”

The president of the European Council also disagrees with the head of the Commission in her assessment of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu’s attack against Iran. If Von der Leyen downplayed the debate on the legality of the war, Costa responded that “freedom and human rights cannot be achieved by bombs“.

The now open and public clash between the two top leaders of the European Union is new evidence of the bloc’s deep internal divisions over the Middle East and how to deal with it. Donald Trump. A disorder that has left Europeans without any influence in the Iran war.

“We must carry out a multidimensional foreign policy, actively participating with the international community to defend the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and international law,” António Costa defended before the EU ambassadors.

“We are interested in ensuring that the world remains based on rules and cooperation. We are interested in avoiding further fragmentation of the world (…) It is essential for the security and prosperity of Europe,” insisted the president of the European Council, who at no time has directly named Von der Leyen or Trump.

Regarding the situation in the Middle East, the Portuguese socialist assured that “the EU stands with the suffering people of Iran.”

“We support their right to live in peace and decide their own future. We believe that their human rights and freedoms must be fully respected. But freedom and human rights cannot be achieved by bombs. Only international law protects them“Costa alleged.

“We must avoid further escalation. This path threatens the Middle East, Europe and the rest of the world. The consequences are serious, also in the economic field, as demonstrated by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. So far, there is only one winner in this war: Russia.”

The Kremlin is raising new resources to finance its war against Ukraine as energy prices rise; It benefits from the diversion of military capabilities that could otherwise have been sent to support Ukraine and takes advantage of the reduced attention to the Ukrainian front while the conflict in the Middle East takes center stage, Costa has denounced.