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The EU is only an observer of events in the Middle East

2026-03-03 08:31:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Following the US and Israeli attack on Iran, it is becoming apparent that the European Union is so far largely just an observer.

Only a few European governments received at least timely notice from Israel about the upcoming military operation, while others learned perhaps only through extraordinary news reports. In the EU, it seems that no one was really involved in the preparations.

This is not surprising: the EU's influence on war and peace in the region is limited anyway. No one seriously considered that the US or Israel would coordinate their military attacks with the EU or national governments.

In response, so far only extraordinary calls and meetings remain - and an open question, how important is the consistent application of international law in such a situation.

"Europe has not achieved much"

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Sunday afternoon in Berlin that this is not the time to lecture partners and allies about the situation. His dry assessment is: "The calls from Europe, even from Germany, the condemnation of Iran's rights violations and even the extensive sanctions packages for years and decades, all of this has not achieved much."

The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, invited foreign ministers to an extraordinary meeting. After two and a half hours, the video conference ended with only a joint statement on which all 27 EU members managed to agree.

The EU is following developments in Iran and the Middle East with "the greatest concern." And further: "We will continue to protect the EU's security and interests with additional sanctions."

Events in Iran should not lead to an escalation "that could threaten the Middle East, Europe and beyond - with unpredictable consequences, including in economic terms."

One outcome of the meeting: The EU is strengthening its military mission to protect trade routes through the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. France will soon make two additional ships available for Operation Aspides, a senior EU official in Brussels said.

EC calls for "restraint"

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen criticized Iran's military attacks in the region: "Europe strongly condemns these unjustified attacks." And: "We call on all parties to show the greatest possible restraint, protect civilians and fully respect international law."

International law - the international legal order: EU leaders regularly refer to this, not just now. But for now, Brussels has not heard an assessment of preemptive strikes from the US and Israel.

Christoph Safferling from Friedrich-Alexander University in Erlangen and Nuremberg told tagesschau24 even after assessing the arguments: "The fact remains that the attack itself was against international law."

CDU Commissioner for Foreign Policy, Norbert Röttgen, does not object to this, but at the same time calls the current Iranian government "a regime that violates all rights."

Röttgen believes that the dilemma has now been resolved by the military action itself: "It must now be legitimized by the way the war is being waged and the purpose of the war - the liberation of the Iranian people." This is somewhat reminiscent of the discussions following the US military action in Venezuela.

A spectrum of opinions from the Czech Republic to Spain

There is still no unified position within Europe. This is not unusual when it comes to crises in the Middle East.

Germany, France and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement on Saturday declaring that they are not participating in military action and strongly criticizing Iran's counterattacks. The statement also contains an appeal that "we call for the renewal of negotiations and urge the Iranian leadership to find a negotiated solution."

Czech Prime Minister Babiš stresses the need to stand by allies. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has been harshly critical of Iran, but also wrote on X: "We reject the unilateral military action of the US and Israel, which constitutes an escalation and contributes to a more insecure and hostile international order."

The EU must speak with one voice, says Manfred Weber, president of the European People's Party, on the show Bericht aus Berlin. At the end of January, the EU increased diplomatic pressure on the Iranian regime. Foreign ministers decided to include the Revolutionary Guard on the list of terrorist organizations after the deaths of perhaps thousands of protesters in Iran.

The Revolutionary Guard thus aligned itself with organizations such as Al-Qaeda, Hamas, and the Islamic State (ISIS), and in response, the entire Iranian parliament sat in Revolutionary Guard uniforms.

From this weekend it is a completely new situation. The European Union wants to participate in the debate on what to do now. But the EU will have to prove in the coming days and weeks that it can move beyond the role of observer. /DW