High Representative/Vice-President Kaja Kallas said after the Foreign Affairs Council that Ukraine remained the EU’s top priority and that the bloc continued to demand a full and unconditional ceasefire.
Kallas said Ukraine had already accepted such a ceasefire more than 60 days earlier, while Russia had escalated attacks instead of seriously seeking peace. She said the EU had adopted another sanctions package, including measures targeting Moscow’s shadow fleet, and that ministers wanted rapid progress on the next round of sanctions.
The meeting also covered European defence, security guarantees for Ukraine and the operationalisation of the EU Rapid Deployment Capacity. Kallas said the 5,000 European troops linked to the capacity were now operational, giving Europe a faster military response tool.
On the Middle East, Kallas described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as catastrophic and said there was a strong majority among ministers in favour of reviewing Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.