EU's Von der Leyen Says Block Working to End Mideast Conflict
Addressing the European Parliament, von der Leyen argued that a recent reduction in hostilities has opened a narrow diplomatic window — one that must be seized to solidify a ceasefire involving Iran and Lebanon and translate it into something permanent.
"Our shared goal is now to see a lasting end to the war, and this includes restoring full and permanent freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz without tolls," she said.
"And it is equally clear that any peace agreement will have to address Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program," she added.
Von der Leyen disclosed that EU leaders had engaged directly with key regional actors — including Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, as well as the Gulf Cooperation Council's secretary-general — to align efforts around de-escalation and long-term regional stability.
Yet she tempered that diplomatic push with a stark economic warning, cautioning that the conflict's financial shockwaves could reverberate across global energy markets "for months or even years." As evidence of the damage already inflicted, she revealed that Europe's fossil fuel import bill had surged by more than €27 billion ($31.6 billion) in just 60 days of fighting — "without one single molecule of energy in addition."
The staggering figure, she argued, lays bare the EU's structural overdependence on imported energy and the urgency of accelerating a homegrown clean energy transition.
"We must reduce our overdependency on imported fossil fuels, and we must boost our homegrown, affordable clean energy supply," she said, identifying renewables and nuclear power as the twin pillars of that shift.
Von der Leyen also called for deeper coordination among EU member states on fuel reserves and gas storage, alongside precisely targeted relief for vulnerable households and industries — explicitly warning against the broad, inefficient emergency spending that defined the bloc's response to its previous energy crisis.
She pointed to electrification and energy efficiency as essential tools for curbing demand and insulating Europe from future price shocks, noting that member states with greater shares of low-carbon energy had weathered the current volatility with considerably less disruption.
Looking ahead, the Commission president confirmed that the EU would unveil a dedicated electrification action plan by summer, paired with wider efforts to modernize energy infrastructure and fortify the bloc's long-term economic security.
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