WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE Eu - euobserver daily - Monday 16 March 2026.

 

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Good morning. Over the weekend, US president Donald Trump urged France to join his Iran war, while Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accused the EU of "blackmail" on Russian oil, highlighting the strong links between the two conflicts. Trump said on Truth Social that France (and the UK) should escort international oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz: “This should always have been a team effort, and now it will be". Zelensky told the press in Kyiv he was facing EU pressure to repair a Russian pipeline feeding oil to the Kremlin-friendly Hungary, so that Hungary would lift its veto on a European loan for Ukraine's arms purchases. "We either sell Russian oil or we don't. Because [the EU] are forcing me to restore Druzhba [the pipeline]," said Zelensky. Trump's Iran attack has seen oil prices surge, helping Russia to fund its Ukraine war, which compounded Zelensky's frustration. But I would be very surprised if France sent its warships into a clash with Iran to restore oil to world markets. One French soldier was already killed in Iraq last Friday and France has some 300,000 expats living in the Middle East who are in harm's way. Meanwhile, Trump's ugly rhetoric (he also said this weekend he might keep bombing Iran "just for fun"), as well as his unbounded aggression, make him an ever more toxic ally for European leaders with each passing day. At the same time, the way Zelensky vented his anger risked playing into his enemy's hands. He all but admitted Hungary's central accusation - that he was refusing to restore Druzhba for political rather than technical reasons - ahead of an EU summit this week that was meant to put Hungarian prime minster Viktor Orbán on the back foot. And so I fear a worst-case scenario unfolding in the weeks and months ahead: Hormuz blocked, Russia enriched, EU aid to Ukraine blocked, fraying transatlantic ties, and Euro-Ukrainian relations tested to breaking point. Andrew Rettman, foreign-affairs editor Top story ‘Isolated’ Slovakia drops EU veto threat on Russia sanctions Slovakia did not secure any EU-sanctions relief for Russia. Bratislava had pushed for the EU to delist two Russian oligarchs, but did a U-turn on Saturday. What else you need to know THIS WEEK: EU summit on Iran war and support for Kyiv, plus Slovenia election and ‘EU Inc’ top agenda All 27 EU leaders meet on Thursday in Brussels to discuss Ukraine support, energy prices, security risks from the Iran war and competitiveness. At the start of the week, foreign affairs ministers will address Iran sanctions, maritime security and Lebanon. Also this week, the EU commission will unveil its “EU Inc” proposal, while MEPs are expected to finally vote on the US-EU trade deal from July. Slovenia has national elections on Sunday. Interview: Zelensky’s advisor says more weapons, sanctions and pressure on financial sector could bring Russia down We spoke with president Volodymyr Zelensky’s adviser about how he sees the dispute over the Druzhba pipeline, what motivated Russia to attack the pumping station in Brody; why Robert Fico and Viktor Orbán are so obsessed with buying Russian energy, why there should be far more attacks on Russian tankers, and the impact of the war against Iran on developments in Ukraine. EU foreign ministers face tense talks on Ukraine amid spillover fears of Iran war Amid concerns about waning US aid and shortages of air‑defence systems for Ukraine linked to the Iran war, there are expected to be renewed calls during Monday’s foreign affairs council meeting for increased bilateral military support for Kyiv alongside the stalled €90bn in EU funding that Hungary is currently blocking. Blaming the Green Deal for rising energy prices is simple — but wrong As European energy ministers meet on Monday (16 March) to discuss Europe’s new Energy Package, the continent faces a strategic choice. At a time of renewed geopolitical instability, with the illegal war in the Middle East that is shaking global energy markets, we must use the Green Deal to strengthen competitiveness, boost energy sovereignty and affordability, and lead in the industries of the future, write the Socialists & Democrats. How the EU lets plastic be labelled ‘recycled’ at just 2.5% re-used content Plastic products in the EU could soon be labelled “recycled” — even when they contain barely any recycled material. A new definition backed by most member states allows plastics with as little as 2.5 percent waste-derived content. Critics warn that the rule relies on accounting tricks that may mask fossil-based plastic production. Ukraine Battlefield update (day 1,478): Why Ukraine is more optimistic than last year ahead of Russian spring offensive Ukraine managed to cut off the Russians from the US Starlink satellite system and increased drone attacks against Russia’s rear positions. EU-made facial recognition ended up scanning schoolchildren in Brazil The EU restricts biometric surveillance at home – but its landmark AI Act does nothing to prevent European companies from exporting the same technology abroad. Listen: Could a registry of doctors who refuse abortions improve access in Spain? A court ruling has just ordered the city of Madrid to create a registry of doctors in the region who refuse to perform abortion procedures. Are there still many of these conscientious objectors in Spain and across Europe? In case you missed it Russian fossil-fuel daily revenues up 14% since start of US-Israel attack on Iran Russia has earned an estimated €6bn in fossil-fuel, or €510m per day, since the attacks on Iran, according to a new analysis published on Thursday. What Sarkozy’s corruption appeal means for cleaning up European politics It is easy to treat the case as just a French affair. In reality, the appeal carries wider international stakes and has become a stress test for the rule-of-law ecosystem under pressure across the EU. EU governments face ‘no immediate concerns’ on oil supply amid record emergency release The EU’s bodies on oil and gas supply held meetings on Thursday morning following the International Energy Agency’s decision to open access to 400m barrels of reserves. EU needs a ‘single market’ for defence, MEPs tell Commission The EU’s defence industry needs to be fully integrated into the bloc’s single market, MEPs said in a new report approved on Wednesday. Arms flows rise to Cold War levels amid Ukraine and EU rearmament Global arms flows are surging to Cold War levels, fuelled by European rearmament and the war in Ukraine. Ukraine, Poland, and the Czech Republic are reshaping Europe’s defence landscape, while a Czechoslovak Group’s record-breaking IPO exposes links between business and politics. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia eyes Ukrainian weapons amid drone threats, highlighting a defence boom that is both highly profitable and increasingly entangled with geopolitics. Russia-linked priests preaching Azerbaijan war, Armenia warns EU “One of the archbishops in Armenia had started a movement to [reactivate] … the [Nagorno-Karabakh] conflict”, warned Armenian prime minister Nikol Pashinyan. Georgia is not lost — if the West acts now Recently, nine pro-Western opposition parties in Georgia signed an agreement to coordinate their efforts against the ruling party, Georgian Dream. For a country whose opposition has long been divided and distrustful, this is a significant development. The question now is whether the West will act in time to help them keep their country in the democratic world. Stunned, sidelined and disunited: the EU response to Iran war Unable to defend European interests, unwilling to hold Washington and Tel Aviv accountable, and therefore impotent in the face of great-power predation. This failure is not merely moral — it is strategic. With elections on 22 March, why is Slovenia sliding to the right? A stable but flatlining economy, social tensions with Roma, welfare payments and emigrating medics, and a fragmented Left are all shaping the Slovenian electoral campaign, ahead of the parliamentary elections on 22 March.