BRUSSELS — It’s unprecedented: This summit of European Union leaders is taking place as peace is shattered around Europe and in the Middle East.
Russia’s war in Ukraine grinds on after more than a year and a half. Tensions are again rising between Serbia and Kosovo in the Balkans after decades of uneasy quiet. Warnings of ethnic cleansing emerged from Nagorno-Karabakh, the Armenian enclave Azerbaijan recently annexed in a military offensive.
And then there’s the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, where war erupted earlier in October against the background of a longer conflict when Hamas launched an attack on Israel, and Israel retaliated with thousands of airstrikes on the Palestinian territory. As Israel prepares a ground invasion of Gaza, EU leaders have been struggling to find a common line on the Israel-Hamas war.
EU leaders have pointed to heightened terrorism concerns after recent attacks in France and Belgium by suspected Islamist extremists, saying they are looking to limit how the impact of the Israel-Hamas war could play out in Europe.
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