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EU leaders vow to boost security and economic ties with Middle East
EU leaders vowed to boost security and economic ties with Middle East partners and push for a diplomatic end to the Iran war, after talks in Cyprus focusing on the fallout from the conflict.
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Leaders from Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and Jordan as well as the secretary general of the Gulf Cooperation Council, were in Nicosia to meet their European Union counterparts on the sidelines of an EU summit.
“The current situation clearly underscores how closely Europe’s security is linked with that of the Middle East, and how vital our cooperation on security and defence has become,” European Council president António Costa told a press conference after the talks.
Although no formal decisions were taken, the summit provided an opportunity to exchange views about the war, the situation in Lebanon and across the Gulf, as well as the economic consequences for Europe amid the US blockade of Iranian ports and Tehran effectively shuttering the Strait of Hormuz.
“The recent ceasefires between the US and Iran, Israel and Lebanon are welcome developments. Now all parties must engage in good faith to achieve a peace. The European Union is not part of the conflict, but we will be part of this solution,” European Council President Antonio Costa said at a press conference on Friday.
Fighting has currently been suspended in both Iran and Lebanon. Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said that a ceasefire with Iran that was due to expire on 22 April had been extended indefinitely, while on Thursday he said that a suspension of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon had been extended for three weeks.
Meanwhile, the White House said on Friday evening that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would head to Pakistan for a second round of talks on Saturday.
European officials have floated the idea of a multinational force to escort commercial ships and clear mines in the Strait of Hormuz, but the plan remains at an early stage and it is unclear whether it will be implemented.
Even if EU leaders are actively avoiding direct involvement in the war, they’re aiming to provide support to Middle Eastern countries affected by it, which the EU considers strategic partners in energy, migration and digitalisation.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa was among the key regional figures at the talks and he reiterated the importance of bilateral relations with the EU and described them as “essential and inevitable, particularly to ensure global security and the stability of supply chains.”
At the same time, he asked the international community to “uphold its responsibilities in addressing all forms of Israeli aggression affecting our land and territories.”
Increasing energy prices in Europe
Another topic of discussion was rising energy prices around the world due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The standoff is choking off nearly all exports through the vital waterway, through which around 20% of the world’s traded oil passes in peacetime.
The disruption has sent energy prices soaring across Europe, prompting fears of shortages and economic decline.
EU leaders discussed a set of new measures unveiled by the European Commission earlier this week, such as social schemes, tax reductions and subsidies for green technologies.
“Since the beginning of this conflict, our bill for imported fossil fuels has increased by over €25 billion without a single molecule of energy in addition. We need to reduce our over-dependency on important fossil fuels because these make us vulnerable to crises,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.
Von der Leyen also said work was under way to boost economic, trade and political ties with Jordan, Egypt, Syria and Gulf nations and proposed those partnerships broaden to defence matters.
“We could consider expanding the scope of missions like Operation Aspides evolving from mere protection to a sophisticated joint maritime coordination,” she said without providing further details.
Aspides is the EU’s naval mission in the Red Sea, launched in 2024 to prevent attacks on trade vessels by Iran-backed Houthi rebel forces.
“The threat of mass proliferation of drones and missiles is sadly a shared reality. We should set up a structural cooperation of scaling up defence production,” von der Leyen added.
President Donald Trump on Friday threatened a 100% tariff on imports from any country that imposes a tax on digital services provided by United States companies.
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In a social media post, Trump took aim at European countries, he said, that are discussing the “imminent” implementation of taxes on American companies.
The US president has repeatedly sought to use tariffs to deter such taxes, but many countries are seeking revenue as their economies increasingly operate in digital realms dominated by American companies.
“Please let this statement serve to represent that any Country that imposes such a Tax will immediately be met with a 100% tariff on any and all Goods sent to the United States of America,” Trump wrote.
He added that the new tax would supersede any previously negotiated trade deals. Trump said the penalty would apply to any country that moves forward with such a tax, but he singled out European nations in his post.
Trump has consistently opposed international attempts to tax or regulate American tech giants. Last year, he threatened fresh tariffs on any nation attempting to do so, writing in a post last August that digital taxes and regulations “are all designed to harm, or discriminate against, American Technology.”
The warning arrives just ahead of Trump’s 4 July deadline for the European Union and the US to begin implementing a trade agreement that caps most tariffs on EU exports at 15%.
The EU finalised that trade deal with the United States in May. It followed months of internal EU debate after European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen initially reached a tentative agreement last year during a visit to Trump’s golf course in Scotland.
The issue of digital tax remained unresolved
Digital taxes were excluded from that pact and remain a primary source of friction between the US and the European bloc.
While the US government has previously launched Section 301 investigations into digital services taxes, it remains unclear how Trump intends to enforce his latest threat, or whether the tariffs would be applied globally or targeted at specific countries first.
Britain, having left the EU, has levied its own 2% digital services tax since 2020 on revenue generated by search engines, social media platforms and online marketplaces that “derive value” from UK users.
In a policy document released at the time, the British government argued that existing corporate tax rules for digital firms had “led to a misalignment between the place where profits are taxed and the place where value is created.”
The UK tax features specific thresholds, ensuring it is primarily paid by major multinational corporations. The policy was implemented to “ensure the large multinational businesses in-scope make a fair contribution to supporting vital public services,” the document noted.
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Video captured a large emergency response after a small plane crashed into Beijing’s tallest skyscraper on Friday, prompting an immediate information blackout from Chinese authorities, The Associated Press reported.
Video and photos shared on social media appear to show the aircraft plummeting to the ground after smashing a large hole in the 108-story CITIC Tower, located in the Chinese capital’s business district.
Police, fire and EMS workers were spotted at the scene preventing witnesses from taking photos and attempting to clear the area.
People gather near the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026, after an eyewitness reported plane debris at the base of Beijing’s tallest building. Video footage taken from a nearby building by the witness showed fire trucks blasting water at smoke billowing from the 528-metre (1,732-foot) CITIC Tower, while the wreck of a plane lay on the ground beside the building. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)
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A person working inside the high-rise said the plane crash triggered the building’s fire alarms.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 indicated the aircraft was a Sunward SA 60L Aurora, which took off about 30 miles east of the city and crashed shortly before 6 p.m. local time.
ADS-B data for the flight only includes a partial flight path and stops prior to the crash, according to air traffic data.
A hole is seen (R) on the side of the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026, after a reported plane crash. (Peter Catterall/AFP via Getty Images)
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The AP reported that photos and videos of the incident escaped the country’s “great firewall” and were circulated on social media platform X, though Chinese censors have removed content about the crash from the country’s restricted internet.
No information has been released by government officials or state-run media, as of Friday afternoon.
Police personnel block the road near the CITIC Tower in Beijing on June 26, 2026. (Adek Berry/AFP via Getty Images)
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The cause of the crash, identity of the pilot, and the number of casualties remain unclear.
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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