European leaders demand opening of Strait of Hormuz and moratorium on attacks on energy and water supplies

European leaders are demanding the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a moratorium on attacks on water and energy infrastructure in the Middle East.

The Brussels summit also discussed rising fuel prices caused by the war between the United States (US) and Israel with Iran.

All heads of the 27 European Union countries - the European Council - issued a joint statement on Thursday before midnight calling for the stabilization of energy supplies and "de-escalation and maximum restraint" by the warring parties.

"The European Council deplores the loss of civilian life and is closely monitoring the far-reaching consequences of the hostilities, including on economic stability," the statement said.

The leaders asked Iran to stop attacking its neighbors across the Persian Gulf, called for international cooperation to prevent any major refugee crises in the Middle East and said some EU countries were exploring ways "to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz".

European leaders have rejected pleas from US President Donald Trump to send military assets to secure the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the global flow of oil, gas and fertilizer.

However, rising energy prices due to the war and fears in Europe of a new refugee crisis prompted leaders to make the Middle East a priority at the summit.

"We are very concerned about the energy crisis," Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Vever said ahead of the summit. He said energy prices were too high even before the war, but the conflict "has caused another spike."

"If it becomes structural, we're in big trouble," he said.

The leaders also discussed alternative financing for Ukraine after failing to persuade Hungary to stop opposing a huge loan for the financially strapped and war-torn country.

European leaders have been deeply critical of the Iranian government, but none have offered immediate assistance to the US. Britain has steadfastly refused to be drawn into the war. France says the fighting must first calm down.

Austrian Chancellor Christian Stocker said Europe "will not allow itself to be blackmailed" into joining the US and Israeli military campaign in the Middle East.

"Europe - and Austria too - will not allow itself to be blackmailed," he said ahead of a European Council summit of leaders of the 27 EU countries. "Intervention in the Strait of Hormuz is certainly not an option for Austria," Stocker said.

EU foreign policy chief Kaia Kallas said there was "no desire" among leaders for European naval forces to redeploy from the Red Sea to help secure the Strait of Hormuz or otherwise join the conflict.

The EU's four largest economies signaled on Thursday their willingness to contribute "appropriate efforts" to ensure ships can pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz.

France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, along with Britain and Japan, issued a joint statement welcoming the "commitment of countries engaged in preparedness planning" to secure the key oil route and demanding that Iran "immediately cease" drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block oil shipments.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said the war must end before his country could help with issues such as maintaining freedom of navigation.

"We can and will only commit when the guns fall silent," he said of potential German military support for securing shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz.

"Then we can do a lot, even opening sea lanes and keeping them free, but we don't do that during ongoing combat operations," Merc reiterated.

He said it would require an international mandate and other complicated steps "before we can even consider such an issue."

Although the EU is not a party to the conflict, Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jeten said he understood the US and Israeli reasons for launching a campaign against the "brutal" Iranian government. He called on the EU to both increase sanctions on Iran and provide support to Iranian opposition groups.

But others condemned the war as "illegal" and destabilizing.

"We are against this war because it is illegal," said Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez: "It causes great harm to civilians, of course, to refugees and to the economic consequences that the entire world, especially the global South, is already suffering."

Trump mentioned NATO support for opening the Strait of Hormuz but did not formally request it, said Evika Silina, the prime minister of Latvia, one of 23 of the 27 EU countries that are NATO members.

"When there are any official requests, we need to evaluate them," she said.

The European Commission told leaders it has a mix of financial instruments that member states can use to lower fuel prices, which will be discussed. No single policy is likely to be able to cushion the economic shocks from the war in EU countries from Romania to Ireland.

EU leaders hope that their experience of "weaning" from fuel from Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and increasing EU military spending towards self-sufficiency will allow them to achieve energy independence.

While some European capitals have called for the suspension or repeal of climate policies to prevent the worst of the recent surge in fuel prices due to the war, others have argued that the EU's long-term energy strategy should be domestic sustainable energy separate from vulnerable fossil fuel markets.

The leaders of Italy, Austria, Croatia, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia have asked European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to slow down the introduction of the EU's emissions trading system. In a letter seen by The Associated Press, they said it was "too hasty and overambitious" given the "fragility of today's economic ecosystems."