Terry Schultz

EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaya Khalis says the bloc is evacuating its non-essential personnel from the Middle East and is helping facilitate the departure of EU citizens.

Kahla says the Iranian regime, which is under heavy sanctions from the EU, poses a serious threat to global security.

She says she's spoken with Israel's foreign minister and others in the region to, in her words, explore diplomatic paths.

The EU's naval mission in the Red Sea, meanwhile, is on high alert, she says, and stands ready to help keep the maritime corridor open.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Council President Antonio Costa underscore the need for ensuring nuclear safety.

and preventing any actions that could further escalate tensions or undermine the global nonproliferation regime.

For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz.

The EU's latest package of economic and political measures attempting to force Russia to stop its war on Ukraine has hit a familiar roadblock, the government of Hungary.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szaharto says Ukraine must first restart the flow of Russian oil through a pipeline the Ukrainians say has been damaged by Russian strikes.

Szaharto insists the pipeline is operational and the problem is political.

He says the EU is taking Ukraine's side in the dispute.

Negotiations continue.

The bloc's top leaders will be in Kyiv for Tuesday's anniversary.

and don't want to show up empty-handed.

For NPR News, I'm Terry Schultz in Brussels.

A deal is a deal, the European Commission says in a written response to President Trump's announcement of new tariffs.

It adds that as the U.S.

's largest trading partner, the European Union wants full clarity on Washington's next steps and expects an agreement the two sides made last August to be respected.

That accord set a 15 percent import duty on most EU goods other than those which are already covered by other U.S.

tariffs, such as steel and aluminum.