٠٠:٠٥:٠٥Credit: EBS
European Council President Charles Michel confirmed that European Union (EU) leaders had agreed to impose sanctions on Iran in a meeting in Brussels on Thursday - and admitted that Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky had called on them to 'convince' the US to unblock funding for his own country.
"We need to stop this," Michel said, referring to the Iranian strikes. "This is a clear signal that we want to send."
"The idea is to target the companies that are needed for the drones, for the missiles, this is a global idea and we will have for more information through a decision that will be put in place by the council," he added, when asked about the specifics of any sanctions package.
Michel also mentioned that the EU planned to engage with countries in the region to reach a peaceful solution to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
"We need to be very active in the diplomatic level and to engage a lot with the countries in the region because… they know Iran is a threat not only for Israel, it's a threat for stability in the region," he added.
Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel on Saturday night. The US, UK and Jordan all assisted in the shooting down the projectiles, with the IDF claiming '99 percent' had been intercepted.
The attack came as a response to the alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 - which Israel has not accepted responsibility for. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate and said his country would take its own decisions, despite Western allies warning against it.
On Ukraine, Michel said that had had 'the occasion - like always - to listen to the message sent by Volodomyr Zelensky' and there had been a debate on the supply of 'more air defence systems' and 'more ammunition' to Ukraine for the conflict with Russia.
He said they had also discussed proposals for a 'just peace formula'.
"You know that there is this announcement that in June, there will be this meeting that is supposed to take place in Switzerland," he said. "This is something that is good and we want to engage with international community, with all the countries across the world, especially the Global South and we intend to co-ordinate with their point of view so that the EU together with all the partners in the world."
Russia has previously condemned any attempts to formulate any peace agreement without its input. Zelensky has put forward his own 'peace plan', which Moscow has rejected saying any deal needed to take into account the 'reality' of the situation on the ground - namely the four regions that had joined Russia. Kiev dismissed that as 'annexation'.
Michel also revealed that Zelensky 'asked us to do our best to try to convince the United States to provide more support the Ukraine'.
The US Congress is set to vote on funding for Ukraine and Israel later this week in separate votes. Republicans blocked the Biden government's joint package amid concerns about the scale and effectiveness of the funding for Kiev in particular.
'We need to stop this' - Michel short on detail regarding EU sanctions for Iran, reveals Zelensky told leaders to 'convince US' on funding
European Council President Charles Michel confirmed that European Union (EU) leaders had agreed to impose sanctions on Iran in a meeting in Brussels on Thursday - and admitted that Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky had called on them to 'convince' the US to unblock funding for his own country.
"We need to stop this," Michel said, referring to the Iranian strikes. "This is a clear signal that we want to send."
"The idea is to target the companies that are needed for the drones, for the missiles, this is a global idea and we will have for more information through a decision that will be put in place by the council," he added, when asked about the specifics of any sanctions package.
Michel also mentioned that the EU planned to engage with countries in the region to reach a peaceful solution to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
"We need to be very active in the diplomatic level and to engage a lot with the countries in the region because… they know Iran is a threat not only for Israel, it's a threat for stability in the region," he added.
Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel on Saturday night. The US, UK and Jordan all assisted in the shooting down the projectiles, with the IDF claiming '99 percent' had been intercepted.
The attack came as a response to the alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 - which Israel has not accepted responsibility for. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate and said his country would take its own decisions, despite Western allies warning against it.
On Ukraine, Michel said that had had 'the occasion - like always - to listen to the message sent by Volodomyr Zelensky' and there had been a debate on the supply of 'more air defence systems' and 'more ammunition' to Ukraine for the conflict with Russia.
He said they had also discussed proposals for a 'just peace formula'.
"You know that there is this announcement that in June, there will be this meeting that is supposed to take place in Switzerland," he said. "This is something that is good and we want to engage with international community, with all the countries across the world, especially the Global South and we intend to co-ordinate with their point of view so that the EU together with all the partners in the world."
Russia has previously condemned any attempts to formulate any peace agreement without its input. Zelensky has put forward his own 'peace plan', which Moscow has rejected saying any deal needed to take into account the 'reality' of the situation on the ground - namely the four regions that had joined Russia. Kiev dismissed that as 'annexation'.
Michel also revealed that Zelensky 'asked us to do our best to try to convince the United States to provide more support the Ukraine'.
The US Congress is set to vote on funding for Ukraine and Israel later this week in separate votes. Republicans blocked the Biden government's joint package amid concerns about the scale and effectiveness of the funding for Kiev in particular.
Credit: EBS
European Council President Charles Michel confirmed that European Union (EU) leaders had agreed to impose sanctions on Iran in a meeting in Brussels on Thursday - and admitted that Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky had called on them to 'convince' the US to unblock funding for his own country.
"We need to stop this," Michel said, referring to the Iranian strikes. "This is a clear signal that we want to send."
"The idea is to target the companies that are needed for the drones, for the missiles, this is a global idea and we will have for more information through a decision that will be put in place by the council," he added, when asked about the specifics of any sanctions package.
Michel also mentioned that the EU planned to engage with countries in the region to reach a peaceful solution to the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
"We need to be very active in the diplomatic level and to engage a lot with the countries in the region because… they know Iran is a threat not only for Israel, it's a threat for stability in the region," he added.
Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israel on Saturday night. The US, UK and Jordan all assisted in the shooting down the projectiles, with the IDF claiming '99 percent' had been intercepted.
The attack came as a response to the alleged Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1 - which Israel has not accepted responsibility for. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to retaliate and said his country would take its own decisions, despite Western allies warning against it.
On Ukraine, Michel said that had had 'the occasion - like always - to listen to the message sent by Volodomyr Zelensky' and there had been a debate on the supply of 'more air defence systems' and 'more ammunition' to Ukraine for the conflict with Russia.
He said they had also discussed proposals for a 'just peace formula'.
"You know that there is this announcement that in June, there will be this meeting that is supposed to take place in Switzerland," he said. "This is something that is good and we want to engage with international community, with all the countries across the world, especially the Global South and we intend to co-ordinate with their point of view so that the EU together with all the partners in the world."
Russia has previously condemned any attempts to formulate any peace agreement without its input. Zelensky has put forward his own 'peace plan', which Moscow has rejected saying any deal needed to take into account the 'reality' of the situation on the ground - namely the four regions that had joined Russia. Kiev dismissed that as 'annexation'.
Michel also revealed that Zelensky 'asked us to do our best to try to convince the United States to provide more support the Ukraine'.
The US Congress is set to vote on funding for Ukraine and Israel later this week in separate votes. Republicans blocked the Biden government's joint package amid concerns about the scale and effectiveness of the funding for Kiev in particular.