{"id":805183,"date":"2026-03-05T07:51:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T07:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/805183\/"},"modified":"2026-03-05T07:51:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T07:51:15","slug":"newsletter-us-israeli-strikes-legally-problematic-but-righteous-belgian-defence-minister-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/805183\/","title":{"rendered":"Newsletter: US-Israeli strikes legally ‘problematic’ but ‘righteous’, Belgian Defence Minister says"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hello from Brussels. I\u2019m Mared Gwyn<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Washington and Israel exchanged further fire with Iran overnight, as fears mount that the conflict could spill over beyond the Middle East after an US submarine sank an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean yesterday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Earlier this morning, the US Senate rejected a bill<\/a> that would have curbed President Donald Trump\u2019s war powers, with the vote split along party lines. The House of Representatives is expected to put Trump\u2019s war powers to another vote tomorrow.<\/p>\n

Later today, EU foreign ministers will meet virtually to discuss their common response to the conflict, which has been hamstrung by internal divisions and limited diplomatic influence.<\/p>\n

The EU\u2019s foreign policy chief said<\/a> on Wednesday that the emergence of a democratic Iran is “far from certain”, while warning of a “widening war” in the region and a “dangerous moment” for Europe.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Europe Today, Belgium\u2019s Defence Minister Theo Francken<\/strong> cast doubt over the legality of the initial US-Israeli intervention, but described it as a \u201crighteous cause to try to decapitate the Ayatollah regime.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that this may be problematic concerning international law, but I think it can be defended as well,\u201d Francken told our reporter Lauren Walker. Watch.<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the diplomatic spat between Washington and Madrid, the only EU state to unequivocally condemn the initial US-Israeli strikes, continued on Wednesday. <\/p>\n

Spanish Foreign Minister Jos\u00e9 Manuel Albares<\/strong> issued a statement denying Spain was backing Washington\u2019s campaign, moments after White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt<\/strong> said Madrid had come round and agreed to help the US.<\/p>\n

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez<\/strong> is meanwhile capitalising on the political moment to revive the \u201cno to war movement\u201d, evoking painful memories of the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq in a speech delivered on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Our EU editor Maria Tadeo<\/strong> writes that S\u00e1nchez seeks to cement his image as the last bastion of progressive socialism in Europe amid a rightward shift, while also mobilising his voters at home. Read.<\/a><\/p>\n

The EU executive also said on Wednesday that it stands ready to defend the EU\u2019s trade interests, after President Trump threatened to sever all trade with Spain in response to Madrid\u2019s critical stance.<\/p>\n

European Commission Vice-President St\u00e9phane S\u00e9journ\u00e9<\/strong> said that when it comes to trade policy, \u201cany threat against a member state is by definition a threat against the EU.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reminder: Trade is an exclusive EU competence, and the EU-US trade deal clinched last summer remains frozen after MEPs halted its implementation following February\u2019s US Supreme Court ruling declaring the 2025 US tariffs illegal.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Hungary and Slovakia\u2019s spat with Ukraine over disruptions to oil supply via the Soviet-era Druzhba pipeline continues. On Wednesday, Hungarian energy company MOL and its Slovak subsidiary Slovnaft filed a formal complaint with the European Commission claiming Croatian crude oil transportation company JANAF is abusing its position of power.<\/p>\n

JANAF has emerged as a solution as Hungary and Slovakia, both granted special exemptions to EU restrictions on Russian oil, face disruptions to supply via Druzhba after the pipeline was hit in Ukraine in late January.<\/p>\n

MOL, Hungary\u2019s energy giant, had previously threatened legal action if JANAF did not \u201cimmediately\u201d guarantee access for unsanctioned Russian oil shipments. While JANAF has expressed readiness to fulfill both countries\u2019 needs through alternatives to Russian crude, it has not yet confirmed whether it will allow Russian oil to pass through its pipeline, also known as Adria.<\/p>\n

In a statement, JANAF has denied MOL\u2019s claims that it is engaging in unfair pricing practices and threatening security of supply.<\/p>\n

Hungary\u2019s Foreign Minister P\u00e9ter Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3<\/strong> was in Moscow yesterday for discussions which focused on energy, with Szijj\u00e1rt\u00f3 saying Russia will \u201cdeliver the natural gas and crude oil needed to supply our country at unchanged prices, despite the international energy crisis.\u201d Moscow also agreed to release two Hungarian-Ukrainian prisoners of war to Hungary. S\u00e1ndor Zsiros<\/strong> has more.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Iran war revives spectre of energy crisis in Europe, fuelling economic anxiety<\/strong><\/p>\n

Trump’s decision to strike Iran, pursue regime change and reshape the balance of power in the Middle East has revived a formidable ghost that the European Union thought it had managed to banish for good: energy crisis.<\/p>\n

Jorge Liboreiro<\/strong> reports that the spiralling war has sent gas prices soaring, prompting panic among investors and anxiety among governments. On Tuesday, gas prices at the Title Transfer Facility (TTF), Europe’s benchmark trade hub, closed at \u20ac54.3 per megawatt-hour (MWh), a striking rise from \u20ac31.9 MWh prior to the strikes.<\/p>\n

The sudden hike has been fuelled by a convergence of troubling events, notably Qatar’s decision to halt production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the wake of Iran’s retaliatory strikes, and the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

EU leaders are on high alert. Rob Jetten, the new prime minister of the Netherlands, said his government would be ready to take extra measures “if necessary”.<\/p>\n

“The Iran war can have a big impact on strategic reserves, not only in Europe but also in Asia. So we have to prepare ourselves for any case that this war will continue for many more weeks and impact the strategic reserves in the Netherlands and abroad,” Jetten said on Tuesday on his first trip to Brussels since taking office.<\/p>\n

In Brussels, EU officials insist the bloc remains well supplied because the majority of its LNG imports, about 58%, come from the US, with Qatar providing just 8%.<\/p>\n

If the war in Iran stretches over time and production in Qatar remains halted, countries like China, South Korea, Japan and India, the main consumers of Qatari LNG, will have no choice but to turn to the US in search of a substitute.<\/p>\n

An increase in competition for US-made LNG would pit Europe against Asia in a frantic bid and drive prices to unpredictable heights.<\/p>\n

Jorge has more.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

EU slams door on China with \u2018Made in Europe\u2019 push<\/strong><\/p>\n

The European Commission has unveiled its long-awaited industrial plan, rolling out a \u201cEuropean Preference\u201d that shuts China out of European public funding and tightens the screws on Beijing\u2019s future investments in the European Union, my colleague Peggy Corlin<\/strong> reports.<\/p>\n

The move comes after 200,000 European jobs were wiped out in energy-intensive industries and the automotive sector since 2024, with 600,000 losses projected this decade in carmaking alone, as China floods Europe with exports while building plants that create scant local employment.<\/p>\n

“Facing unprecedented global uncertainty and unfair competition, European industry can count on the provisions of this act to boost demand and guarantee resilient supply chains in strategic sectors,” EU Industry Commissioner St\u00e9phane S\u00e9journ\u00e9 said, presenting the EU executive’s much-anticipated Industrial Accelerator Act (IAA).<\/p>\n

The strategy targets three strategic sectors: clean technologies, car manufacturers, and energy-intensive industries such as aluminium, steel and cement.<\/p>\n

It introduces \u201cMade in Europe\u201d thresholds, including a 70% EU-content requirement for electric vehicles \u2013with notable exceptions for most battery components \u2013 25% for aluminium and 25% for cement.<\/p>\n

“It will create jobs by directing taxpayers\u2019 money to European production, decreasing our dependencies and enhancing our economic security and sovereignty,” S\u00e9journ\u00e9 added.<\/p>\n

Peggy has the full story.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

MORE FROM OUR NEWSROOMS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Is the EU being dragged into war? MEPs debate Middle East crisis on The Ring.<\/strong> MEPs Hana Jalloul and Reinhold Lopatka go head to head to debate the escalating conflict in the Middle East, and its implications for the European Union, in the latest episode of The Ring. Watch.<\/a><\/p>\n

Macron asks Netanyahu to ‘refrain from a ground offensive’ in Lebanon.<\/strong> In his first conversation with Netanyahu since last year, Macron urged the Israeli Prime Minister to \u201cpreserve Lebanon\u2019s territorial integrity and to refrain from a ground offensive.\u201d More.<\/a><\/p>\n

We’re also keeping an eye on<\/strong><\/p>\n