EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola gave a comment ahead of a European Union Council meeting taking place in Brussels, highlighting that the unity of the union will be tested.

"This European Council takes place with a backdrop of war and geopolitical instability, and the unity and coherence of the European Union will be tested more than ever before. For this European Parliament, and this is what I will say in my remarks to the Heads of State and Governments is very clear. First of all, Hamas must be stopped. There must be an unconditional release of all hostages. While at the same time, they are not mutually exclusive, we have to allow for humanitarian aid to alleviate the toughest of consequences we are seeing on innocent civilians in Gaza."

"That is why in the European Parliament's resolution last week we called from a humanitarian pause. This should not take our attention away from Ukraine. This is exactly what Putin would want. We need to continue to help Ukraine militarily and financially. And that is one thing that we will continue even in the context of the reform of our Multi-Annual Financial Framework and the Ukraine Facility that we voted on in the European Parliament last week."

Metsola said she will make also a broader point on the Multi-Annual Financial Framework. "We need a review that takes into account the new reality. When it was adopted, the world was very different, and therefore whether it is to help with migration, whether it is to help with natural disasters, but also in order for us to focus on policies that our citizens look forward to or feel the most ... In the runup to the European elections we have no choice. And similarly, on migration. The clock is ticking. This is a pact on the table that balances migration, asylum and security. We need to work much more on returns. The last few days showed us what loopholes there are, but I am confident, because we have no other choice, that we will seek a solution and find a compromise on the table."