The EU's foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas is leading efforts to co-ordinate evacuations of European citizens stranded by the Israel-Iran war.
Hundreds of Europeans have left Israel since Friday by land through Jordan or Egypt before boarding flights back home. The airspace of a dozen countries in the region, including Israel, has been closed since the beginning of hostilities.
Speaking after Ms Kallas chaired a meeting of the bloc's 27 foreign ministers to discuss co-ordination efforts, spokesman Anouar El Anouni on Wednesday said that her office was working closely with member states “to assist their citizens who wish to leave the region”.
“We will, as usual, encourage co-ordination to assist as many citizens in need as possible,” said Mr El Anouni. He added that he could not elaborate for security reasons.
Not all countries have chosen to evacuate citizens from the region. Some that would like to appear not to have the ability to easily charter planes.
Speaking ahead of Tuesday's online foreign minister meeting, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris said: “None of this is easy. The airspace is closed. Land borders can be treacherous.”
After the talks, Ms Kallas said in Brussels that she would co-ordinate efforts “so our citizens are safe”.
Logistics support
The commission said that, so far, 400 European citizens have been repatriated through its so-called civil protection mechanism, the bloc's disaster-response co-ordination system, at the request of Poland, Lithuania, Slovakia and Greece.
Flights leaving Jordan and Egypt started departing on Monday. Greece on Wednesday evacuated 105 citizens and assisted nationals from neighbouring Albania, according to Greek media.
The request to trigger the mechanism was made for citizens in Israel but not Iran, The National understands. Poland has also reportedly moved its diplomatic staff from Iran to Baku, Azerbaijan.
“The passengers lists are basically in the hands of the member states because the people affected need to contact either their embassies or our delegations, but member states co-ordinate the lists,” commission spokeswoman Eva Hrncirova said. “We co-finance these flights up to the 75 per cent of the transport costs.”
While several countries have launched national repatriation efforts, others, such as France and Ireland, have yet to do so. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Wednesday said he had submitted proposals to a national defence council chaired by President Emmanuel Macron to be held later in the day.
“In a few hours, we will have a system that will allow us to respond to many of the concerns that have been expressed,” Mr Barrot told senators. The homes of some of the French embassy's employees in Tel Aviv had been hit by Iranian strikes, he added.
Germany has reportedly asked its citizens to travel by their own means to Amman before boarding charter flights to Frankfurt. About 4,000 of its citizens in Israel and 1,000 in Iran have registered on a crisis list, the ministry said.
The UK, which is not a member of the EU, has also called on its nationals to register their presence in the region. London said it sent specialist teams to Egypt and Jordan to bolster its presence near the border.
“This is a distressing time for British nationals in the region, their safety and security is our top priority,” the Foreign Office said. “This is a fast-moving situation that has the potential to deteriorate further, quickly and without warning.”
