The European Union plans to hold a summit of the heads of state and government due to the situation in Ukraine, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said.

"We have already expressed our very serious concern about the situation. The situation has not improved. We are working with all our member states to get a general response to these events. The Foreign Affairs Council will meet today, and very soon the heads of state and government of the European Union also meet to work out a common response," Barroso said on Monday.

He said that there had recently been a significant amount of contacts with both Ukrainian and Russian authorities.

We believe that it is important to demonstrate our commitment to Ukraine's sovereignty, he said.

Barroso said that the EU was currently working on preparing a package of support for Ukraine.

The European Commission and I are preparing several options for supporting Ukraine. As we have said, we reaffirm our commitment to offer Ukraine political association and economic integration as part of the Association Agreement, he said.

Barroso also said he was confident that it was necessary to avoid escalation and respect Ukraine's sovereignty.