European leaders holding emergency meeting over US moves on Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron has held a phone call with Donald Trump just as he was about to greet key EU nations and the UK in Paris for an emergency meeting on how to react to the US diplomatic blitz on Ukraine.

Mr Macron’s office would not disclose details about the discussion.

Leaders of Germany, the UK, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and the European Union are holding talks on how to deal with Europe’s security quandary. Nato secretary general Mark Rutte is also attending.

Last week, senior officials from the Trump administration made their first visit to Europe, leaving the impression that Washington was ready to embrace the Kremlin while it cold-shouldered many of its age-old European allies.

Despite warnings for months ahead of Donald Trump’s re-election as US president, EU leaders publicly ignored the forebodings, hoping Mr Trump would stand shoulder to shoulder with Europe while the continent would finally start to beef up its defences and become less reliant on US firepower.

But a flurry of speeches by vice president JD Vance and defence secretary Pete Hegseth last week questioned Europe’s security commitments and its fundamental democratic principles.

Mr Macron said their rebukes and threats of non-cooperation in the face of military danger felt like a shock to the system.

The tipping point came when Mr Trump decided to upend years of US policy by holding talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in hopes of ending the Russia-Ukraine war. Mr Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia on Saturday all but ruled out the inclusion of other Europeans in any Ukraine peace talks.

German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock called the week “an existential moment. It’s a moment where Europe has to stand up”.

French officials said no firm announcements are expected to emerge beyond a show of unity from European leaders. More talks are expected at the broader EU level, they added.

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky said “negotiations are moving fast with Europe” in a virtual news conference on Monday in Kyiv, adding: “Everyone told me that what happened (at the Munich Security Conference) accelerated everything.”

He said Mr Macron had agreed to provide him with a briefing on the conclusions from the meeting in Paris.

A strong US link will remain essential for the foreseeable future since it will take many years before European nations can increase defence equipment production and integrate it into an effective force.

That US bond also applies to dealing with war in Ukraine, said UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. “US support will remain critical and a US security guarantee is essential for a lasting peace, because only the US can deter Putin from attacking again,” he wrote.

While many EU nations are still mulling whether to contribute troops to a potential force in Ukraine after a peace deal, Sir Keir said the UK was “ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary”.

Mr Macron last year refused to rule out sending western troops to Ukraine if necessary.

European nations are bent on boosting Ukraine where they can, and EU nations see eye to eye when it comes to raising defence spending, but even if there is a general consensus to move beyond the goal of spending 2% of GDP on defence, it is not clear how to get to 3%.

Some EU nations insist on an agreement on joint borrowing for massive defence projects, while others say the nations that lag behind on spending should first reach 2%. That issue is also set to be discussed at the meeting.