EU leaders hold ‘watershed’ talks on defence and Ukraine aid as US support wanes

Facing the possibility of a fundamental disengagement under US President Donald Trump, European Union leaders opened a day of emergency summit talks on Thursday to beef up their own military defences and make sure Ukraine will still be properly protected by its allies.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says “Europe faces a clear and present danger, and therefore Europe has to be able to protect itself, to defend itself”.

Arriving at the EU summit alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Ms von der Leyen said: “This is a watershed moment for Europe and Ukraine as part of our European family. It’s also a watershed moment for Ukraine.”

Friedrich Merz, the likely next chancellor of Germany, conferred with summit host Antonio Costa over breakfast on how to meet the challenge on a short deadline only days after he and his prospective coalition partner pushed plans to loosen the nation’s rules on running up debt to allow for higher defence spending.

At the same time, the 27-nation bloc was waking up to the news from French President Emmanuel Macron would confer with EU leaders the possibility of using France’s nuclear deterrent to protect the continent from Russian threats.

Mr Merz is not taking part in the summit but did meet several top European leaders ahead of the meeting, including Ms von der Leyen and the bloc’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.

It all underscored the sea change that has happened in the two months since Mr Trump took office and immediately started questioning the cornerstones of co-operation between the United States and Europe which had been the bedrock of Western security since the Second World War.

“Given these profound shifts in US policy, and the existential threat of another war on the continent, Europe must manage its essential defence tasks,” the European Policy Centre think tank said in a commentary.

The bloc of 27 will “take decisive steps forward,” Mr Macron told the French nation on Wednesday evening.

“Member states will be able to increase their military spending” and “massive joint funding will be provided to buy and produce some of the most innovative munitions, tanks, weapons and equipment in Europe”.

Adding to the ebullient message he said that “Europe’s future does not have to be decided in Washington or Moscow”.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wants to be up to the task and has proposed an 800 billion euro (£651 billion) plan that would allow EU member states to spend much more on defence despite their current budgetary woes and profit from loans to kickstart the process.

Most of the increased defence spending would have to come from national budgets at a time when many countries are already overburdened with debt.

France is struggling to reduce an excessive annual budget deficit of 5% of GDP.

Five other countries using the euro currency have debt levels more than 100% of GDP: Belgium, Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Europe’s largest economy, Germany, has more room to borrow, with a debt level of 62% of GDP.

Part of any plan is also to protect the increasingly beleaguered position of Ukraine, and Mr Zelensky is set to take part in the talks.

Early this week, Mr Trump ordered a pause to US military supplies to Ukraine as he sought to press Mr Zelensky to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia, bringing fresh urgency to the EU summit in Brussels.

“Europe faces a clear and present danger on a scale that none of us have seen in our adult lifetime. Some of our fundamental assumptions are being undermined to their very core,” Ms von der Leyen warned in a letter to the EU’s 27 leaders, who will consider ways to access more money for defence spending and ease restrictions on it.

But perhaps the biggest challenge for the EU on Thursday will be to take a united stance at a moment when it is fractured, since much of what the bloc does requires unanimous support.

Even if the challenges are so daunting, Thursday’s summit is unlikely to produce immediate decisions on spending for Ukraine or its own defences.

Another EU summit where the real contours of decisions would be much clearer is set for March 20-21.

Mr Zelensky arrived at the summit on Thursday and thanked European Union leaders for their unwavering support for Ukraine.

“During all this period, and last week, you stayed with us … Big appreciation. We are very thankful that we are not alone. And these are not just words — we feel it,” Mr Zelensky said.

He said EU support for Ukraine “signals to increase our production, and signals to a new program to increase European security.”

Meanwhile, Baltic nations welcomed Mr Macron’s proposal for talks about using France’s nuclear deterrent to protect the continent from Russian threats.

Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nauseda praised a “very interesting idea” at his arrival at the summit.

“We have high expectations because nuclear umbrella would serve as really very serious deterrence towards Russia,” Mr Nauseda said.

Latvia Prime Minister Evika Siliņa said she sees the French proposal “as an opportunity to discuss”, stressing that more time is needed for talks with European allies and at home.

Mr Macron said he has decided to open a “strategic debate” on the protection of European allies by France’s nuclear deterrent. He said the use of France’s nuclear weapons would remain only in the hands of the French president.

The Kremlin on Thursday dismissed as “extremely confrontational” a speech by Emmanuel Macron, in which the French president called Moscow a “threat” to Europe.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov during a regular call with journalists said the speech was “extremely confrontational” and said that it was clear that France was not thinking about peace.

“One can conclude that France thinks more about war, about continuing the war,” Mr Peskov added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov echoed Mr Peskov, saying during a news conference in Moscow that Mr Macron’s speech and his comments on discussing nuclear deterrence with European allies were a “threat” against Russia.

On his arrival at the summit, outgoing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters that “it is very important that we ensure that Ukraine does not have to accept a dictated peace, but that there will be a fair and just peace that ensures the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.”

He said he supports concrete proposals such as silencing weapons in the air and sea, no further threats to Ukraine’s infrastructure and a prisoner exchange, which “can lay the foundation for a ceasefire”.

Mr Scholz said Europe must continue to support Ukraine financially and militarily.

At the same time, he says, “we must ensure, with a cool and intelligent head, that the support of the USA is also guaranteed in the coming months and years, because Ukraine is also dependent on their support for its defence.”

Mr Scholz also called on the European leaders to act jointly in responding to tariffs threatened by Mr Trump.

He said that “Europe is the strongest economic area in the world with its own opportunities. And that is why it is very important that, especially when it comes to tariffs, we are also clear about how we act in this matter — namely united and determined”.

Mr Scholz expressed his reservations about the idea of using French nuclear weapons to protect other European countries.

In response to questions from journalists, the German chancellor referred to the existing Nato system of nuclear deterrence, which is based on US nuclear weapons and in which Germany participates.

He says he believes “that this should not be abandoned — that is the common view of all centrist parties in Germany”.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told reporters in Brussels that it was too early to speculate what role Europe should play in a possible ceasefire in Ukraine but reiterated that Ukraine and Europe should be present in any negotiations.

He added that Europe shouldn’t “underestimate itself” amid uncertainty about the future of US participation in Ukraine’s defence.