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

European Union leaders have held emergency talks to explore new ways to beef up their own security and ensure that Ukraine will still be protected amid the prospect that the United States might cut them adrift under President Donald Trump.

In recent weeks, Mr Trump has overturned old certainties about the reliability of the US as a security partner, as he embraces Russia, withdraws American support for Ukraine and upends the cornerstones of co-operation with Europe that have been the bedrock of western security since the Second World War.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said that three years of war in Ukraine and new attitudes in Washington “pose entirely new challenges for us, and Europe must take up this challenge… and it must win”.

“We will arm ourselves faster, smarter and more efficiently than Russia,” Mr Tusk said.

To add momentum to the effort, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen put forward a plan to loosen budget rules so countries that are willing can spend much more on defence. Her proposal is underpinned by 150 billion euros worth of loans to buy priority military equipment.

The commission, the EU’s executive arm, believes its scheme could encourage the 27 member countries to invest a total of around 800 billion euros in defence over the next four years.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the plan and expressed hopes that some of it could be used to bolster Ukraine’s own defence industry, which can produce weapons more cheaply than elsewhere in Europe and closer to the battlefields where they are needed.

“We are very thankful that we are not alone, and these are not just words. We feel it. It’s very important,” Mr Zelensky said, looking far more relaxed among Europe’s leaders in Brussels than almost a week ago when he received a verbal lashing from Mr Trump in Washington.

Arriving at the EU summit, 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, and summit chairman Antonio Costa discussed ways to fortify Europe’s defences on a short deadline. Mr Merz pushed plans this week to loosen his nation’s rules on running up debt to allow for higher defence spending.

Others too appeared ready to do more.

“Spend, spend, spend on defence and deterrence. That’s the most important message,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters.

The call is a sharp departure from decades of decline in military spending in Europe, where defence often ranked low in many budgetary considerations after the end of the Cold War.

In an address to his country on Wednesday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron said the bloc would “take decisive steps forward”.

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

Mr Macron was expected to confer with his EU counterparts about the possibility of using France’s nuclear deterrent to protect the continent from Russian threats.

Ms von der Leyen’s plan was hailed by many, but its short-term benefits are not obvious. Most of the increased defence spending would have to come from national budgets at a time when many countries are already overburdened with debt.

Part of her scheme includes measures to ensure struggling member states will not be punished for going too deep into the red if additional spending is earmarked for defence.

“Europe faces a clear and present danger, and therefore Europe has to be able to protect itself, to defend itself,” she said.

France is struggling to reduce an excessive annual budget deficit of 5% of GDP, after running up its total debt burden to 112% of GDP with spending on relief for businesses and consumers during the Covid-19 pandemic and the energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Five other countries using the euro currency have debt levels of 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 security plan would be to help Ukraine defend itself from Russian attacks such as the one that hit Mr Zelensky’s hometown overnight.

A Russian missile killed four people staying at a hotel in Kryvyi Rih, in central Ukraine, shortly after volunteers from a humanitarian organisation moved in. The volunteers included Ukrainian, American and British nationals, but it was not clear whether those people were among the 31 who were wounded.

Earlier this week, Mr Trump ordered a pause in US military supplies being sent to Ukraine as he sought to press Mr Zelensky to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia. The move brought fresh urgency to Thursday’s summit.

But the meeting was unlikely to address Ukraine’s most pressing needs.

It was not aimed at drumming up more arms and ammunition to fill any supply vacuum created by the US freeze. Nor will all nations agree to unblock the estimated 183 billion euros in frozen Russian assets held in a Belgian clearing house, a pot of ready cash that could be seized.

As always among the 27 nations, a major challenge is building a united stance at a moment when the bloc is fractured, since many of its actions require unanimous support. Hungary threatened to veto part of the summit statement on Ukraine.

“We have to take decisions no matter the one or two which are opposing every time,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said. “Otherwise history will penalise us, and we will pay a very high cost.”

Thursday’s summit was unlikely to produce immediate decisions on spending for Ukraine or Europe’s own defences. Another EU summit where the real contours of a plan could become clearer is set for March 20 and 21.