BRUSSELS — With the potential for reduced U.S. support under a Trump presidency, European Union leaders convened an emergency summit Thursday to bolster their own defense capabilities and ensure continued protection for Ukraine.
Friedrich Merz, the frontrunner to be Germany’s next chancellor, and summit chair Antonio Costa met in Brussels to discuss expediting the strengthening of European defenses. Merz has advocated for relaxing Germany’s debt rules to allow for increased military spending.
Adding to the discussions, the 27-nation EU is considering French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposal to use France’s nuclear arsenal to shield the continent from Russian aggression.
These developments highlight the significant shift in the two months since Trump took office, challenging the long-standing U.S.-Europe cooperation that has underpinned Western security since World War II.
The European Policy Center think tank commented, “Given these profound shifts in U.S. policy, and the existential threat of another war on the continent, Europe must manage its essential defence tasks.”
Macron stated Wednesday evening that the bloc will “take decisive steps forward,” adding, “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.”
He emphasized that “Europe’s future does not have to be decided in Washington or Moscow.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is participating in the summit.
Limited room to increase spending
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has proposed easing budget regulations to facilitate increased defense spending among willing nations. Her proposal includes 150 billion euros ($162 billion) in loans for purchasing essential military equipment.
The majority of increased defense expenditure would need to be sourced from national budgets, at a time when many countries are already burdened by high debt levels.
France is struggling to lower its budget deficit, currently at 5% of GDP, after increasing its total debt to 112% of GDP due to spending related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Five other Eurozone countries have debt exceeding 100% of GDP: Belgium, Greece, Spain, Italy, and Portugal.
Germany, Europe’s largest economy, has more borrowing capacity, with a debt level of 62% of GDP.
Pressing security needs
Protecting Ukraine’s vulnerable position is a key aspect of any security plan.
A Russian missile strike killed four people at a hotel in Zelensky’s hometown overnight. Zelensky stated that volunteers from a humanitarian organization, including Ukrainian, American, and British nationals, had recently moved into the hotel in Kryvyi Rih, central Ukraine, before the attack. It remains unclear whether any of these individuals were among the 31 injured.
Earlier this week, Trump suspended U.S. military aid to Ukraine, seeking to pressure Zelensky into negotiations with Russia to end the war, adding urgency to Thursday’s summit.
The current meeting is not designed to address Ukraine’s most immediate needs, such as rapidly increasing arms and ammunition supplies to offset the U.S. freeze. Nor will all nations agree to release the approximately 183 billion euros ($196 billion) in frozen Russian assets held in Belgium, which could be readily used.
Nevertheless, European leaders stressed the significance of the moment.
“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,” von der Leyen warned in a pre-summit letter to the leaders.
A significant challenge for the EU will be achieving a unified stance, given that many of the bloc’s actions require unanimous support. Hungary is threatening to veto a portion of the summit statement on Ukraine.
Despite the significant challenges, immediate decisions on spending for Ukraine or European defenses are unlikely to come from Thursday’s summit. A subsequent EU summit is scheduled for March 20-21, where the concrete decisions are expected to become clearer.
—AP journalists Sylvie Corbet, David McHugh in Frankfurt and Barry Hatton in Lisbon contributed to this report.
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