EU Leaders on the Brink of Approving €800 Billion Defense Plan for Ukraine
An emergency meeting was held in Brussels after the bullying encounter with Zelenskyy, U.S. President Donald Trump has halted intelligence sharing and military aid for Ukraine, so the European leaders have gathered there to conduct emergency talks concerning increasing Europe’s contribution to defence spending.
Previously French president Emmanuel Macron alerted everyone, “the only imperial power that I see today in Europe is Russia” and labelled Vladimir Putin as, “ An imperialist who seeks to rewrite history” after the Russian compared him to Napoleon Bonaparte.
He did not stop there, Macron answered back to Russian reactions to his labeling of Moscow as an existential threat to Europe, saying the Kremlin had obviously been provoked by the fact that their game was uncovered.
26 out of 27 members signed the EU statement on Ukraine, pushing back against Trump’s Russia friendly negotiating stance. The odd one out was the Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban. Even his ally, the Slovakian prime minister Robert Fico, firmly supported the statement, quoting “ There can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine.”
Hungary’s unique approach on the matter was concerning to European Council president Antonio Costa, the organizer of the meeting.
Ursula Von der Leyen, the E.U. Commission president, and the leaders with the plan of 800 billion euros to ‘Rearm Europe’ & increase Europe’s defense spending. She coined it as ‘ Watershed moment for Europe and also for Ukraine.’
Arriving at the summit, von der Leyen told reporters: “Europe faces a clear and present danger, and therefore Europe has to be able to protect itself, to defend itself, as we have to put Ukraine in a position to protect itself and to push for a lasting and just peace.”
The commission added that its proposal is valued at €800bn and consists of a €150bn loan facility secured against the EU’s untapped budget reserves, and flexibility in fiscal rules that would release €650bn of new expenditure. Member states would have to subscribe to the €150bn loan scheme, though it is not expected that governments would take out the full amount of the €650bn of financial leeway the commission suggests.
There is increasing pressure on all nations, especially the seven EU Nato members, including Spain and Italy, who fall short of the 2% mark set a decade ago, to increase national defence spending.
Germany’s prospective future coalition allies, the CDU-CSU and SPD, have pledged to reform the country’s “debt brake” to allow for increased defence spending, a harbinger of billions for weapons production. Friedrich Merz, the former budget hawk turned defence spending advocate, met von der Leyen and Costa before the summit, although he is not yet seated.
New German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, during the coalition talks, said there appeared to be growing agreement on reforming the German constitution to allow for more defence expenditure. The unexpected turn of events in Berlin has left Germany’s frugal allies racing to determine what that means.
Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, came forward to set the tone of the meeting. “Spend, spend, spend on defence and deterrence, that is the most important message, and at the same time, of course, continue to support Ukraine, because we want peace in Europe.”, she said.
Keith Kellog, the U.S. envoy to Ukraine, said,“The best way I can describe it is sort of like hitting a mule with a two by four across the nose. You get their attention,” he said, highlighting that the U.S. was serious about ending the war.
Even after meeting Trump’s entourage, the Ukrainian opposition decided not to remove Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy said “The real question for any negotiations is whether Russia is capable of giving up the war ?”
He later announced that he was on his way to Saudi Arabia to meet the Crown Prince and meet with Americans as their support is extremely significant to him.
The Brussels summit highlighted Europe’s shift toward self-reliance in defense. Faced with Russian aggression, EU divisions, and uncertain U.S. support, European leaders are pushing for stronger security policies. While financial and strategic hurdles remain, the summit signals a decisive move toward a more independent European defense framework.
