On Thursday, the EU leaders endorsed an ambitious plan launched this week by the European Commission to finance the strengthening of the defense capacity of the block.
The EU countries closed ranks this Thursday, March 6, in their support to Ukraine and approved a strategy to reinforce their military capacity against Russia.
The European leaders began the day with an exceptional summit in Brussels, while the United States and Ukraine announced a new round of contacts in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
In Brussels, the president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, thanked European support, after the suspension of US military aid to his country, invaded by Russia in February 2022.
“We are very grateful because we are not alone,” Zelenski said when he reached the summit, in which the unity of the block was discussed in the backing to Ukraine.
Europe and Ukraine face “a decisive moment,” said the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, upon receiving Zelenski.
“We have to place Ukraine in a position to defend herself,” added the high German official.
This is the first European Summit after the controversial meeting last week between Zelenski and the former president of the United States Donald Trump, in which he described the Ukrainian president as ungrateful and disrespectful.
That tense interview motivated Washington’s decision to suspend his military aid to Ukraine, which left Europeans to define a joint response.
Rebuild ties
In a message on the X network, Zelenski announced that he will travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday for a meeting with the heir prince Mohamed Bin Salmán.
“After that, my team will stay in Saudi Arabia to work with our US partners,” added the president.
After the public discussion with Trump in the White House, Zelenski tried to rebuild the contacts and sent a letter to the former US president.
The special envoy of the USA for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said it was an apologies order and that the letter allowed to retake the contacts.
Also in X, Zelenski reported that he discussed with the European leaders “the strengthening of the defense capacities of Ukraine and all of Europe.”
In his speech before the European leaders, the Ukrainian president said that the teams in his country and the United States had “resumed work.”
In a message to the nation, the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, drew on Wednesday a gloomy regional panorama and even suggested a “strategic debate” on the protection of the continent with the help of the French nuclear umbrella.
This Thursday, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk, considered that Macron’s idea was “promising.”
Expand defense expenses
On Thursday, EU leaders supported an ambitious plan launched this week by the European Commission to finance the block rearmament.
The initiative contemplates the mobilization of enormous resources. Von der Leyen estimated that, if approved, the project could have up to 800 billion euros for the strengthening of defense, although without a precise period.
A key aspect of the proposal is the flexibility of the fiscal norms of the block, which limit public spending, so that countries can invest more in defense.
Initially, this flexibility could be applied for four years, but Germany has already suggested to extend it for longer.
The president of the European Council, António Costa, received this Thursday the future head of the Government of Germany, Friedrich Merz, who has already advanced that he seeks to strengthen the military capacity of his country.
European concern
The stage changed radically after Trump returned to power in January and began direct conversations with Russia about the end of the conflict between Ukrainians and Russians.
These negotiations exclude both Ukrainians themselves and Europeans themselves, who now look for a place at the discussions table.
Europeans fear that the dialogue between Trump and the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, will end up forcing Ukrainians to make territorial concessions as a way to close the conflict.
In that context, the countries of the block try to define what are the “security guarantees” that they can offer to Ukraine in case of an eventual peace agreement with Russia.
Macron suggested the sending of troops to Ukraine to monitor compliance with an eventual peace agreement.
Russia reacted with indignation to Macron’s speech and considered it a “threat.” For Kremlin, the French president seeks to “prolong war.”
Meanwhile, a high source of the British government announced Thursday that Prime Minister Keir Starmer is in conversations with about twenty countries “interested” in contributing to peace in Ukraine.
Starmer and several European leaders met Sunday with Zelenski in London, in a public sample of support after the strong discussion with Trump in the White House.