EU Leaders Vow to Boost Defense, Back Zelenskiy Amid US Aid Freeze
6 آذار 2025 17:55
European leaders on Thursday said they would stand by Ukraine and spend more on defence in a world upended by Donald Trump's reversal of U.S. policies.
"Europe must take up this challenge, this arms race. And it must win it," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said as he arrived at the summit in Brussels.
"Europe as a whole is truly capable of winning any military, financial, economic confrontation with Russia - we are simply stronger," Tusk said.
Many EU leaders hailed the European Commission's proposals this week to give them fiscal flexibility on defence spending, and to jointly borrow up to 150 billion euros ($160 billion) to lend to EU governments to spend on their militaries.
"We are here to defend Ukraine," the chairman of the meeting Antonio Costa said as he and European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen, both smiling broadly, warmly welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in sharp contrast with the clash between Trump and Zelenskiy in the Oval Office last week.
But decades of reliance on U.S. protection, divergences on funding and on how France's nuclear deterrence could be used for Europe showed how difficult it would be for the EU to fill the void left by Washington after it froze military aid to Ukraine.
Washington provided more than 40% of military aid to Ukraine last year, according to NATO, some of which Europe could not easily replace. Some leaders still held out hope, in public at least, that Washington could be coaxed back into the fold.
"We must ensure, with cool and wise heads, that U.S. support is also guaranteed in the coming months and years, because Ukraine is also dependent on their support for its defence," Germany's outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
Adding to the EU's difficulties, Hungary's nationalist leader Viktor Orban, a Trump ally, may veto a unanimous statement backing Kyiv, though he made clear he would support measures for an increase in spending on Europe's own defence.
"Europe must take up this challenge, this arms race. And it must win it," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said as he arrived at the summit in Brussels.
"Europe as a whole is truly capable of winning any military, financial, economic confrontation with Russia - we are simply stronger," Tusk said.
Many EU leaders hailed the European Commission's proposals this week to give them fiscal flexibility on defence spending, and to jointly borrow up to 150 billion euros ($160 billion) to lend to EU governments to spend on their militaries.
"We are here to defend Ukraine," the chairman of the meeting Antonio Costa said as he and European Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen, both smiling broadly, warmly welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in sharp contrast with the clash between Trump and Zelenskiy in the Oval Office last week.
But decades of reliance on U.S. protection, divergences on funding and on how France's nuclear deterrence could be used for Europe showed how difficult it would be for the EU to fill the void left by Washington after it froze military aid to Ukraine.
Washington provided more than 40% of military aid to Ukraine last year, according to NATO, some of which Europe could not easily replace. Some leaders still held out hope, in public at least, that Washington could be coaxed back into the fold.
"We must ensure, with cool and wise heads, that U.S. support is also guaranteed in the coming months and years, because Ukraine is also dependent on their support for its defence," Germany's outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz said.
Adding to the EU's difficulties, Hungary's nationalist leader Viktor Orban, a Trump ally, may veto a unanimous statement backing Kyiv, though he made clear he would support measures for an increase in spending on Europe's own defence.