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Europe's leaders hold Ukraine talks at 'turning point in history' [1]

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Date: 2025-03

Europe's leaders hold Ukraine talks at 'turning point in history'

6 days ago Share Save Laura Gozzi BBC News Share Save

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EU leaders gathered in Brussels on Thursday for a special council on defence, as France's President Emmanuel Macron warned that the continent was at a "turning point of history". As well as rearmament, leaders are expected to discuss how the body can further support Kyiv in the face of US President Donald Trump's announcement on Monday that he would suspend military aid to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is invited to the summit. Nerves have grown increasingly frayed across Europe since Trump and Zelensky's showdown at the White House last week, and the rhetoric around Thursday's summit leaves no doubt about the importance EU officials are ascribing to it. Three years on since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Trump administration's overtures to Russian President Vladimir Putin have left many in Europe concerned the continent would not be able to rely on US support for its security. Washington's decision on Wednesday to pause intelligence sharing with Ukraine did nothing to allay those worries. In a sign of the depth of concern, President Macron said France was open to discussing extending the protection offered by its nuclear arsenal to its European partners, during an address to the nation on Wednesday. That followed a call from Friedrich Merz, likely to be Germany's next chancellor, to discuss increased nuclear sharing.

Europe was facing a "clear and present danger on a scale that none of us have seen in our adult lifetime", European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said, while European Council President António Costa said this was a "defining moment for Ukraine and European security". In a letter to European leaders, von der Leyen also said the continent had to "meet the moment" and "unleash our industrial and productive power and direct it to the goal of security". On Monday, von der Leyen announced an unprecedented defence package - dubbed ReArm Europe - and said that Europe was ready to "massively" boost its defence spending "with the speed and the ambition that is needed". Von der Leyen said the three proposals outlined in the ReArm Europe plan would both support Ukraine and "address the long-term need to take much more responsibility" for European security - probably referring to the fact many Europeans feel the continent can no longer automatically rely on the US to come to its aid.

The proposals include: Allowing countries to increase national deficit levels to give room for more defence spending

€150bn (£125bn) in loans for defence investment in domains that could benefit the defence of the EU as a whole - for example, air and missile defence, anti-drone systems, and military mobility - helping pool demand, and reduce costs through joint procurement

Allowing countries to redirect funds earmarked for cohesion policy programmes (policies aimed at levelling the differences between more and less advantaged regions) to defence spending The European Investment Bank would also be allowed to finance military projects.

EPA Support for Ukraine will be at the centre of Thursday's summit

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[1] Url: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3w14gw3wwlo

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