• Prime ministers, presidents agree on a defense plan to use Ukraine.
• Defense Push has been driven by fear of Russia, cares for Trump.
• Leaders urge their ministers to investigate suggestions in detail quickly.
  

BRUXELLES: European leaders on Thursday supported plans to spend more on defense and continue to stand by Ukraine in a world occupied by Donald Trump’s reversal of US policies.

The European Union’s defense meeting in Brussels took place in the midst of fear that Russia, characterized by its war in Ukraine, may attack an EU country next and that Europe can no longer trust the United States to come to its help.

“Today we have shown that the European Union is rising to the challenge, building the Defense Europe and standing with Ukraine shoulder to shoulder,” the chairman of the Antonio Costa meeting told journalists.

The EU leaders paid tribute to Europe -Commission’s proposal this week to give them fiscal flexibility in defense spending and jointly borrow up to 150 billion euros ($ 160 billion) to borrow EU governments to spend on their military.

In a joint statement agreed by all 27 Member States, leaders called on their ministers to investigate these proposals in detail quickly.

“Europe has to take up this challenge, this weapon race. And it has to win it,” said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a special defense meeting in Brussels.

“Europe as a whole is really able to win any military, economic, economic confrontation with Russia – we are simply stronger,” Tusk said.

French President Emmanuel Macron, who had told French voters on Wednesday that Russia was a threat to France and Europe, all this was just a first step.

“Whatever happens in Ukraine, we have to build autonomous defense capabilities in Europe,” he said after the EU summit.

Supports Ukraine

The EU leaders also expressed support for Ukraine, but this statement was agreed without Hungary’s nationalist leader Viktor Orban, a Trump allergy who also cultivates ties with Moscow.

In their statement, the other 26 EU leaders emphasized that there can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine and promised to continue to give it help, according to a recent draft.

“We’re here to defend Ukraine,” Costa said, when he and Europe Commission Chief Ursula von der Leyen, both smiled broadly, hot welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to the summit, in sharp contrast to the clash between Trump and Zelensky in the Oval Office last week.

But decades of addiction to US protection, deviations on funding and 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 the frozen military assistance to Ukraine.

Washington delivered more than 40% of military assistance to Ukraine last year, according to NATO, some of which could not easily replace. Some leaders still held at least in public that Washington could be lured back into the fold.

“We must ensure with cool and wise heads that American support is also guaranteed in the coming months and years, because Ukraine is also dependent on their support for its defense,” said Germany’s outgoing chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Macron said leaders supported Zelensky’s call to support the idea of ​​ceasefire between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the air and at sea. Zelensky told EU leaders that such a ceasefire would be a chance to test Moscow’s willingness to end his three-year invasion.

Nuclear deterrence?

In a sign of gravity at the moment, Macron has said that France was open to discussing expanding the protection offered by the Nuclear Arsenal to its European partners.

This was greeted with cautious positive reactions. Some, like Lithuania’s President Gitana’s Nauseda, said such a “nuclear umbrella would serve as really very serious deterrent to Russia.” Poland said the idea was worth discussing, while some, like the Czechs, emphasized the need to keep the United States involved.

Trump has said Europe must take more responsibility for its security. On Thursday, he raised doubts about his willingness to defend Washington’s NATO allies and said he would not do so if they do not pay enough for their own defense.

His decision to switch from the shock -rich US support to Ukraine to a more conciliation attitude towards Moscow has deeply alerted Europeans who see Russia as the biggest threat.

Under emphasizing the level of concern, the parties aimed at forming Germany’s next government on Tuesday accepted to lift constitutional boundaries of borrowing to finance defense expenses.

Elsewhere in Europe, Norway will more than double its financial promise to Ukraine this year, while also migrating their own defense spending, the prime minister said.