European Union leaders are confronting one of the biggest challenges in the bloc’s history as an aggressive Russia looms to the east and American support wavers from the west.
On Thursday, they pledged to rise to the challenge.
Leaders gathered at a specially convened meeting in Brussels to discuss how to bolster both Europe’s own defenses and its support for Ukraine amid enormously high stakes. They must figure out how to accomplish these aims without further alienating their tempestuous allies in Washington. At the same time, they are struggling to keep a united front even among their own member countries as Hungary strikes a critical note toward Ukraine.
Officials heading into the meeting expressed a new sense of urgency as they pledged to push for a strong peace deal for Ukraine and a more independent future for European defense.
“Europe faces a clear and present danger,” Ursula von der Leyen, the head of the E.U. executive arm, said as she walked into the gathering alongside Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, calling this a “watershed moment.”
Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament, was even blunter.
“It is about damn time,” she said. “We are ready to put, finally, our money where our mouth is.”
The specially called and much anticipated gathering includes the heads of state or government from the European Union’s 27 member countries and is the latest in a series of quickly arranged summits focused on defense.
Leaders are discussing options to finance a ramp up in European military spending, including a novel plan that would offer 150 billion euros — about $160 billion — in loans to fund investments in missile defense, anti-drone systems and other crucial defense technologies. The overarching goal is to make the continent better armed to deal with Russia without as much backup from across the Atlantic.
European nations are also reviewing what a peace plan for Ukraine might look like, and how they can support it both financially and with possible troops — a proposition Russia flatly rejected once again on Thursday. The countries are scrambling to show support for the embattled nation and its leader at a time when the United States has taken a sharp turn toward Russia.
“We are very thankful that we are not alone,” Mr. Zelensky said on Thursday, from the meeting’s venue.
In some ways, the gathering begins a new chapter for the European Union. Created to foster cooperation and peace, the bloc is being forced to contemplate its role in a world rived by conflict and animosity, even among allies.
The pressing question is whether the E.U., with its consensus-focused, clunky structure, can adapt itself quickly enough to ensure that Europe doesn’t get left behind as President Trump rapidly changes the global order.
“The most important thing now is, to be very frank, to rearm Europe, and I don’t think we have a lot of time,” Mette Frederiksen, the prime minister of Denmark, told reporters as she walked into the meeting. “Spend, spend, spend on defense and deterrence.”
In less than two months, Mr. Trump has changed the game when it comes to security in Europe. He is demanding a rapid peace in Ukraine, and has prodded Mr. Zelensky toward negotiations by berating him publicly and halting aid to his nation. He opened talks with Russia without directly involving Europe, or Ukraine. And he has at the same time assailed other European countries for paying too little to protect themselves in an “unfair” system.
“Mr. Trump, he is full of surprises — they are mostly bad surprises for us,” Bart De Wever, the prime minister of Belgium, told reporters on Thursday.
Much of Europe is now making a show of standing by Ukraine: Britain and France have indicated a willingness to send troops as a peacekeeping force if a deal is reached, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain has called for support from a “coalition of the willing.”
Britain convened a meeting on Wednesday of officials from 20 countries — many of them European — to discuss possible military and nonmilitary contributions to such a coalition, according to British officials.
Russia, though, has rebuffed the idea of European peacekeeping forces in Ukraine. Sergey V. Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said on Thursday that there was “no space for a compromise” on the issue and that Russia would not allow it.
Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Mr. Lavrov said Russia would see the deployment of such troops on Ukrainian territory “in the same way as we have looked at the potential presence of NATO” in the country.
“We would not just observe such actions,” he added.
Nor is it clear yet how the European Union would fit into such a coalition — that is up for discussion on Thursday.
And backing for Ukraine in general may not be unanimous. When asked if Europe would remain united for Ukraine, Mr. De Wever said that “we’re pretty sure of the position of 25 partners.”
Officials have been trying to get Hungary and keep Slovakia on board with their statements of support. Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, has been especially vocal in his praise of Mr. Trump and in his disagreement with his European colleagues when it comes to Ukraine.
But, Mr. De Wever added, “There’s also the U.K., there’s also Canada and other partners who could join us in a pro-Ukraine coalition that we need to form if we’re to respond to the new order that’s been created by Mr. Trump.”
On Wednesday, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said he would talk with European allies about the possibility of using France’s nuclear deterrent to protect the continent in the wake of threats from Russia.
In a sign that Europe is pulling together more, several countries outside the European Union — including Britain, Norway and Turkey — are expected to be briefed by top E.U. officials after the Thursday meeting, according to an E.U. official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters.
While E.U. officials have been discussing further aid for Ukraine, plans for giving it a fresh pot of money are unlikely to be finalized on Thursday, according to a senior E.U. diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal plans.
But Thursday’s discussions could result in clearer plans for how Europe can better protect itself as a whole.
Ms. von der Leyen’s plan to “rearm” Europe includes the €150 billion loan program and would also make E.U. budget rules more flexible to enable countries to invest more without breaching tough deficit limits.
The goal, in part, is to help “Ukraine in its existential fight for its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” she said on Thursday.
Ivan Nechepurenko and Marc Santora contributed reporting.
