Paris (AP)-French President Emmanuel Macron called on Monday key nations of the European Union and the United Kingdom to his palace decorated with Elysee for an emergency meeting on the way of reacting in the United States Diplomatic blitz on Ukrainewho left the former partner in the past solid as a potential political responsibility.
The first visit of the senior American officials in Europe let the impression that the Trump administration was ready to kiss the Kremlin when it has cold many of its secular European allies.
Despite belligerent warnings for months before the re -election of Donald Trump as American president, EU leaders have publicly ignored the worrying concerns and hoped in a way that Trump would remain side by side with Europe, while the Continent would finally begin to act on the strengthening of its defenses and would become less dependent on the fire power of Washington.
But a wave of speeches by vice-president JD Vance and the defense secretary Pete Hegseth during their first visits to Europe questioned the security commitments of Europe and its fundamental democratic principles. Macron said their stacks and their non-cooperation threats in the face of military danger felt like a shock for the system.
The tilting point came when Trump decided to upset the years of American politics by holding discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the hope of finishing The Russian-Ukraine War. Then, Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia on Saturday has practically excluded the inclusion of other Europeans in all peace talks in Ukraine.
Annalena Baerbock, German Minister for Foreign Affairs, described the week as an existential moment. This is a time when Europe must get up. »»
This is where Macron hopes to intervene with the meeting on Monday. Even if Jean-Noël Barrot, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Macron, sought to play the importance of the emergency group of the main leaders of Europe, the weekend race to set up the meeting stressed some much more fundamental.
Since the Second World War, the United States and the Nations of Western Europe have mainly worked when it confronted the Soviet Union during the Cold War to the increasingly aggressive actions of current Russia near its borders. Even if there have been American complaints for a long time concerning the reluctance of many European NATO nations to intensify their defense efforts, they have never been faced with the political surface as they did during the last days.
On Monday, Macron will have interviews in the afternoon with the leaders of Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and the European Union On how to manage the European security dilemma. NATO secretary general, Mark Rutte, will also assist.
French officials said that no firm decision should emerge beyond a demonstration of European leaders unit.
“There is a wind of unity that blows over Europe, as we may have not felt since the cocovio period,” said Barrot, referring to the pandemic in 2020 when the 27 countries of the ‘EU had to stand side by side to avoid a health disaster.
A solid American link, however, will remain essential in the foreseeable future, as it will take many years before European nations can increase the production of defense equipment and integrate it into effective force.
The fact that the United States obligation also applies to war management in Ukraine, said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “Support in the United States will remain critical and an American security guarantee is essential for lasting peace, because only the United States can dissuade Putin from attacking again,” said Starmer in the Daily Telegraph on Monday.
While many EU nations still reflect on the contribution of troops to a potential force in Ukraine after a peace agreement, Starmer said that the United Kingdom was “ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees at the ‘Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary.
“I’m not saying that lightly. I feel very deeply the responsibility that has just put British soldiers and women in danger potentially, “he wrote.
European nations are Determined to stimulate Ukraine where they can, and the EU nations are seen in the eyes of defense expenses increasing. However, even if there is a general consensus to go beyond the objective of spending 2% of the gross domestic product in defense, it is not clear how to reach 3%.
Some EU nations insist on an agreement on joint loans for massive defense projects, while others insist that it is the task of the nations that are late on expenses to reach the threshold of 2%. This question should also be discussed at the meeting.
But some of the EU nations fell to the idea of Elysee’s restrictive meeting with only a few chosen leaders while others have been left in the cold. For an uncomfortable number of decisions, the EU needs the support of the 27 nations. He raises the question of veto, that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban as a faithful ally of Putin has already threatened to use on many occasions.
President Slovenian Nataša Pirc Musar said the selective guest list was proof that EU member states are not treated equally. “It is not Europe that commands respect abroad. It is not Europe that would be a serious partner of the North American ally, “she said.
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Casets reported in Brussels. The writer Associated Press Dusan Stojanovic in Belgrade, Serbia, contributed to this report.
