Officials at the Elysee Palace said that a key goal of today's mini-summit in Paris is to reach an agreement on what concrete actions European governments should and can take, including making progress on the difficult question of how to finance a significant increase in defense spending, UNN reports citing The Guardian.
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"We believe that given the acceleration in the situation in Ukraine and given what the U.S. leaders have said, Europeans need to do more, better and in a coordinated way for our collective security," the adviser said.
The meeting also aims to reassure Ukraine that as the United States and Russia "begin peace talks this week that could lead to a settlement that Ukraine cannot sign on to," Europeans, including the United Kingdom, will honor their political, financial and military commitments, the newspaper writes.
French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to tell the leaders of the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Spain, and Italy, as well as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and EU officials Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa that "the US position could be an opportunity," the publication points out.
"Trump's peace initiative could hasten the end of the war," the Elysee Palace adviser told French media, but "it is important that the agreement is acceptable to Ukraine and Europe, whose security was also at stake.
In any case, it is believed that Macron is "likely to urge leaders not to fall for the US bait and avoid provocative or confrontational statements." Instead, Europe should welcome Washington's proposals while taking important steps on its own.
Macron calls for an urgent EU summit over Trump's statements15.02.2025, 19:49 • [views_61558]