EU leaders yesterday huddled with Britain’s prime minister and the head of NATO to discuss efforts to boost Europe’s defenses as they face an aggressive Russia and as US President Donald Trump demands that allies spend much more.
The gathering in Brussels is billed as a “triple first”: the first time the EU’s 27 leaders were meeting since Trump’s inauguration, their first-ever dedicated talks on defense and their first with a British prime minister since Brexit.
European nations have ramped up their military budgets since Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago, but officials concede they are still not arming themselves fast enough as warnings grow that Moscow could attack one of their own in the coming years.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Trump’s return to the White House has given a fresh jolt to the debate, with the volatile leader insisting NATO countries more than double their defense spending target to five 5 of GDP, a goal out of reach for many.
He has also vowed to bring a quick end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, leaving Europeans fearful he could sideline them and force Kyiv into a bad deal.
However, it is not just about the specter of Washington pulling back from Europe — Trump has rattled US allies with a series of direct threats.
Denmark’s prime minister was expected to seek a common line on Trump’s insistence that he wants Greenland.
Given the looming menace from Russia, there is widespread consensus across Europe on the need to step up on defense. The problem is there is not yet agreement on what exactly that entails.
“It’s very clear for everyone around the table that investment must increase,” an EU official said.
“It is not a question of if, it is a question of how,” the official said.
Brussels estimates the bloc needs to invest an extra 500 billion euros (US$513 billion) on defense over the next decade.
Key dividing lines revolve around how to fund the required investment, whether EU cash should be spent only on EU arms, and what role NATO should play.
On weapons, France — long accused of caring more for its own industry — insists arms should be bought in the EU.
Others counter that countries should look to whoever can supply quickest.
Buying from the US could also be a way to keep Trump on side, they said.
There is also a geographical split, with countries closer to Russia already doing far more than those further to West.
Funding is the major question, with a number of member states pushing for massive joint EU borrowing, but Germany — which faces a fraught election this month — has tried to shut down discussion of that sensitive topic.
“The worry is this meeting might become just another box-ticking exercise if we don’t discuss the elephant in the room of financing,” one EU diplomat said.
As doubts swirl over the transatlantic relationship, many are keen to step up ties with an old friend: Britain.
Five years after the UK left, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was to be back in the EU fold — at least for one dinner.
Starmer planned to call on the EU leaders to “continue bearing down” on Russian President Vladimir Putin, and to “step up and shoulder more of the burden in order to keep Europe safe against Russia’s increasing campaign of sabotage and destruction on our continent.”
Starmer would also discuss a possible UK-EU defense and security deal.
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
RSS