Europe defence spending, Ukraine support top agenda in Brussels

'Defence failure'

Fast forward to his second term in office, and it is clear that Trump's resentment over Europe's failure to address its own defence needs—preferring instead to work on the assumption that the US would come to its aid in times of crisis—remains a major issue.

Even before his very public debacle with Zelenskyy, Trump renewed his criticism of Europe's defence spending, with his administration warning that Washington will "no longer tolerate an imbalanced relationship which encourages dependency".

Trump's irritation with Europe on the issue even prompted him to make one of his more eye-raising claims during last year's presidential election campaign, when he said he would "encourage" Russia to attack NATO allies who do not pay their fair share on defence.

Since then Trump has further caused disquiet over his decision to open direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine conflict without consulting his European allies, prompting concerns that they could find themselves excluded from negotiations to end the conflict, despite providing significant support for Ukraine's war effort.

Trump's unilateral decision to start direct talks with the Kremlin prompted an angry response from European leaders, with Kaja Kallas, the European Union's foreign policy chief and an adamant Ukraine supporter, accusing Trump of pursuing the same appeasement policy that led to the outbreak and the Second World War in the 1930s.

"Appeasement will always fail," she said. "It's not good negotiation tactics if you just give away everything before the negotiations have even started."

The deepening rift within the transatlantic relationship, moreover, has even resulted in the Trump administration dropping hints that it might decide to end its support for Article 5 of the NATO treaty, which commits all member states of the 32-nation alliance to come to the defence of any NATO state that comes under attack—the so-called "all for one, and one for all" formula.

European scramble

Given the Trump administration's disruptive approach to key global issues, it is hardly surprising therefore that European leaders should now be scrambling to put their own house in order, calling an emergency summit in Brussels.

If Trump can treat a key ally of Washington such as Zelenskyy with such open disdain, then it is equally possible that the American President will adopt the same approach to Europe, abandoning Europe's defence in its hour of need.

The Brussels summit is therefore an attempt by European leaders to pledge their support for greater defence spending while at the same time maintaining their support for Ukraine, showing their determination not to bow to Trump's attempt to abandon the Ukrainian cause.

Zelenskyy also attended the summit, where he was due to hold a series of top-level meetings with leading EU and NATO figures. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, speaking ahead of the summit of the 27-member bloc, said leaders were meeting to "rearm Europe" and further cement their support for Ukraine.

The summit came after von der Leyen had earlier unveiled a substantial EU defence spending package to win over the Trump administration. The European Commission proposed up to €800bn for European defence, including a plan to borrow up to €150bn to lend to EU governments.

Apart from the EU's 27-member states attending the summit, Norway, Turkey, and the UK—who are NATO members but not EU members—were provided with a read out on the summit's deliberations.

Growing fears

The deepening concern among European leaders over what they fear is the first step towards the US turning its back on safeguarding their security was evident in French President Emmanuel Macron's televised address to the nation ahead of the summit. 

"I want to believe that the United States will stand by us. But we have to be ready if that is not the case," Macron said.

The French president added that the future of Europe and its security "cannot be decided in Moscow or in Washington"—a criticism of US-Russian talks over the future of Ukraine. And he called for "long-term support to Ukraine", which could include "sending European troops to Ukraine" in order to avoid a "fragile ceasefire".

Responding to the deepening concerns about relying on the US to defend Europe in future, Macron also announced that France is willing to discuss the possibility of offering its arsenal of nuclear weapons to protect its other EU allies.

If the Trump administration's aim during its first weeks in office was to force European leaders to focus more on their own defence needs, Trump's provocative actions—both by opening talks with Russia and freezing support for Ukraine—have clearly had the desired effect.