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Morning opening: Five minutes to midnight
Jakub Krupa
Four days after the London summit on Sunday, European leaders meet again – this time in Brussels and with a complete line-up, including both the (very keen) Baltics and the (very much not keen) Hungarians and Slovaks – to discuss what’s next for Ukraine.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday for a summit to discuss an €800bn (£660bn) plan to bolster Europe’s defence industry, increase military capability and help provide urgent military support for Ukraine.
In a dramatic intervention on Wednesday evening, French president Emmanuel Macron warned in a TV address that Russian aggression would not stop at Ukraine and was a direct threat to France and Europe.
He further said said he had decided “to open the strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent by our [nuclear] deterrent” but stressed any use of France’s nuclear weapons would remain only in the hands of the French president.
Macron said in his address: “I want to believe the US will stay by our side. But we have to be ready if that isn’t the case.
“Europe’s future should not be decided in Washington or Moscow, and yes the threat from the east is returning. And the innocence of these 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall is over.”
The French president’s move comes in response to a push by German election winner Friedrich Merz, who recently called for a discussion on “nuclear sharing” with France. He is not the German chancellor just yet, but will be in Brussels this morning too, joining informal talks with EU leaders. He is keen to hit the ground running, as proven by his major “bazooka” plan for German defence and infrastructure.
After Macron’s address, Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to the French president, saying: “Peace must be real, not just a word – it cannot mean Ukraine’s capitulation or collapse. It must be just, reliable, and lasting, and this can only be achieved through strong and long-term security guarantees – for Ukraine, Europe, and the entire world.”
He will hope that they can engineer how this could work over a working lunch in Brussels.
European leaders are increasingly determined to act after Donald Trump ordered a pause on all critical US military aid for Ukraine against Russia, three years into the invasion, following an explosive public confrontation in the Oval Office last week with Zelenskyy.
There are some early signs that the two sides are back talking about next steps, with Zelenskyy saying last night that “the Ukrainian and American teams began working on an upcoming meeting,” and they “hope to see some results next week.”
But the EU is no longer happy to trust and support this process hope for the best. Not any more.
Despite it being one of the most annoying cliches in politics, this summit really does feel like five minutes to midnight.
We will bring you the latest here.
It’s Thursday, 6 March 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
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Romania detains six people for alleged treason, conspiracy with Russia
Romanian authorities detained six people on an alleged organised criminal group accusing them of treason and plans to “undermine the sovereignty and independence of the Romanian state,” the country’s Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism Crimes, or DIICOT, said.
The group allegedly worked with “agents of a foreign power,” both on territory of Romania and Russia, and was formed in “a military-type structure” involving a retired major general.
The investigators believe they carried out secret discussions conspiring to lead to Romania’s exit from Nato and “the removal of the constitutional order,” as well as changes to the country’s name, flag, and anthem.
Two members of the group are alleged to have travelled to Moscow in January to seek Russia’s support for their aims.
Poland continues to logistically secure Ukraine, with hopes for peace talks, defence minister says
Polish defence minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz said at a joint press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart Rustem Umerov that Poland will continue to logistically support Ukraine as it started delivering its 46th aid package, worth up to €200m.
He stressed the relevance of the logistics hub in Rzeszów-Jasionka and continuing work with Ukrainian soldiers, with nearly 28,000 trained in Poland.
“We continue to support Ukraine as we have from the first day of the war, it is incredibly important for us,” he said.
Kosiniak-Kamysz also said that a return to talks between Ukraine and US “gives hope for just peace,” as he said Poland was a strong supporter of both “transatlantic relations and increasing European [defence] capabilities.”
Four dead, 30 injured in overnight Russian attack on Kryvyi Rih hotel with foreign aid workers, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a number of foreign aid workers were at a hotel in his hometown Kryvyi Rih struck by a Russian missile overnight.
At least four people were dead and more than 30 injured in the attack, with 14 people rescued from rubble.
Zelenskyy said:
A ballistic missile struck an ordinary hotel. Just before the attack, volunteers from a humanitarian organisation – citizens of Ukraine, the United States, and the United Kingdom – had checked into the hotel. They survived because they managed to get down from their rooms in time.
Reporting on the attack, Zelenskyy insisted:
There must be no pause in the pressure on Russia to stop this war and terror against life.
France steps in to offer intelligence to Ukraine after US pause
France is offering intelligence to Ukraine, French defence minister Sébastien Lecornu said on Thursday, with Paris stepping in to help and fill the void left after the US suspended its intelligence sharing with Kyiv.
Speaking to France Inter radio, he also said that president Macron asked him to accelerate the French aid packages “to compensate” for the suspended US aid.
The Guardian’s view on Merz’s “bazooka” plans
If you wonder what The Guardian makes of Merz’s deficit plans, here’s our editorial setting our view:
In a famously cautious political culture, Mr Merz’s bid to bypass legal restrictions on government debt represents a seismic shift. It would permit a step-change in defence spending for years to come, putting Germany in a leadership position as Europe seeks strategic autonomy from the United States.
Mr Merz, a former investment banker, has been a deficit hawk and economic liberal throughout his career. It is an irony of fate that it should fall to him to challenge the debt-aversion that has hobbled Germany’s ability to react to new geopolitical realities. But the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) leader should be congratulated for having the political courage to read the signs of the times.
Across Europe, poorly performing economies and a lack of investment have fuelled distrust in mainstream politics, and contributed to the dangerous rise of the Trumpian far right. In Germany, the constitutional “debt brake” – in effect a legal requirement to balance budgets – was originally conceived as a means of protecting younger generations from the consequences of risky borrowing. In these tumultuous times, amid multiple costly challenges, it has instead become an obstacle to investing in their future.
Thursday’s EU summit in Brussels is expected to license greater national spending on defence. But for a new era characterised by threats at home and abroad, a sea change in the EU’s overall approach to debt and deficits, similar to that agreed by Mr Merz with the SPD, is needed.
Echoing the words of the former European Central Bank chief, Mario Draghi, during the eurozone crisis, Mr Merz pledged on Tuesday to do “whatever it takes” to protect freedom and peace. He will need the support of the Greens, as well as the SPD, to push his gamechanging proposals through.
It is in the overwhelming interests of Germany and Europe that he gets it.
Germany's likely next chancellor Merz meets with European Council's Costa
I told you he was keen to hit the ground running!
Germany’s presumed next chancellor Friedrich Merz is out of his bed early this morning and already in meetings, starting with European Council president António Costa, just hours before the emergency European Council meeting on Ukraine.
It’s a good opportunity for the two leaders to build rapport and develop work relationship before Merz gets into the Bundeskanzleramt and discuss what the presumed next German leader thinks of many of the ideas to be discussed by the EU leaders later today – and his proposed (massive) investment in defence and infrastructure.
Last night, Merz also met with the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, the EU’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and with Nato secretary-general Mark Rutte.
Morning opening: Five minutes to midnight
Jakub Krupa
Four days after the London summit on Sunday, European leaders meet again – this time in Brussels and with a complete line-up, including both the (very keen) Baltics and the (very much not keen) Hungarians and Slovaks – to discuss what’s next for Ukraine.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy will join EU leaders in Brussels on Thursday for a summit to discuss an €800bn (£660bn) plan to bolster Europe’s defence industry, increase military capability and help provide urgent military support for Ukraine.
In a dramatic intervention on Wednesday evening, French president Emmanuel Macron warned in a TV address that Russian aggression would not stop at Ukraine and was a direct threat to France and Europe.
He further said said he had decided “to open the strategic debate on the protection of our allies on the European continent by our [nuclear] deterrent” but stressed any use of France’s nuclear weapons would remain only in the hands of the French president.
Macron said in his address: “I want to believe the US will stay by our side. But we have to be ready if that isn’t the case.
“Europe’s future should not be decided in Washington or Moscow, and yes the threat from the east is returning. And the innocence of these 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall is over.”
The French president’s move comes in response to a push by German election winner Friedrich Merz, who recently called for a discussion on “nuclear sharing” with France. He is not the German chancellor just yet, but will be in Brussels this morning too, joining informal talks with EU leaders. He is keen to hit the ground running, as proven by his major “bazooka” plan for German defence and infrastructure.
After Macron’s address, Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to the French president, saying: “Peace must be real, not just a word – it cannot mean Ukraine’s capitulation or collapse. It must be just, reliable, and lasting, and this can only be achieved through strong and long-term security guarantees – for Ukraine, Europe, and the entire world.”
He will hope that they can engineer how this could work over a working lunch in Brussels.
European leaders are increasingly determined to act after Donald Trump ordered a pause on all critical US military aid for Ukraine against Russia, three years into the invasion, following an explosive public confrontation in the Oval Office last week with Zelenskyy.
There are some early signs that the two sides are back talking about next steps, with Zelenskyy saying last night that “the Ukrainian and American teams began working on an upcoming meeting,” and they “hope to see some results next week.”
But the EU is no longer happy to trust and support this process hope for the best. Not any more.
Despite it being one of the most annoying cliches in politics, this summit really does feel like five minutes to midnight.
We will bring you the latest here.
It’s Thursday, 6 March 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
