Other European leaders, suggesting coordination among them, also stressed the mutual benefits of the postwar alliance, including Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
As leaders gathered in Munich, he wrote on X that the Western alliance is far too important to be allowed to fall apart. “The relationship between the U.S. and Europe is wounded, but should be maintained,” he wrote, adding, “We need to be honest about the fact that our relationship has suffered a blow. This does not at all mean we should abandon the transatlantic relation.”
EU Defense Commissioner Andrius Kubilius also talked in terms of reshaping the Western alliance, playing down any shift in transatlantic relations following Trump’s recent threats of annexing Greenland. Speaking at the POLITICO Pub, he said there’s an opportunity for the bloc to take charge of its defense capabilities.
“We took for granted that transatlantic relations means the U.S. will be in Europe and spend its resources here,” Kubilius said, but he also repeated his call for a European rapid reaction force of up to 100,000 troops able to replace American soldiers if they’re called home.
Europeans also underlined that they will continue backing Ukraine with cash and weapons while American support under Trump trickles to almost nothing. Macron stressed that there can be no agreement to end the war without taking Europe into account.
“Today only Europe gives money to Ukraine,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at the POLITICO Pub.