EU leaders commit to working together after Trump signals that Europe must defend itself

EU leaders commit to working together after Trump signals that Europe must defend itself
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Updated 07 March 2025
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EU leaders commit to working together after Trump signals that Europe must defend itself

EU leaders commit to working together after Trump signals that Europe must defend itself
  • “Europe faces a clear and present danger, and therefore Europe has to be able to protect itself, to defend itself,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
  • Pledge underscores sea change in geopolitics spurred on by Trump, who has undermined 80 years of cooperation

BRUSSELS: European Union leaders on Thursday committed to working together to bolster the continent’s defenses and to free up hundreds of billions of euros for security after US President Donald Trump’s repeated warnings that he would cut them adrift to face the threat of Russia alone.
With the growing conviction that they will now have to fend for themselves, countries that have faltered on defense spending for decades held emergency talks in Brussels to explore new ways to beef up their security and ensure future protection for Ukraine.
“Today history is being written,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters after the summit ended.
She said the 27 EU leaders are “determined to ensure Europe’s security and to act with the scale, the speed and the resolve that this situation demands. We are determined to invest more, to invest better and to invest faster together.”
The pledge underscored a sea change in geopolitics spurred on by Trump, who has undermined 80 years of cooperation based on the understanding that the US would help protect European nations following World War II.
The leaders signed off on a move to loosen budget restrictions so that willing EU countries can increase their military spending. They also urged the European Commission to seek new ways “to facilitate significant defense spending” in all member states, a statement said.
The EU’s executive branch estimates that around 650 billion euros ($702 billion) could be freed up that way.
The leaders also took note of a commission offer of loans worth 150 billion euros ($162 billion) to buy new military equipment and invited EU headquarters staff “to examine this proposal as a matter of urgency.”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, a staunch supporter of Trump and considered to be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally in Europe, refused to endorse part of the summit statement in favor of Ukraine.
But the 26 other EU leaders approved the bloc’s stance that there can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine and that the Europeans must be involved in any talks involving their security. The Europeans have so far been sidelined in the US-led negotiations with Russia.

In other developments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said talks between Ukraine and the US on ending the war will take place in Saudi Arabia next week. In his nightly address, Zelensky said he would travel to Saudi Arabia on Monday to meet the country’s crown prince, and his team would stay on to hold talks with US officials.
In recent weeks, Trump has overturned old certainties about the reliability of the US as a security partner as he embraces Russia, withdraws American support for Ukraine and upends the tradition of cooperation with Europe that has been the bedrock of Western security for generations.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, whose country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said that three years of war in Ukraine and a shift in attitudes in Washington “pose entirely new challenges for us, and Europe must take up this challenge ... and it must win.”
“We will arm ourselves faster, smarter and more efficiently than Russia,” Tusk said.
Spending plans win early support
Zelensky welcomed the plan to loosen budget rules and expressed hopes that some of the new spending could be used to strengthen Ukraine’s own defense industry, which can produce weapons more cheaply than elsewhere in Europe and closer to the battlefields where they are needed.
“We are very thankful that we are not alone, and these are not just words. We feel it. It’s very important,” Zelensky said, looking far more relaxed among Europe’s leaders in Brussels than almost a week ago when he received a verbal lashing from Trump in Washington.
Friedrich Merz, the likely next chancellor of Germany, and summit chairman Antonio Costa discussed ways to fortify Europe’s defenses on a short deadline. Merz pushed plans this week to loosen his nation’s rules on running up debt to allow for higher defense spending.

 

Others too appeared ready to do more.
“Spend, spend, spend on defense and deterrence. That’s the most important message,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told reporters.
The call is a sharp departure from decades of decline in military spending in Europe, where defense often ranked low in many budgetary considerations after the Cold War.
In an address to his country Wednesday evening, French President Emmanuel Macron said the bloc would “take decisive steps.”
“Member states will be able to increase their military spending,” he said, noting that “massive joint funding will be provided to buy and produce some of the most innovative munitions, tanks, weapons and equipment in Europe.”
Macron conferred with his EU counterparts about the possibility of using France’s nuclear deterrent to protect the continent from Russian threats.
Helping EU countries find more money
The short-term benefits of the budget plan offered by von der Leyen were not obvious. Most of the increased defense spending would have to come from national budgets at a time when many countries are already overburdened with debt.
Part of the proposal includes measures to ensure struggling member states will not be punished for going too deep into the red if additional spending is earmarked for defense.
“Europe faces a clear and present danger, and therefore Europe has to be able to protect itself, to defend itself,” she said.

 

France is struggling to reduce an excessive annual budget deficit of 5 percent of GDP, after running up its total debt burden to 112 percent of GDP with spending on relief for businesses and consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Five other countries using the euro currency have debt levels over 100 percent of GDP: Belgium, Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal.
Europe’s largest economy, Germany, has more room to borrow, with a debt level of 62 percent of GDP.
Pressing security needs in Ukraine
Part of any security plan would be to help Ukraine defend itself from Russian attacks such as the one that hit Zelensky’s hometown overnight.
A Russian missile killed four people staying at a hotel in Kryvyi Rih, in central Ukraine, shortly after volunteers from a humanitarian organization moved in. The volunteers included Ukrainian, American and British nationals, but it wasn’t clear whether those people were among the 31 who were wounded.
Early this week, Trump ordered a pause in US military supplies being sent to Ukraine as he sought to press Zelensky to engage in negotiations to end the war with Russia. The move brought fresh urgency to Thursday’s summit.
But the meeting in Brussels did not address Ukraine’s most pressing needs. It was not aimed at drumming up more arms and ammunition to fill any supply vacuum created by the US freeze. Nor will all nations agree to unblock the estimated 183 billion euros ($196 billion) in frozen Russian assets held in a Belgian clearing house, a pot of ready cash that could be seized.


France condemns Israeli minister’s accusations of inciting hatred

France condemns Israeli minister’s accusations of inciting hatred
Updated 13 sec ago
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France condemns Israeli minister’s accusations of inciting hatred

France condemns Israeli minister’s accusations of inciting hatred
PARIS: France on Thursday dismissed claims by Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar that European governments were inciting hatred against his country.
“These are completely outrageous and completely unjustified remarks,” foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine said.
“France has condemned, France condemns and France will continue to condemn, always and unequivocally, any act of anti-Semitism.”
In Washington on Wednesday, two Israeli embassy staffers were shot dead outside a Jewish museum by a gunman who shouted “free Palestine” as he was arrested.
US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led global condemnation of the attack, each of them blaming anti-Semitism.
Israel’s foreign minister said: “There is a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder.”
He added: “This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe.”
Tensions have risen in recent days between Israel and European governments over Israel’s military offensive in Gaza and the plight of civilians in the territory.
Speaking in the southern French city of Nice, Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot reiterated that France had condemned the killing as “a horrific attack targeting Israeli diplomats.”
He said he had sent a message to his Israeli counterpart “to tell him how saddened I was by what had happened, how much I was thinking of the families of these diplomats but also of all their colleagues at the Israeli foreign ministry.”
“This blind violence is obviously unjustifiable,” he added.
“We deplore an explosion of anti-Semitic acts that we have seen on our territory in recent years, but we are fighting this explosion with the utmost determination,” he said.
France’s Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau told police earlier Thursday to “step up surveillance at sites linked to the Jewish community.”
On Monday, the leaders of Britain, France and Canada condemned Israel’s “egregious actions” in Gaza and warned of joint action if it did not halt a heightened military offensive on the Palestinian territory.
Last week France’s President Emmanuel Macron accused Netanyahu of “unacceptable” behavior in holding up aid to the Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel is fighting to crush the militant group Hamas.
Netanyahu accused Macron of siding with a “murderous Islamist terrorist organization.”

Suspected Houthi fighter arrested in Germany

A Yemeni man suspected of having fought with the country’s Iran-backed Houthis was arrested in Germany on Thursday. (File/AFP)
A Yemeni man suspected of having fought with the country’s Iran-backed Houthis was arrested in Germany on Thursday. (File/AFP)
Updated 15 min 24 sec ago
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Suspected Houthi fighter arrested in Germany

A Yemeni man suspected of having fought with the country’s Iran-backed Houthis was arrested in Germany on Thursday. (File/AFP)
  • The man, partially named as Hussein H., was detained by police in the southern town of Dachau
  • Prosecutors said the man had briefly fought for the militia in clashes in Yemen’s central Marib province in 2023

BERLIN: A Yemeni man suspected of having fought with the country’s Iran-backed Houthis was arrested in Germany on Thursday, prosecutors said.
The man, partially named as Hussein H., was detained by police in the southern town of Dachau, the federal prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
He is suspected of “being a member of a terrorist organization” after allegedly joining the Houthis in October 2022.
Prosecutors said the man, after receiving ideological and military training, had briefly fought for the militia in clashes in Yemen’s central Marib province in early 2023.
The Houthis have imposed strict rule over the large swathe of Yemen under their control, covering two-thirds of the population.
Since the Gaza war broke out after the Hamas attack of October 2023, the Houthis have regularly fired missiles and drones at maritime traffic and at Israel in what they say are acts of solidarity with Palestinians.
The militia warned Monday they would impose a “naval blockade” on the Israeli port of Haifa after the country’s military intensified its offensive in Gaza.


How CPEC expansion can transform Afghanistan’s economy

How CPEC expansion can transform Afghanistan’s economy
Updated 22 May 2025
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How CPEC expansion can transform Afghanistan’s economy

How CPEC expansion can transform Afghanistan’s economy
  • Chinese, Pakistani and Afghan foreign ministers held a trilateral meeting in Beijing
  • Afghanistan is believed to have vast reserves of lithium and other critical minerals

KABUL: The entry of Beijing’s multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor into Afghanistan is expected to boost its ailing economy and regional standing, experts say, following the announcement of expansion plans.

The Chinese, Pakistani and Afghan foreign ministers reached an agreement during a trilateral meeting in Beijing on Wednesday to broaden the flagship part of China’s global infrastructure and investment strategy.

The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the expansion of CPEC aimed to “deepen” cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative — a network of massive road, energy, port and industrial projects launched in 2013 to connect China to the rest of Asia, Europe and Africa.

For Afghanistan, the mega project offers an “important opportunity” to boost its political and economic ties not only with China and Pakistan, but also with the neighboring Central Asian republics, Amin Stanikzai, an economist and lecturer at the Rokhan Institute of Higher Education in Nangarhar, told Arab News.

“It can serve as the intersection of China, Pakistan, Afghanistan, as well as South and Central Asia, therefore, it benefits Afghanistan ... Afghanistan is optimistic about the CPEC project partly because regional connectivity is in Afghanistan’s interest as it is a landlocked country with no access to the sea.”

Since the Taliban took over Afghanistan in 2021, its economy has been reeling under Western sanctions and unemployment has more than doubled.

“If managed well, the project can contribute to the overall stability and development in the region, in addition to improving connectivity and Afghanistan’s access to regional and international markets,” Stanikzai said.

Chinese projects could offer a significant respite to Afghanistan’s economic woes and help develop its potential.

Afghanistan is believed to have vast untapped reserves of lithium, rare earths and other critical minerals, which are key resources in the EV battery and green tech industries.

The potential value of Afghanistan’s lithium and rare earth elements has been estimated by the US Geological Survey and the US Department of Defense to range between $1 trillion and $3 trillion.

It has also some of the world’s largest untapped copper deposits. China Metallurgical Group Corp won a 30-year lease in 2008 to develop the Mes Aynak copper mine in Logar province, but the project stalled due to security issues.

Last year, the Taliban government and China renewed discussions to revive the project.

Talks on Afghanistan’s inclusion in CPEC also started several years ago but practical work has yet to begin, complicated by geopolitical considerations.

Major global powers remain skeptical of China’s BRI. The project has also been consistently opposed by India as it involves construction in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region — part of the disputed Kashmiri territory, which New Delhi and Islamabad claim in full but rule in part.

The entry of CPEC projects would, however, help mend Afghanistan’s lately troubled relations with its largest trading partner and route: Pakistan.

“Afghanistan can benefit from these projects politically as well since this is an initiative led by China and it can use its influence over Pakistan in resolving political tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan in the future,” said Abdul Hai Qanit, a political analyst and commentator on Afghan affairs.

“This will have a positive impact on Afghanistan’s economy as a result of becoming a part of the large transportation network that BRI and CPEC will provide. Afghanistan will be able to export its goods without any challenges and delays.”

The scope of projects in the long term could help transform Afghanistan, whose infrastructure and economy have been underdeveloped due to decades of war.

It would also secure its access to international markets and integration into regional economic frameworks.

“Direct linkage to China through Pakistan via CPEC could facilitate the construction of vital transportation corridors, energy projects and digital infrastructure. These are crucial elements for long-term development and post-conflict reconstruction,” Bashir Seddiqi, an international relations expert, told Arab News.

He was not certain, however, how soon the change could be seen.

“Feasibility of implementation remains deeply uncertain,” Seddiqi said. “The CPEC project itself, despite its strategic importance, has experienced delays and setbacks within Pakistan due to governance challenges, financial constraints and shifting political priorities.”


Philippines’ Marcos tells cabinet to resign after polls setback

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. speaks during campaign rally of senatorial candidates under his party in Metro Manila
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. speaks during campaign rally of senatorial candidates under his party in Metro Manila
Updated 22 May 2025
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Philippines’ Marcos tells cabinet to resign after polls setback

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. speaks during campaign rally of senatorial candidates under his party in Metro Manila
  • Marcos’ allies failed to win majority of Senate seats contested in midterm elections 
  • Majority of Filipinos expressed disapproval of his govt over economy and corruption

MANILA: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on his cabinet members on Thursday to render their resignations in a move seen as an attempt to address the public’s dissatisfaction over his administration’s performance.

Marcos, the son of a late Philippine dictator overthrown in 1986, won the presidency by a landslide in 2022 after campaigning on a vision of national unity and portraying himself as a candidate for change.

But public support for the 67-year-old leader has faced a steep decline this year, with surveys by Pulse Asia showing his approval rating with voters dropping to 25 percent in March from 42 percent in February.

Marcos’ latest move comes after his allies failed to secure a majority of contested Senate seats at the May 12 midterm elections, raising questions over the president’s weakened mandate in the remaining three years of his term, which ends in 2028.

“It’s time to realign government with the people’s expectations,” Marcos said in a statement issued by his office on Thursday.

“This is not business as usual … The people have spoken, and they expect results — not politics, not excuses. We hear them, and we will act.”

The call for courtesy resignations — described as a “bold reset” — marks “a clear transition” to a “more focused and performance-driven approach,” the statement reads.

At least 21 cabinet secretaries have either immediately submitted their resignations or expressed their readiness to do so.

The midterm elections were “reflective of the true desire and sentiments of the people on the ground,” said Froilan Calilung, political science professor at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.

“There was a massive decrease in his numbers, and this could be attributed to the fact that there are no concrete measures, programs, or policies that can be attributed to his government for at least the past two or three years,” he told Arab News.

Pulse Asia’s survey in March also showed the majority of Filipinos expressing disapproval of the Marcos administration on issues seen as most urgent, including controlling inflation and fighting corruption, which stood at 79 percent and 53 percent, respectively.

“I think what the president is trying to do right now is to salvage whatever is left of his political capital before he enters the lame-duck phase of his administration, which could happen anywhere between the fourth and the fifth year of his term of office,” Calilung said. 

By calling for the resignations of his cabinet secretaries, Marcos may also be seeking to “shake off the stigma” of himself as a weak and indecisive leader and trying to project an “image of somebody who is in charge or is in control” of the situation, he added. 

Though it will be hard to recover after the “wasted” first three years of his presidency, there was still a chance that Marcos could make a comeback.

“The president should come up with better legislation, more well-meaning policies and programs that will directly address the current conditions of the current problems of inflation, job security, food security, agrarian self-sufficiency, among others,” Calilung said.

“If the president will be able to do these things, then I think there’s still some time to recover.”


UK net migration in 2024 fell by half to 431,000

UK net migration in 2024 fell by half to 431,000
Updated 22 May 2025
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UK net migration in 2024 fell by half to 431,000

UK net migration in 2024 fell by half to 431,000
  • Rule changes led to big drops in the numbers of people arriving on work- and study-related visas
  • PM Keir Starmer unveiled tough new policies this month vowing to 'take back control' of Britain’s borders

LONDON: Net migration to the UK dropped by half in 2024, the latest official figures showed on Thursday, in what will be a welcome boost for under-fire Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated the figure for last year stood at 431,000, a dramatic drop from the 860,000 recorded in the year to December 2023.
It was the biggest fall in net migration since the Covid pandemic.
“Long-term net migration is down by almost 50 percent,” the ONS said in its latest report.
“We are seeing reductions in people arriving on work- and study-related visas,” it added.
It had also recorded “an increase in emigration over the 12 months to December 2024,” especially by those on work and study visas.
The previous Conservative government had toughed the rules for people applying for such visas, setting higher caps on salaries and refusing permission for people to bring their families with them.

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Migration has become a hot-button issue in UK politics and Starmer unveiled tough new policies on May 12 vowing to “finally take back control” of Britain’s borders.
The measures included cutting overseas care workers, doubling the length of time before migrants can qualify for settlement and new powers to deport foreign criminals.
Starmer, a former human rights lawyer who voted for the UK to remain part of the European Union, is under renewed pressure to tackle immigration following surprise gains by the anti-immigration Reform UK party in May local elections.
He said in his speech that Britain risked becoming “an island of strangers,” triggering sharp criticism from within his own Labour party for his toughened rhetoric.
The aim of the new measures is to “reduce net migration substantially, with visa numbers falling by up to 100,000 a year by the end of this parliament” in 2029, the interior ministry said in a statement.
Interior minister Yvette Cooper said: “The 300,000 drop in net migration since the election is important and welcome after the figures quadrupled to nearly a million in the last parliament.”
She added that nearly 30,000 unsuccessful asylum seekers, many arriving on UK shores in small boats, had been returned to their countries of origin since the general election in July.
It marked a 12-period increase compared to the same period 12 months ago.
But opposition Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch argued on X: “Numbers are still too high and Starmer STILL keeps voting against every plan to bring them down further.”
She alleged that as soon as Labour took power after winning the July election they had scrapped “the tough measures we took to get these numbers down.”
Conservative former home secretary James Cleverly said while Labour “will try to claim credit,” the changes were a result of policies enacted by his government.
“This drop is because of the visa rule changes that I put in place,” he argued on X.
According to the latest poll of voting intentions by YouGov, the Reform party of hard-liner Nigel Farage is ahead in the polls, with 29 percent support, compared to 22 percent for Labour.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats edged ahead of the Conservatives with 17 percent, who were relegated to fourth place on 16 percent.