When Trump stopped aiding Ukraine, the EU announced $840 billion in defense investment “European Re-Europe” plan

EU leadership announced a plan on Tuesday to drastically increase military spending to cover up collective defenses on the continent after President Trump said the U.S. is Suspend all military aid Go to Ukraine.

“We are in a heavy age,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters on Tuesday. When announcing the plan, known as “Europe in Europe” she said it would allow European countries to receive the equivalent of $840 billion in defense spending in the coming years.

One way it is to allow EU countries to spend more money on defense without triggering EU mechanisms to resist budget deficits, Von der Leyen said. Another approach is through EU loans worth about $158 billion in EU member states.

“This will help member states aggregate demand and buy together,” von der Leyen said. “Using this device, Member States can greatly strengthen it,” he said. Their support for Ukraine…This joint procurement approach will also reduce costs, reduce division, increase interoperability and strengthen our defense industrial base. ”

Von der Leyen also suggested using the EU group’s collective budget to help increase defense spending and mobilize private capital.

The announcement comes 48 hours before the scheduled EU Leaders’ Summit and will discuss von der Leyen’s proposal.

“Europe is ready to take on its responsibilities,” von der Leyen said. “We will continue to work closely with our partners in NATO. This is the European moment. We are ready to step up.”

Poland says NATO has not consulted on Trump’s move

European leaders wake up and Mr. Trump has suspended all military aid news Ukraine There was no prior notice, Polish Foreign Ministry spokesman Pawel Wronski said on Tuesday.

Fransky told reporters that Mr. Trump made a decision that “no notice and no consultation”. His NATO alliesadding: “This is a very important decision and the situation is very serious.”

Ireland’s leader Michael Martin called Mr Trump’s move a “serious setback” to achieve peace, stressing that the Ukrainians “expressed extraordinary resilience and extraordinary courage in encountering illegal invasions”.

“Europe is also very conscious, and the fact that there are many other states throughout Europe who are afraid of Russian aggression and Russian ambitions, and these countries see it as an existential threat to their sovereignty,” Martin said. “The EU is very, very aware of this, and that is what motivates the EU to continue to strongly support Ukraine because it is a broader European issue.”

European “do not allow Russia’s active policies to threaten all of us and succeed,” said Petr Fiala, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic.

Will Trump’s actions “encourage Putin to ask for more”?

Mr. Trump’s decision to suspend U.S. military aid to Ukraine “will encourage Putin to demand more, including demilitarization and neutrality in Ukraine,” Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director of the Royal Joint Services Academy, predicted Tuesday.

Chalmers said the “nightmare scenario” would allow the United States and Russia to announce a peace agreement, and then tell Ukraine and Europe to take or leave it. ‘”

Chalmers said recent estimates show that only about 20% of military hardware comes from the United States, Europe and the rest of the world, and 55% of production in Ukraine. But 20% of what the U.S. provides is “the most deadly and important.”

“The most important thing is that Britain and Europe are ready to help Ukraine violate the US preparations,” Chalmers said. “Ukraine will not collapse,” he said. [without U.S. military aid] – They have experienced aid cut-offs last year, but the effects will be cumulative. ”