The Monaco conference on security was a real cold shower for the entire European Union. The speech of the American vice -president JD Vance seems to have awakened the leaders of the old continent from the torpor. Now the risk is to be cut out of the peace negotiations that will follow the conflict in Ukraine. Tomorrow, in fact, the meeting between Marco Rubio And Sergei Lavrov, Foreign ministers of the United States and Russia. They will meet in Riad, in Saudi Arabia. Also thanks to the long call between Putin and Trump of the previous days. The tycoon is now sure: both Moscow and Kiev “want the war to end and soon”. What about old Europe? After contributing with various billions to Ukrainian resistance, now runs the danger of being set aside.
So Emmanuel Macron sent an appeal to the “main European countries” to discuss “European security”. The heads of government of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark will take part, as well as the President of the European Council Costa. The participation of Ursula von der Leyen and Mark Rutte, secretary of NATO is also planned.
Not only Ukraine among the topics of the summit. The discussion on the future common defense of the Union will also be crucial. But there is no shortage of controversy. Hungary goes to the attack: “The European leaders who support the war and are against Trump gather today in Paris to block peace efforts in Ukraine”, said the Hungarian Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó. Disruptive statements also came from the British Keir Starmer. The Downing Street tenant said he was ready to “deploy British troops in Ukraine”, warning that “showing himself weak will lead only to war”. Sweden also does not exclude the sending of soldiers to “maintain peace in Ukraine” as the Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard has announced. The Kremlin also intervened on the Paris summit. The spokesman Dmitri Peskov defined the positive initiative, stating that he “wait for the declarations of the representatives of the European States”. And he added satisfied: “I find gratifying that now everyone speaks of what must be done to stop the war.”
Donald Tusk also expressed himself a little while ago. The Polish premier, departing for France, kept reiterating that he “did not plan to send troops in Ukrainian territory”. Meanwhile, the weekly “Economist” reveals that the US are thinking of a Peacekeeping force to be deployed in defense of Kiev. Contingent that will have to include countries such as China or Brazil. European leaders are expected to the Elysée in the afternoon. While the summit should start around 16:00.
Ursula von der Leyen, on the other hand, entrusts his thoughts to social X: “European security is at a turning point,” he wrote in a peremptory way. Net of the differences, for now the chancelleries of the old continent seem to agree on a key issue: the urgent need to strengthen defense policy.
Leaders are entering the Elysée Garden. As reported by the newspaper “Le Figaro”, Macron spoke on the phone with Trump just before the start of the Paris summit.
The Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni arrived a few minutes ago at the summit.
