"Ring of fire around Europe"

EU summit warns of major global threat

Interim Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg at the summit in Brussels

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The EU wants to better equip itself for the defense of the future due to the current threat. At an "informal meeting" in Brussels on Monday, the EU heads of state and government discussed how Europe can be made "more resilient, more efficient and more autonomous in the area of security and defense". NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are present. Austria is represented by Interim Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP).

According to Rutte, the dispute over tariffs between the USA and its allies will not have a negative impact on the deterrence of the defense alliance. "There are always problems, sometimes bigger, sometimes smaller", said Rutte at a joint press conference with Starmer at NATO headquarters. However, he was "absolutely convinced that this will have no impact on our collective deterrence".

Defense without the USA a "silly idea"
 Rutte described the idea that there could be a European defense strategy without the USA as a "silly idea". It is about a geopolitical threat that does not only come from Russia, but is global. Rutte previously announced a "significant increase in the committed defense spending and production" of the NATO countries. With regard to support for Ukraine, he expected the USA to lead the way and Europe to follow, and that there would be a fair distribution of the burden.

Starmer also praised the cohesion of the alliance, which had become even stronger as a result of Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine. He defended himself against the impression that he now had to choose between the European Union, which US President Donald Trump is threatening with tariffs, and the USA. "I have always made it clear that both are important for us. That is not new. That has always been the case and will continue to be the case in the future," explained the Labor politician.

After the first working session of the meeting on transatlantic relations, a Council representative told the press that the heads of state and government had emphasized the value of the partnership between the EU and the USA. This was "deeply rooted" and would "endure". There was agreement that solutions should be found to problems and that tariffs between the USA and the EU would be damaging for both sides. Furthermore, the EU leaders declared their full support and solidarity with Denmark and recalled the relevant principles of international law. US President Donald Trump had made territorial claims to Greenland, which belongs to Denmark.

Schallenberg: "We don't know our future"
 "We have a ring of fire around Europe, we don't know our future," warned Schallenberg at the start of the meeting. It makes sense to "think about what we need for the future" and "not just take out fire insurance when the house is already on fire". Schallenberg emphasized that there is "no standard size for defence policy in the EU", each state has its own policy and there are states such as Austria that are neutral. Even within the framework of neutrality, however, "pooling and sharing", joint research and procurement, "would also be advantageous for us and would make sense".

"We need to work even more closely together to become more resilient, efficient and autonomous in the face of the threats facing #Europe," the interim chancellor then posted on X. However, there can be no one-size-fits-all approach, he said.

"Everyone is currently buying from their own defense industries and there are no pan-European purchases," Schallenberg said in the morning. He emphasized that he was not part of the government negotiations and did not want to get ahead of himself, but that Austria's basic line on airspace surveillance had remained unchanged for years and that pooling made sense. The background to this are the discussions about a possible withdrawal from the "Sky Shield" system.

EU Council President wants decisions to be made soon
At the start of the meeting on Monday morning in Brussels, EU Council President Antonio Costa said that the strategic discussion among EU leaders should provide the EU Commission with guidance for its planned "White Paper" (discussion paper) on defense "and pave the way for decisions in the coming months". The discussion now revolves around three topics, namely what the priorities for European defense are, how the necessary funding can be provided and how the EU can strengthen existing partnerships. At a summit in Versailles in March 2022 - immediately after the start of the Russian attack on Ukraine - the EU had already committed to taking on more responsibility in defense issues, said Costa. "We are not starting from scratch."

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz emphasized: "We must strengthen European defence." For Germany, "Europe is the most important national interest we have". There needs to be more cooperation between the defense industries and "constant joint production".

Russia "a threat" to European countries
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo warned: "Russia remains and is a permanent threat to European countries." For Finland and many Eastern European countries, security and defense are "existential", Orpo said. Finland is open to solutions for financing European defense. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen expressed similar sentiments. "Russia is not only a threat to Ukraine, but to all of us," she said. The greatest difficulty is that Europe is too slow, "that we still believe we live in times of peace" and that Europe lacks a sense of urgency.

With regard to the ambitions of US President Donald Trump, Frederiksen again emphasized that Greenland was not for sale. Denmark had made it clear that the sovereignty of states must be respected. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas also warned that Russia was not changing its goals. Europe must do more for its defense. "If Europe cannot defend itself, no one will defend it", emphasized EU Parliament President Roberta Metsola.