Europe Gathers Strength to be Independent from US, Nuclear Discourse Emerges

BRUSSELS, THURSDAY — Europe has begun mobilizing efforts to achieve military independence from the United States (US) following President Donald Trump's official suspension of US support to Ukraine. Trump's stance has raised doubts about US support for Europe in the future.

EU leaders plan to hold emergency talks on Thursday (6/3/2025) local time or Friday Indonesian time.

In the emergency meeting, the European Union (EU) plans to discuss increasing the defense budget and the use of France's nuclear weapons. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is also scheduled to attend.

"Europe is facing a clear and present danger on a scale we have never seen before. Some of our fundamental assumptions are being undermined to their very core," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a letter to the 27 EU leaders.

This discussion is framed to enable the EU to swiftly establish independent defense capabilities and assist Ukraine, while breaking its decades-long reliance on the U.S. defense umbrella.

"Given the increasing threat situation, it is clear to us that Europe must now urgently make very significant and swift efforts to strengthen the defense capabilities of our countries and the European continent," said Germany's next chancellor, Friedrich Merz, on Tuesday (4/3/2025). EU leaders are expected to approve a four-year exemption to allow member states to increase defense spending during the extraordinary summit in Brussels.

Germany has called for an overhaul of the strict EU spending rules. This overhaul is intended to allow EU member states to allocate larger budgets for defense in the long term.

Merz has pledged to allocate billions of euros in additional spending for defense and infrastructure. Merz's promise was followed by a proposal from the German Ambassador to the EU to provide EU member states with more flexibility in spending.

The proposal came as a surprise to EU diplomats at a meeting in Brussels, as it marked a shift in Germany's long-standing stance on budget cuts and attempts to avoid loosening spending rules.

However, the German Ambassador's call has not been well received by a number of countries that have a frugal spending approach.

"The Netherlands and Sweden asked not to change the text," said a diplomat involved in the talks in Brussels.

European Union members are bound by spending rules that require them to keep public deficits below 3 percent of economic output and debt to a maximum of 60 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). Increased defense spending could make it difficult for EU member states to stay within debt and deficit limits.

French President Emmanuel Macron said the possibility of using France's nuclear deterrent would also be discussed with European allies. Discussion of nuclear use is seen as important in efforts to protect Europe from the Russian threat. France is the only European Union member state with nuclear weapons.

In a speech ahead of an emergency meeting in Brussels, Macron described Russia as a threat to France and Europe. To that end, he said, he had decided to open a strategic debate on protecting the European continent with a nuclear deterrent.

He said the use of France's nuclear weapons would only be in the hands of the French president.

Macron's move was a response to Merz's demands. In addition to increasing defense spending, Merz also called for discussions on nuclear sharing with France.

For decades, within the framework of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Europe has relied on the US's powerful nuclear arsenal. "The future of Europe should not be decided in Washington or Moscow," Macron said.

France's nuclear deterrent is air and sea-based, with Rafale fighter jets and nuclear submarines that can strike at any time, on the instructions of the French president.

Europe's future should not be decided in Washington or Moscow.

In the early days of the Cold War, then French President Charles de Gaulle developed a nuclear deterrent designed to be completely independent of the two dominant powers of the time, the Soviet Union and the United States. Now, the United States is moving closer to Russia and away from Europe.

Macron stressed that Europe's innocence of the past 30 years, following the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, was over.

The emergency meeting was overshadowed by European fears of Russian military power. In November 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold or relaxed the conditions that make it easier for Russia to launch a nuclear attack.

Last year, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Russian nuclear weapons three times more powerful than those used on Japan during World War II had been delivered to Belarus, which borders Ukraine. Putin controls about 5,580 nuclear warheads, the largest nuclear power outside the United States, according to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is concerned that Russia's armed forces could be capable of launching an attack on another European country by 2030. He has warned that allies will have to spend more than 3 percent of GDP on their military budgets.

Previously, the Trump administration demanded that Europe spend 5 percent of GDP on defense. That amount far exceeds the NATO benchmark of at least 2 percent. Seven European allies have yet to reach that target. The US spends about 3.4 percent.

Macron said Russia now spends 40 percent of its state budget on military spending.

Russia has also stated plans to increase its military strength by 2030, adding 300,000 more soldiers, 3,000 tanks and 300 fighter jets. "Who believes that Russia will stop in Ukraine now?" Macron asked.

According to Macron, Europe needs to ensure that Russia will not invade Ukraine again, once there is a peace deal. This means providing long-term support for the Ukrainian army.

Macron also emphasized the possibility of deploying European troops to Ukraine to confront Russia. The idea of deploying European troops was driven by France and Britain. This plan was also discussed with Trump during Macron's visit to the White House two weeks ago.

The troops, Macron said, would not fight on the front lines. Instead, they would be deployed after the peace was signed to ensure that the peace was fully respected.

He said a meeting of the army chiefs of staff of European countries willing to get involved would be held in Paris next week.

Von der Leyen has proposed that the EU's executive branch, the European Commission, provide member states with a loan fund to buy new military equipment, either for domestic use or to send to Ukraine. She has suggested EU countries raise up to $161 billion on financial markets to fund the loan.

On Monday (3/3/2025), Trump ordered a temporary halt to US military supplies to Ukraine after pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to agree to a ceasefire with Russia. This adds new urgency to the emergency EU summit to be held in Brussels.

However, the EU faces a major challenge in unifying the opinions of its member states. Because, currently the EU's voice is divided. In fact, the bloc needs a unanimous vote to enact a number of policies.

Hungary, Slovakia and Bulgaria, for example, tend to be pro-Russian. Hungary and Slovakia routinely undermine EU support for Ukraine.

Hungary has threatened to veto a joint statement drafted for an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, but it cannot block any major security or funding decisions.

The situation could worsen as many major EU countries face domestic uncertainty. Germany is in the midst of a new leadership transition. France's current government is also fragile due to the rise of the opposition, while Spain relies on small parties to keep its coalition intact.

Meanwhile, despite strong leadership under Prime Minister Donald Tusk, Poland is facing a presidential election. The Dutch cabinet, dominated by far-right leader Geert Wilders, is also seen as shaky.

The emergency meeting of EU leaders was meant to unite the divided voices. But the emergency gathering in Brussels will not immediately fill the arms and ammunition vacuum caused by the U.S. support freeze. Nor will it unblock some $196 billion in Russian assets frozen in a Belgian clearinghouse.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's armed forces are still struggling to slow down Russia's advance along a 1,000-kilometer front, especially in the eastern Donetsk region. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and more than 12,000 civilians have been killed in the more than three-year-long war.

EU leaders will also discuss whether to secure more arms contracts with Ukraine's defence industry.

This is intended to help integrate it into Europe's industrial network, with production costs in Ukraine being much lower and providing a relatively quick way to supply more arms and ammunition.

“Last year alone, thanks to the efforts of Ukraine and partners, we produced more than 1.5 million drones of various types. Ukraine is now a world leader in drone warfare. This is our success. But it is also your success,” Zelenskyy said at the Munich Security Conference in early February 2025. (AP/AFP/Reuters)