The European political elite have been left in disarray as the US took the lead in shaping a resolution to the war in Ukraine without them, leaving them scrambling to find solutions.
At a loss over what action to take, EU leaders have opted for strong-worded statements, each calling for unity of the continent.
The EU Parliament’s pro-European parties — the Liberal Renew group, the centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), and the Social Democrats (S&D) — issued a joint statement warning that the US could not now be considered a reliable ally.
“Europe can no longer fully rely on the United States to defend our shared values and interests including continued support for Ukraine’s sovereignty,” the statement published on February 18 read.
Yet, beyond tough rhetoric, no clear plan has emerged from the pro-European parties’ statement.
???? BREAKING: @IratxeGarper & leaders of the pro-European groups in the @Europarl_EN agree:
“There can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine and the European Union at the table.
There can be no negotiation about European security without the EU.” pic.twitter.com/h7kQkBUP1v
— S&D Group (@TheProgressives) February 18, 2025
That followed another statement published on February 17 by EU political heavyweights.
A dramatic open letter, signed by the directors of the Jacques Delors Institute, along with former European commissioner Enrico Letta, former World Trade Organisation chief Pascal Lamy and ex-commissioner Etienne Davignon — accused US President Donald Trump of posing a “serious and multiple” danger to Europe.
“After a month of provocations, aggressions, and contemptuous injunctions, we now know that with the new President of the United States, we are facing serious and multiple dangers. It is up to us to respond strategically,” they wrote.
“We must face this new reality and double down on our joint effort in defence of Ukraine and European security as a whole by establishing a strong deterrence against any aggression towards the EU and its partners,” they added, without giving further details on how the EU should take the matters into its own hands.
They sounded an alarm on the future of the transatlantic alliance, warning of “survival or decline”.
“While an immediate European reaction might have seemed premature as long as there was still hope of preserving a transatlantic relationship that is essential to our history and our collective memory, we must now face a harsh reality: Trump must be stopped,” they wrote.
Despite their warnings, EU leaders have admitted they lacked any strategy.
“We are, of course, aware of the scale of this challenge at a time when we have yet to develop a unified strategy among European countries and their neighbours, nor have we reached an agreement on how to use the many tools at our disposal,” the EU heavyweights recognised.
The two statements followed the failed emergency talks in Paris convened by French President Emmanuel Macron between Giorgia Meloni, the NATO executive chief, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, UK Prime Minister Keir Stammer and Germany’s outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
EU leaders have also called for higher defence spending to ramp up the continent’s defence capabilities but remained divided on the possible deployment of peacekeepers to Ukraine to back up any peace deal.
France is set to convene another meeting to discuss Ukraine on February 19, this time involving more EU countries and Canada.
While EU leaders have repeated calls for unity and the need for European defence, they have remained divided over what the next course of action should be.
