Ukraine summit in London: new alliance in the making?
European leaders as well as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau convened in London on Sunday to discuss further support for Ukraine. It was decided that a "coalition of the willing" led by the UK and France will boost arms supplies to Kyiv. A plan for a ceasefire is also to be drawn up. Most European commentators take a positive view of the meeting.
Starmer steps up
La Repubblica applauds the British government for leading the way on Ukraine:
“Peace on the old continent is now closely entwined with London - despite Brexit and despite the rifts and tensions with Brussels in recent turbulent years. 'We are at a crossroads in history, with regard to our security there is no more time to lose,' Starmer said at the start of the summit. Together with Macron, he has taken command of Europe to turn the old continent into a defence power and bring Zelensky's Ukraine back to the negotiating table with the US and Russia. ... To achieve this goal, however, Starmer must convince Zelensky to accept Trump's tough terms.”
An injection of realism for Europe
Zeit Online praises Keir Starmer's diplomatic initiative:
“It may seem ironic that of all countries it is non-EU member Britain that is giving the EU this realpolitical kick in the rear end. There has always been a certain discrepancy between common-sense pragmatism and ideological romanticism, which set the British apart from the continental Europeans. Starmer is to be thanked for once again reviving this old, friendly tension and giving Europeans an injection of realism in the field of defence policy.”
Without the US if necessary
Europe must be prepared to find its own way, demands Ilta-Sanomat:
“In previous crises, the EU has found ways to grant aid totalling hundreds of billions of euros when the going got tough - even when it meant circumventing the unanimity principle of all member states and its own rules. This was the case with the euro crisis and most recently with the Covid crisis, which both posed difficult challenges but at least didn't jeopardise peace. Now Ukraine's independence and Europe's security are at stake. This time we are not dealing with a debt crisis or a pandemic, but with a belligerent Russia. But this too must be stopped, with or without the US.”
Dependent on America
It will be a long time before Europe stands on its own two feet militarily, Hospodářské noviny observes:
“Following the debacle of the meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, Europe is looking for a way to defend Ukraine and reconcile the two presidents. The fact is that without America Europe's military weakness means that for at least the next few years there are no effective security guarantees that the West could give Kyiv in order for the Ukrainians to be able to negotiate an acceptable ceasefire with Russia. At the same time, Europe will not even be able to defend itself for a long time to come because of its dependence on American technology, logistics and intelligence services.”
Return to a policy of appeasement
For De Standaard the Europeans' top priority must now be to buy time:
“Externally, they must calmly and resolutely preserve diplomatic relations with the US and others in order to save what can be saved. The situation is unprecedented, but in a way it marks a return to the 'appeasement' policy of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in 1939, for which he was demonised, even though he too was pursuing the goal of buying time. Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron have clearly realised this. At the same time, there is not a second to lose when it comes to re-industrialisation and Europe taking its fate in its own hands.”