EU leaders agree to ‘re-arm Europe’ as US announces new talks with Ukraine

EU leaders shaken by the prospect of US disengagement agreed to boost the bloc’s defences at a crisis summit Thursday, as Washington said talks with Kyiv were back on track to secure a ceasefire with Moscow.

Rallying around Ukraine after Volodymyr Zelensky’s White House blow-up with President Donald Trump, European countries greenlit a plan to “re-arm Europe” against the perceived threat from Russia.

“We are moving decisively towards a strong and more sovereign Europe of defence,” Antonio Costa, who heads the Council of the EU’s 27 states, told reporters after the talks.

“We are putting our money where our mouth is.”

Leaders endorsed the European Commission’s aim to mobilise about €800 billion (US$860 billion) for defence spending, committing to examine “as a matter of urgency” its proposal to provide members with EU-backed loans of up to €150 billion.