European leaders are going to Brussels Special Defense Council

European leaders gather in Brussels on Thursday for a special defense council, as French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the continent was in a “turning point”.

Leaders are allegedly discussing how the EU can continue to support Kiev before the announcement of US President Donald Trump on Monday that he will suspend Ukraine’s assistance. President of Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky is invited to the summit.

Since then nerves have been increasingly interrupted across Europe Last week at Trump’s White House and Zelensky in the White HouseAnd the rhetoric near the summit on Thursday leaves no doubt about the importance of which EU officials attribute it to.

Three years since A full -scale invasion of Russia into UkraineAbove the Trump administration, Vladimir Putin left a lot in Europe, concerned that the continent will not be able to rely on US support.

Washington’s decision on Wednesday To pause a joint intelligence exchange with Ukraine Nothing did to mitigate these worries.

In the depth of concern, President Macron said France was open to discuss the extension of the defense proposed by its nuclear arsenal to its European partners, during an appeal to the nation on Wednesday.

After that, a call of Friedrich Merz was held, which would probably become the next German chancellor to discuss the increase in nuclear metabolism.

In Europe, a “bright and real danger that none of us saw in the lives of adults,” said the head of the European Commission Ursul von der Leyen, and the President of the European Council Antonio Costa said it was “a defining moment for Ukraine and European security.”

In a letter to European leaders, von der Leyen also stated that the continent should “meet with the moment” and “unleash our industrial and productive power and send it to security.”

On Monday, von der Leyen announced an unprecedented defense package – called Europe Europe – and said that Europe is ready to “en masse” to increase its expenses “at speed and the necessary ambition.”

Von der Leyen said the three proposals outlined in the “rare Europe” plan will support both Ukraine and “decide the long -term need to take much more responsibility” for European security – probably citing the fact that many Europeans believe that the continent can no longer automatically count on the US.

Offers include:

• Allowing countries to increase the deficit level to provide opportunities for additional protection costs
• 150 billion euros (125 billion pounds) in loans for defense investments that can benefit EU protection as a whole – for example
• Allowing countries to redirect funds designed for cohesion policy (policy aimed at aligning differences between more and less devoted regions) to the cost of defense costs

The European Investment Bank will also be allowed to finance military projects.

According to von der Leen, the plan can release a total of 800 billion euros (860 billion dollars; 670 billion pounds) in defense.

Many European leaders mentioned their support for SWIFT, decisive actions against the continent’s security.

Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland, said the commission’s plan is a “major shift”, while the Lithuanian President Gitanas Naga said the summit would give Europe, “whether it would be simply a debat club or we can make decisions.”

But disagreement with some European leaders who sympathize with Moscow is expected.

Earlier this week, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fika said the EU’s approach through power was “unrealistic”.

And in a letter to Costa, Hungary Victor Orban demanded that Ukraine do not mention any written conclusions after the summit.

Orban – who has repeatedly tried to block the EU assistance to Ukraine and praised Trump for “courageously standing for peace,” said that “a strategic gap … between most Europe and the US.”

“One side insists on the extension of the war in Ukraine and the other seeks to stop the conflict,” he added.

However, Orban left the door open to the “greater probability of cooperation” with other leaders on general security and protection.

Perhaps in the latest application to try to reach the unity ahead of the summit, Macron, which was housed at the EU’s EU -Overcoming Break Break Center – invited Orban to have dinner in Paris on Wednesday night.

Both leaders met immediately after the French president made a gloomy address to the nation, in which France and Europe should be ready if the United States was no longer near.

“We must be united and strongly defend ourselves,” Macron said. He added that the future of Europe could not be related to Washington or Moscow, and said that if he “wanted to believe that the US would stay near ours, we should be ready for it to avoid.”

The French President plans to meet the heads of the European Army in Paris next week.

Macron said “decisive steps” would be taken in Brussels, leaving European countries “more ready to protect and protect itself.”

“The moment requires unprecedented decisions,” he said.