Europe live: European leaders meet in Paris to discuss Ukraine’s future | Ukraine

The Paris meeting will aim to outline a European action plan after days of chaotic briefing by the Trump administration. The summit will also need to decide how to respond to a request by the US to spell out whether leaders are prepared to commit troops to a stabilisation force in the event of a ceasefire.

Confirming the Paris meeting, France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, told France Inter radio on Sunday: “The president will bring together the main European countries tomorrow for discussions on European security.” He said there was a wind of unity blowing through.

It will discuss what defence capabilities Europe could provide to give Ukraine credible security guarantees, including a plan for Ukraine to be given automatic Nato membership in the event of a clear ceasefire breach by Russia. The US has said there must be devastating consequences for any side that breaches a ceasefire agreement, an element missing from previous Ukraine ceasefires since 2014.

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Morning opening: Make Europe Relevant Again

Jakub Krupa

After a brutal awakening about the state of the transatlantic alliance over the weekend, key European leaders are meeting in Paris today to figure out what to do next.

They will not be necessarily looking how to Make Europe Great Again, as JD Vance claims he would have want them to, but how to Make Europe Relevant Again in the looming talks about Ukraine’s future.

Hastily convened by French president Emmanuel Macron, the talks with see key regional leaders try to path a way forward outside the formal structures of the European Union, and without the risk of being sabotaged by the likes of Viktor Orbán.

Macron is expected to be joined by Germany’s Scholz, Italy’s Meloni, Poland’s Tusk, Denmark’s Frederiksen (representing the Nordic-Baltic Eight), Spain’s Sanchez, the Netherlands’ Schoof and EU leaders in Commission president von der Leyen and Council president Costa.

The meeting will discuss what defence capabilities Europe could provide to give Ukraine credible security guarantees, including a plan for Ukraine to be given automatic Nato membership in the event of a clear ceasefire breach by Russia.

But there is no hiding from the fact that the Paris summit will be taking place just as US officials will be prepping to meet with Russian counterparts in the Saudi capital of Riyadh to discuss some of the issues at hand – without any Ukrainians or Europeans attending.

If Europe wants to put itself back in this conversation, there is not much time left to do this before it is too late, with potentially devastating consequences for the security order that kept us safe since 1945.

Pas de pression, Paris.

It’s Monday, 17 February 2024, and this is Europe Live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.

Good morning.