EU leaders agree to dramatically increase military spending amid rift with US

European leaders have agreed to dramatically increase military spending, and continue to support Ukraine against Russia, after US President Donald Trump halted the military and intelligence aid to Kiev.

At a crisis summit in Brussels on Thursday, EU leaders endorsed an $860 billion (€800bn) plan to “rearm Europe” outlined by the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, earlier this week.

Von der Leyen said it was “a watershed moment for Europe” and also for Ukraine.

“Europe must become more sovereign, more responsible for its own defense and better equipped to act and deal autonomously with immediate and future challenges and threats,” the final conclusions state.

The EU “will accelerate the mobilization of the necessary instruments and financing” to boost security and “reinforce its overall defense readiness [and] reduce its strategic dependencies”.

This comes as European governments are under pressure to boost defense as Trump questions whether the United States, the guarantor of Europe's security since World War II, should continue its central role in NATO.

He once again cast doubt on his willingness to defend NATO allies, saying they "should be paying more.”

The statement—backed by 26 of 27 states amid the opposition of Hungary—stressed that "there can be no negotiations on Ukraine without Ukraine" after Trump began talks with Russia without Kiev or the EU.

It declared that Ukraine had to be in the "strongest possible position" to secure a "just and lasting peace".

Arriving at the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who had originally been scheduled to join by video link, said “We are very thankful that we are not alone.”

The plan includes a loan scheme secured against unused funds in the EU budget and greater flexibilities in the bloc’s fiscal rules that could unlock €650bn in new spending.

Member states would still have to agree to the €150bn loans scheme.

US halts intelligence support to Ukraine amid Trump-Zelensky row: Officials

The Trump administration has reportedly suspended Washington’s intelligence support to Kiev, amid tensions with Zelensky of Ukraine over a peace deal with Russia.

The summit was called last week after Trump embarked on his direct diplomacy with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, but before the US president’s clash with Zelensky in the White House and the suspension of US aid.

Relations between the United States and Ukraine broke down dramatically in late February, when Trump and Vice President JD Vance engaged in a tense exchange with the Ukrainian president at the Oval Office over a proposed peace deal with Russia.

Afterwards, the Trump administration suspended Washington’s intelligence support and military aid to Ukraine to pressure Kiev into a swift end to the three-year war on Washington's terms.

In a sign of improved ties, Zelensky expressed willingness in a letter to Trump on Tuesday to enter negotiations over the war. Ukrainian and American negotiators are expected to meet in Saudi Arabia next week.

Since the Ukraine war began in February 2022, the US has provided Ukraine with nearly $86 billion in military assistance, according to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

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