European leaders have held crisis talks with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as the US pivots away from its trans-Atlantic partners. The meeting was aimed at shoring up support for Ukraine and boosting Europe's defense spending.
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00:00This public display of support for Ukraine's war-weary president was the first thing EU leaders wanted to achieve
00:06with this emergency meeting which comes a week after Volodymyr Zelensky was kicked out of the White House after clashing with Donald Trump.
00:14Dear Volodymyr,
00:16we are with you
00:18since day one.
00:20We'll continue with you now, and we will continue
00:24in the future.
00:25I want to thank all our European leaders, first of all, and for such
00:32signals, strong support at this council, strong support from the very beginning of the war and
00:40what's been
00:42during all this period and last week. You stay with us.
00:46Zelensky used the occasion to ask EU leaders to continue urging Washington to involve Kyiv in peace negotiations with Moscow.
00:54EU leaders agree with Zelensky that an agreement to stop the fighting without security guarantees for Ukraine
01:01wouldn't deter Russia from attacking again.
01:04The summit statement EU leaders have endorsed says a ceasefire must be part of a process that leads to a full peace
01:11agreement. It adds that any agreement must be accompanied by
01:16robust and credible security guarantees for Ukraine.
01:20Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban didn't back the statement,
01:24but all the leaders have committed to working together to bolster Europe's defense.
01:28They discussed easing the bloc's strict budget debt rules so member states can increase their military spending.
01:35Today history is being written.
01:37We are coming out of this European Council very determined to ensure Europe's security and to act with the scale,
01:46the speed and the resolve that this situation demands. I presented the rearm your plan today to the leaders.
01:54A plan to give Europe the military capability that it needs to face today's threats.
02:01It could mobilize up to 800 billion euros and it is about taking more
02:07responsible on our shoulders for our own security.
02:11This is a moment of vindication for France's President Emmanuel Macron, who for years has been urging Europe to build the capacity to defend itself
02:19without relying on NATO and the United States.
02:22France is now considering protecting European allies with its nuclear arsenal.
02:28I propose to open a strategic conversation with the member states that are interested in making progress on this subject.
02:35It's an option that would have been unthinkable under the decades of transatlantic cooperation.