EU Leaders Meet for Historic Defense Summit as France Offers Nuclear Umbrella amid US Support Uncertainty
European Union leaders gathered in Brussels on March 6, 2025, for a watershed summit on continental defense, marked by French President Emmanuel Macron's unprecedented offer to extend France's nuclear deterrent to protect European allies [1][2].
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented an €800 billion ($864 billion) 'ReArm Europe' plan aimed at dramatically increasing the bloc's defense capabilities. 'Europe faces a clear and present danger, and therefore Europe has to be able to protect itself,' von der Leyen stated [1].
The emergency summit comes amid growing uncertainty over U.S. support, following President Trump's recent suspension of military aid to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky joined the talks, expressing gratitude for continued European backing [2].
Key proposals under discussion include:
- Unlocking €800 billion in additional defense spending through loans and new funding mechanisms [3]
- Raising average EU military budgets by 1.5 percentage points of GDP over four years [3]
- Deploying up to 40,000 European 'reassurance' troops to guarantee potential ceasefires [3]
Germany's chancellor-designate Friedrich Merz has secured a coalition agreement to invest an additional €400 billion in defense and €500 billion in infrastructure [3]. This represents a significant shift in German fiscal policy, including plans to modify constitutional debt limits.
The Kremlin responded strongly to Macron's nuclear deterrence proposal, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov calling it a 'threat' against Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed Macron's speech as 'extremely confrontational' [1].
Baltic nations welcomed the French nuclear proposal, with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda describing it as a 'very interesting idea' that could serve as 'serious deterrence towards Russia' [1].