Latest news with #EuropeanSecurity
South China Morning Post
16 hours ago
- Politics
- South China Morning Post
Zelensky tells Nato Chinese companies are among Russia's suppliers aiding war on Ukraine
Chinese defence companies are part of the network helping Russia sustain its war against Ukraine – a war 'crucial' to European security, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the Nato summit on Tuesday. Advertisement While Russia poses a long-term threat to Europe, it is not just Russia alone, Zelensky told the summit's defence industry forum, held in The Hague. Zelensky said that the continent was facing a 'network of state and non-state actors' that are 'assuring the course of aggression'. 'This network includes Russia, North Korea, the current regime in Iran, Chinese companies, and many, many schemes across the world that help produce weapons and carry out operations against our country, our people, and our Europe,' Zelensky said. 'Only together can we counter this and the best way to do it is to hit the core of this aggression hard and to break every link that connects Russia with its accomplices.' Advertisement The Ukrainian president urged Europe to increase its investment in Ukraine and joint weapons production, saying that the weapons would strengthen European defence and security systems, and that ensuring security was their 'common course'.
Times of Oman
2 days ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
NATO members agree to increase defence spending to 5%
Brussels: NATO members agreed on Sunday to increase defense spending to 5% of their countries' GDP, a benchmark long sought by US President Donald Trump, who had complained more vocally than other US presidents that his country had shouldered much of Europe's security for too long. Spain had sought to block the measure, but ultimately dropped its opposition after a deal was reached for it to be exempt. It is expected that NATO members will vote in favor of ramping up defense spendingto 5% during the upcoming two-day NATO meeting set to start Tuesday in The Hague. Once adopted, all member nations except Spain will have until 2035 to reach the goal of 5%. The agreement calls for at least 3.5% of national GDP to be spent on core military needs, while an additional 1.5% can be allocated for related expenditures. Spain claims exemption Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez fought the deal. In a blistering letter to NATO chief Mark Rutte, Sanchez said the 5% figure "would not only be unreasonable, but also counterproductive." Sanchez went further during a national address on Spanish television. "A 5% spending would be disproportionate and unnecessary," he said. "We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defense investment, but we are not going to do it," he said, adding that Spain could meet all its commitments to NATO, in terms of staff or equipment, by spending only 2.1% of its GDP. Of all of NATO's members, Spain has been one of the lowest-spending on defense in relative terms. Sanchez has also been facing political pressure at home, where a corruption scandal threatens his government and his junior coalition partner, the far-left alliance Sumar, is openly hostile to increasing military spending.
Telegraph
16-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Sir Keir must not surrender to Brussels
For two centuries and counting, whether the threat arose from Germany, France or Russia, Britain's military has played a critical role in keeping tyranny from the European continent. With the United States increasingly unwilling to pay for the defence of countries that seem to treat Washington with a combination of entitlement and disdain, the United Kingdom's military is more vital to European security than it has been in decades. This appears to have passed Sir Keir Starmer by. The idea that the EU could need defence co-operation with the UK more than Britain needs a further deal with the Continent is anathema to a Prime Minister who spent the Brexit years marinating in Remainer talking points. It is, nevertheless, more than likely true. The EU needs the reassurance and participation of the United Kingdom in its defence. The question is what price we should ask in return. The status of Northern Ireland, for instance, is deeply unsatisfactory, and efforts to remove the barriers to the free flow of trade across the Irish Sea should be undertaken. The EU appears to wish this to be achieved through a deal which would see the UK align with laws made in Brussels, and submit to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. This, surely, would be an excellent point to leverage the threat of non-co-operation on defence matters, and to highlight just how weak the bloc's hand is. For Sir Keir, regrettably, Britain's participation in Europe's defence is a prize and a privilege that London, and not Brussels, should pay for. As such, there is a real risk that the Prime Minister is about to sign away further fishing rights in the UK's waters in exchange for the right to pay into an EU rearmament fund where France is angling to limit the share of spending that can go to British companies, while also giving Brussels greater rights to interfere in the running of the British economy. It is entirely understandable that European capitals might still be insistent that costs be imposed on Britain in case the visible successes of the Brexit project – and in particular, the flurry of free trade deals struck over the past year – might give various countries pause for thought about the continued desirability of membership. It is not clear why Sir Keir Starmer should be willing to go along with this. If Brussels wants British soldiers deployed in its military missions and British foreign policy tightly aligned with decisions made in the bloc, then it is Europe that should be offering concessions. Sir Keir would do well to remember this. So, too, should the EU: given the surging support for Reform UK, and Nigel Farage's militant promises to tear up lopsided treaties with the bloc, a bad deal may well prove to be a short-lived one.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Zelensky arrives in Albania for European Political Community summit
President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Albania on May 16 to attend a summit of the European Political Community, presidential spokesperson Serhii Nykyforov said, according to the state news channel Freedom TV. The sixth meeting of the European Political Community will focus on Europe's security, including Russia's ongoing full-scale war against Ukraine, among other topics. The summit comes as Ukrainian and Russian delegations are expected to hold talks in Istanbul for the first time since 2022. Turkish and U.S. officials will also reportedly join the series of discussions. Zelensky's visit follows his trip to Turkey, where he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Although a face-to-face meeting between Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin was anticipated in Istanbul, Putin instead sent a delegation led by his aide, Vladimir Medinsky. Kyiv and its partners have urged Moscow to adopt an unconditional 30-day ceasefire as the first step toward a broader peace deal, a move that Russia continues to reject. Read also: 'It's a mess' — after all the hype, Ukraine-Russia peace talks in Istanbul descend into name-calling shambles We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Telegraph
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Macron open to deploying nuclear bombers across Europe
Emmanuel Macron is open to deploying French warplanes armed with nuclear weapons to other European countries. 'We are ready to open this discussion. I will define the framework in a very specific way in the weeks and months to come,' the French president told TF1 television in a marathon three-hour interview on Tuesday night. 'The Americans have the bombs on planes in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Turkey,' he added, pointing to the US nuclear arrangements with Nato countries. However, Mr Macron listed three conditions for such a move. 'France will not pay for the security of others' and it 'will not come at the expense of what we need', he said. 'The final decision will always rest with the president of the republic, as the head of the armed forces.' Mr Macron insisted he had no intention of 'unleashing World War Three ' with Russia. The Telegraph learnt of France's willingness to use its nuclear deterrent to help protect Europe in February, but the French defence ministry declined to confirm the possibility at the time. A French official told The Telegraph that fighter jets carrying nuclear weapons could potentially be deployed to Germany as the US threatens to withdraw its forces from the Continent. This would send a message to Vladimir Putin, while diplomats in Berlin suggested it would pressure Sir Keir Starmer to do the same. 'Posting a few French nuclear jet fighters in Germany should not be difficult and would send a strong message,' the source said in February. Mr Macron's comments come after Friedrich Merz, the new German chancellor, called on Britain and France to extend their nuclear protection as he seeks 'independence' for Europe from Donald Trump's America. America is believed to have about 50 nuclear bombs stored at the Incirlik air base in the south of the Nato member Turkey. France is the EU's only nuclear-armed nation and its nuclear deterrent is currently independent from Nato, while Britain's forms a key part of the alliance's defence strategy. Poland has already made clear it is keen to benefit from France's nuclear deterrent. Mr Macron added: 'There has always been a European dimension in the consideration of what we call vital interests. We do not elaborate on this because ambiguity goes hand in hand with the deterrent.' Elsewhere in the interview, the 47-year-old centrist leader also promised referendums on key issues as he outlined his aims for the remaining two years of his mandate. Mr Macron first took office in 2017 and will step down in 2027 after serving the maximum two terms allowed under the constitution. Since last July, he has struggled to remain relevant on the domestic stage after his decision to hold snap legislative elections backfired, leaving him without a majority. He has recently won plaudits on the international front in seeking to bring an end to the three-year war sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 'We must help Ukraine defend itself, but we do not want to unleash a Third World War,' he said. 'The war must cease and Ukraine must be in the best possible situation to go into negotiations.' 'Zero mea culpa' Mr Macron reserved his most strident comments for Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, who he accused of 'unacceptable' and 'shameful' behaviour in blocking aid to the Palestinians in Gaza. 'What the government of Benjamin Netanyahu is doing is unacceptable... There is no water, no medicine, the wounded cannot get out, the doctors cannot get in. What he is doing is shameful,' he said. However, on Wednesday his performance was widely criticised by the opposition and the French press with Roland Cayrol, a political analyst, summing it up as: 'Zero mea culpa. Permanent self-satisfaction.' Mr Macron ruled out staging a referendum on whether to reverse a pension reform to raise the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 and another mooted by his prime minister, Francois Bayrou, on getting a handle on French public spending. He promised others without going into details. 'No amount of justification could dispel last night's spectacle of impotence. Of an inability to set a course for the next two years,' remarked Patrick Cohen, a political commentator, on France Inter, the top state radio channel. 'There was talk of a new impetus, but it was more like a last will and testament.'
