Latest news with #EuropeanUnity
Fox News
8 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
European leaders will join Trump-Zelensky meeting, signaling solidarity with Ukraine
European leaders will join Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy when he travels to Washington, D.C., on Monday for a high-stakes meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump. On Sunday, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb all confirmed their attendance. Their joint presence underscores Europe's determination to present a united front in support of Ukraine as Russia's war drags on. Ahead of his meeting with Trump, Zelenskyy met with von der Leyen at the European Commission in Brussels to set priorities for the White House talks, focusing on long-term military aid, Ukraine's ambitions to join the EU, and bolstering transatlantic solidarity in the face of Russian aggression. At a joint press conference, von der Leyen said she was glad to be joining Zelenskyy and other European leaders in Washington on Monday. "We will continue to support you for as long as it takes," she said, adding that the EU backs a trilateral meeting between Ukraine, Russia and the United States. She warned that the EU will move forward next month with its 19th sanctions package against Russia if the Kremlin refuses to halt its war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy said he hopes the upcoming meeting with Trump "will be productive" and not a repeat of the shouting match that took place in the Oval Office during his February visit. Zelenskyy's meeting at the White House comes on the heels of Trump's summit with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in Anchorage on Friday, where Trump dropped his demand for a ceasefire and urged a final peace deal. After meeting with Putin, Trump said the Russian leader was willing to end the war in exchange for key Ukrainian territory concessions. Trump said Kyiv should take the deal with Moscow because "Russia is a very big power, and they're not." Zelenskyy, alongside European leaders, consistently rejects proposals to surrender any Ukrainian land to Russia. "Since the territorial issue is so important, it should be discussed only by the leaders of Ukraine and Russia at the trilateral Ukraine, United States, Russia," Zelenskyy told reporters at the European Commission on Sunday. "So far, Russia has given no sign that the trilateral will happen," he added.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
Extreme temperatures continue to affect large parts of southern Europe
Update: Date: 2025-08-14T07:45:18.000Z Title: Morning opening: And now we wait Content: With European leaders sighing relief after their promising coordination call with Trump, there is not much else they can do now other than wait to see what comes out of the US president's meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska tomorrow. Flying in from Berlin where he met German chancellor Friedrich Merz, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy is meeting UK prime minister Keir Starmer in London this morning to further highlight the European unity ahead of the talks. Elsewhere, we will be looking at extreme temperatures that continue to affect large parts of southern Europe with dangerous wildfires reported in Spain, Greece, and Albania among others. Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus, is expected to hit somewhat extreme 44 Celsius today. I will bring you all the key updates here. It's Thursday, 14 August 2025, it's Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live. Good morning.
CNN
26-06-2025
- Business
- CNN
They call it ‘Merzcron': The EU's Franco-German engine is powering up once again
The clasped hands of French and German leaders have long embodied the spirit of European unity – most famously in 1984, when François Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl stood hand-in-hand at Verdun in a symbol of reconciliation. So, when Chancellor Friedrich Merz grasped President Emmanuel Macron's hand on the steps of the Élysée palace in early May – a handshake that was long, warm, and accompanied by backslapping – it wasn't just a photo-op. It was the clearest sign yet that Europe's most important alliance was back in motion. After years of sputtering and frustration under Olaf Scholz, the Franco-German engine is humming again, and it has a new name: Merzcron. Since Merz's election, the two have met six times – most recently with other NATO leaders at The Hague. They will sit down together again on Thursday at the European Council meeting in Brussels. Their shared agenda: to drive the European Union response on security, Ukraine and Trump-era uncertainties, and shape Europe's role on the global stage. Ahead of Wednesday's NATO summit, Macron and Merz laid out their vision in a joint opinion piece in the Financial Times. 'In these testing times, Germany and France - together with our European and transatlantic friends and allies - stand united and strong, to defend our common values as well as the freedom and security of our citizens,' they wrote. They outlined plans to boost defense spending – aiming to reach 3.5% of GDP in core military investments – and to deepen cooperation between NATO and the EU, calling for a stronger, more sovereign Europe that is no longer reliant on others for its security. They pledged to ensure Ukraine emerges 'prosperous, robust and secure,' and warned that European stability for decades to come hangs in the balance. The signs are that the powerful 'Mercron' or 'Merkozy' alliance, portmanteaus derived from the names of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Macron and his predecessor Nicholas Sarkozy, is evolving into an equally influential 'Merzcron.' The two-day European Council summit now underway in Brussels, hot on the heels of a G7 meeting in Canada and the NATO leaders' summit in The Hague, is the first of Merz's chancellorship. It will likely be another demonstration of how strong this union could be. CNN spoke to two stalwarts of the Franco-German partnership – former French President Francois Hollande, who worked closely with Merkel, and Wolfgang Ischinger, a former German deputy secretary of state once described as Europe's most connected former diplomat – to assess its significance for Europe and the world. Under Scholz, the former German chancellor, the Berlin-Paris axis became strained, something that both Ischinger and Hollande noted. Stefan Seidendorf, director at the Franco-German Institute in Ludwigsburg, Germany, said Scholz spent so much time doing 'domestic homework' that he was never able to fully focus on Europe. The three-way coalition he headed was beset with infighting on domestic and Europe issues and eventually collapsed in November last year, triggering an early election. However, there were also some interpersonal issues at play. 'It was difficult for Macron to get along with this very Protestant, northern German, not very emotional, not into the big symbols of political leadership,' Siedendorf told CNN in a phone interview. He added that the same went for Scholz, 'who found it difficult to get along with this French president living in the palace of Élysée with all the gold and the glitter and the ceremony.' But neither was Macron and Merz's friendship a given, considering their different styles. Macron, 47, is Jupiterian and theatrical, hailed by some as a visionary, dismissed by others as a narcissist. Merz, 69, is impulsive, prickly under pressure and occasionally leans into populist bluster. That said, Ischinger said both leaders 'met rather easily – and got their act together.' Speaking about their shared character traits, he said they 'love interaction. They enjoy difficult questions. These two have a way of understanding each other – they are open.' The clearest display of 'Merzcron' in action has been around support for Ukraine. Hollande told CNN the duo had already been 'effective' on the issue. Their recent trip to Kyiv, alongside British and Polish leaders Keir Starmer and Donald Tusk, 'was a symbol of a new kind of determined getting-together of the major European powers to make progress,' Ischinger said. Paris has long been more hawkish than Berlin on its support for Ukraine. Macron has been a strong proponent of boots on the ground in the country and has allowed Ukraine to fire French-made long-range missiles deep into Russia. However, Hollande said, 'we've seen that Merz's position is a bit different from that of his predecessor… including on the delivery of missiles capable of reaching Russian territory.' Since taking office, Merz has welcomed Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky to Berlin and unveiled a new $5 billion package for Ukraine that includes joint co-operation in the development of long-range missiles capable of being fired deep into Russia, some of which could be online by the end of the year. 'Now we're in perfect unity,' Ischinger said of the Franco-German alignment on Ukraine. Russia's unease over a more coordinated Franco-German approach to Ukraine is already starting to show. News of last month's visit to Kyiv by Merz and Macron was accompanied by the release of a photo taken ahead of a meeting between them. Sitting on the table was a white tissue. Its presence sparked an online rumor, amplified by Kremlin officials and later traced back to pro-Russian accounts, that falsely claimed the crumpled tissue – which Macron picked up and pocketed – was a cocaine bag. The Élysée countered by saying 'when European unity becomes inconvenient, disinformation goes so far as to make a simple tissue look like drugs. This fake news is being spread by France's enemies, both abroad and at home.' US President Donald Trump's return to the White House has also forced a new alignment between the European powerhouses, particularly on the issue of Europe's security. The Trump administration's insistence that Europe should do more to defend itself triggered the shift, Hollande explained, saying that it 'forced France and Germany to work together diplomatically and militarily, whereas until then, their main alignment had been on monetary issues. 'Today there is a shared responsibility. Germany must do more for its defense, and France must be willing to share a number of proposals and initiatives – including on defense – with Germany,' Hollande says. Before even formally taking office, Merz managed to push through the reform of Germany's constitutional debt brake to unlock over half a trillion dollars in defense spending. He has also committed to creating Europe's largest army. Both represent a major shift for Germany. Previously, Hollande suggested, those moves might have been difficult for France to stomach. 'We used to be very reluctant about German rearmament. That was a politically sensitive issue after the war. But today, no one in France fears German rearmament –we welcome it,' he said. Macron and Merz also appear to have taken a similar approach to dealing with Trump. Both have had effusive and positive meetings in the Oval Office with a president who has not always been so welcoming to visiting leaders. Paris and Berlin are also trying to revive the decades-old 'Weimar Triangle.' Established after German reunification in 1991, it aimed to bring Poland deeper into the European fold, led by Germany and France. Ischinger feels the relative weight of the European Union has shifted eastwards due to the war in Ukraine, meaning that Warsaw, now more than ever, must now be a vital ally for Paris and Berlin. 'Harmony (between France and Germany) is key, but it's not sufficient,' he said. 'The center of gravity of the good old European Union was somewhere between France and Germany. But today, almost half of the members are to the east of Germany,' he added, and giving Poland more say is the best way to bring the continent together. That shift, too, is already playing out. As well as taking part in the Kyiv trip, Tusk has found himself directly involved in European talks with Trump, as the US president has attempted to broker an end to the Russia-Ukraine war. Poland's status as Europe's fastest growing economy, its commitment to NATO defense spending – way above other member states' at 4.2% of GDP in 2024, projected to rise to 4.7% this year – and its geographic location bordering Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, have made the nation a key nexus for the continent. Nonetheless, for Hollande, 'Europe only moves forward when France and Germany speak with one voice and pull in the same direction. Only then can the European machine function properly.' Ischinger added: 'If Franco-German cooperation works well, you have a perfect precondition to get the entire European Union underway, moving forward.' For now, the 'Merzcron' engine is firing up and, if it keeps its momentum, it could pull the rest of Europe into gear.
Al Jazeera
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Macron to visit Greenland to boost ‘European unity' amid Trump threats
French President Emmanuel Macron will visit Greenland this month, the French presidency has announced, in the wake of United States expressions of interest in taking over the mineral-rich Arctic island. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and the French leader said they will meet in the semi-autonomous Danish territory on June 15, hosted by Greenland's new Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen. The talks between the leaders will focus on North Atlantic and Arctic security, climate change, energy transition and critical minerals, the French presidency said in a statement on Saturday. Frederiksen welcomed Macron's upcoming visit and said in a statement that it is 'another concrete testimony of European unity' in the face of a 'difficult foreign policy situation'. The visit comes amid US President Donald Trump's threats to annex Greenland. This trip aims to 'strengthen cooperation' with the Arctic territory in these areas and to 'contribute to the strengthening of European sovereignty', the French presidency statement stressed. Since his return to the White House in January, Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire to control the immense Arctic territory, rich in mineral resources and strategically located, 'one way or another'. 'We need Greenland for international safety and security. We need it. We have to have it,' Trump said in an interview in March. The US has also suggested that Russia and China have strategic designs on Greenland. Trump's Vice President JD Vance visited the US military base in Pituffik, northwest Greenland, on March 28, in a trip seen as a provocation at the time. Vance accused Denmark of not having 'done a good job for the people of Greenland', not investing enough in the local economy and 'not ensuring its security'. The vice president stressed that the US has 'no option' but to take a significant position to ensure the security of the island as he encouraged a push in Greenland for independence from Denmark. 'I think that they ultimately will partner with the United States,' Vance said. 'We could make them much more secure. We could do a lot more protection. And I think they'd fare a lot better economically as well.' Denmark, for its part, insists that Greenland 'is not for sale'. Addressing American leaders from the huge island, the prime minister said in early April: 'You cannot annex another country.' Faced with American threats, Denmark announced 14.6 billion Danish kroner ($2.1bn) in financial commitments for Arctic security, covering three new naval vessels, long-range drones and satellites. Greenland's main political parties, which are in favour of the territory's independence in the long term, are also against the idea of joining the US. According to a poll published at the end of January, the population of 57,000 mostly Inuit inhabitants, including more than 19,000 in the capital, Nuuk, rejected any prospect of becoming American. Incoming Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen told a news conference in March that the territory needed unity at this time. 'It is very important that we put aside our disagreements and differences … because only in this way will we be able to cope with the heavy pressure we are exposed to from outside,' he said.
Washington Post
29-05-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Ursula von der Leyen honored with award for contributions to European unity
BERLIN — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen received the International Charlemagne Prize, an annual award for contributions to European unity, on Thursday as the 27-nation bloc confronts Russia's war against Ukraine, the Trump administration's trade war and security issues across the continent. The European Union's most high-profile political figure, von der Leyen was called 'the embodiment of the European spirit' by King Felipe VI of Spain during Thursday's ceremony in Aachen, Germany. Last year, European Parliament lawmakers reelected her to a second five-year term as president of the EU's powerful executive arm. Even if the European Commission's makeup has hardly become the talk of bar rooms or barber shops across the vast EU of 450 million people, it has enthralled the upper echelons of politics and bureaucracy, as they sought to boost one candidate or undermine another. The commission proposes legislation for the EU's 27 member countries and ensures that the rules governing the world's biggest trading bloc are respected. It's made up of a College of Commissioners with a range of portfolios similar to those of government ministers, including agriculture, economic, competition, security and migration policy. After coming to office in 2019, von der Leyen led the EU drive to secure COVID-19 vaccines and has been a major supporter of Ukraine in its war against Russia. With governments weakened in France and Germany at the time, she sought to play a greater role in the bloc's affairs.
