Europe’s coming of age trial

After the events of the past days, it is clear that that American plan entails rewarding Russia for an imperial war, blackmailing and lecturing Ukraine on its sovereignty, and expecting Europe to finance, and have its own troops defend a peace deal that Europe doesn’t participate in.

We don’t need more speeches about ‘‘wake up calls’’, but concrete actions to create a different reality. Because the road to autocracy is paved by inaction. European leaders gathered at an emergency European Council today will have to give a convincing answer to one question:

Can the European Union stand up for itself or will it be bullied into irrelevance?

The first step is to face the fact that the current US administration is hostile to the very idea of the transatlantic alliance. But luckily, we have the means to take care of ourselves.

We need to realise our own strength and understand that Europe, with 20 times the economy and 4 times the population of Russia, has all the means to defend Ukraine and itself.

We need to fully realise that Russia will attack EU and NATO Member States if given the chance. We need to immediately build up the capacity to defend ourselves.

This is bigger than us. From Canada to Japan, liberal democracies face aggression from autocrats and US pressure on multilateralism. We need to band together and push back.

A concrete plan to restore peace in Europe:

• First, put Ukraine in the strongest possible position. 

  • Seize 300 billion of Russian frozen assets, investing them in Ukraine’s defence;

  • Double existing aid an send a massive new military aid package;

  • Offer direct support on the ground, including training and non-combat tasks;

• Then, reach a just, comprehensive and sustainable peace. 

  • Demand a seat at the table in any negotiations for Ukraine and Europe;

  • Refuse to recognise any loss of territory; no normalisation of ties with Putin;

  • Provide meaningful security guarantees, through a European military presence;

• Finally, unlock Europe’s potential through Ukrainian success. 

  • Reconstruct the Ukrainian economy, also offering huge benefits to the EU;

  • Accelerate EU integration of Ukraine, even before full membership;

  • Make an equitable deal on Ukrainian resources for a shared green transition;

This challenge does not end in Ukraine. Europe needs to be able to defend its own interests, push back against foreign interference, and forge closer ties with other liberal democracies.

Prepare Europe to deter a Russian attack

• Fund the 500 billion euro defence investment gap, reaching at least 3% spending targets through joint funding, and invest it in a European way to maximise economies of scale;

• Jointly procure all the necessary capabilities, by establishing an EU Defence Industry Authority as called for in the Draghi report, standardising fragmented equipment types; 

• Create sufficient forces to fulfil existing NATO targets, including by establishing multinational Eurocorps, which smaller Member States cannot achieve on their own;

Leverage the power of our society and alliances

• Respond to potential US tariffs and private citizens interfering in our democracies with sanctions and anti-coercion tools we already have, particularly for big tech; 

• Forge closer ties with Canada and other liberal democracies who seek to preserve the rules based international order, including by establishing new trade agreements;

• Strengthen our neighbourhood by offering a ‘’more for more’’ approach to pro-EU populations in Georgia, Moldova and the Western Balkans while sanctioning autocrats.

Europeans have their destiny in their own hands. No one is going to do it for us. The good news is that we can; what we need now is the willingness to act.