EU Leaders Meet Again Today to Discuss Ukraine Military Plan Without USA Support

Sundance reporting for CTH 

The 27 leaders of the European Union countries are meeting tomorrow, Thursday, in Brussels with an urgent agenda to figure out what to do with Ukraine and their own security state if the USA draws-down military support.

After years of taking little action, the EU leaders are now facing a crisis situation trying to figure out how to pay for expanded military for their own defense.  The latest proposal from EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calls for €800 billion in EU defense spending, much of it from secured loans to various EU countries.

It seems rather odd to read the responses from EU leaders who are in crisis mode because they face the potential of President Trump pulling back U.S. military, and they worry about the inability to defend themselves.  They act like this is a new development, while the reality is that President Trump has been repeating his warning for years.

(Politico) – […] “Europe faces a clear and present danger on a scale that none of us has seen in our adult lifetime,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote to EU leaders on Tuesday. “The future of a free and sovereign Ukraine ― of a safe and prosperous Europe ― is on the line.”

[…] “The nightmare scenario is that the U.S. announces a deal soon that accepts most of Russia’s demands and then tells Ukraine and Europe to take it or leave it,” said Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

[…] “Defense spending is becoming a fixed cost,” a European diplomat said. “We have switched off the sun and now we need to pay everyday for the heating … Every day you need to pay for ammunition, at least for several years, until Trump is dead.”

[…] The commission is proposing to loosen EU spending rules to allow governments to boost their military. According to von der Leyen, allowing countries to increase defense spending equivalent to 1.5 percent of gross domestic product over four years would translate into about €650 billion across the bloc. (Via Politico)

If the EU cannot figure out how to defend themselves; how the heck are they going to send military support to Ukraine?