Politico: Nightmare summit: The future of a safe and prosperous Europe is on the line

EU diplomats are concerned about the potential failure of the community summit scheduled for March 6, due to disagreements between Hungary and its allies over key provisions. The summit is dedicated to recent events in Ukraine and the strengthening of European defense, Politico reports, citing a draft of the final document and European diplomats.

According to the publication, “European leaders are preparing for a nightmare summit.” As noted, since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, EU leaders have been increasingly discussing sovereignty and defense. Officials from European governments told Politico that they acknowledge the time has come to turn words into action, but some fear that this could lead to a terrible mistake.

“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,” Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said.

“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.”

To remind, on March 4, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó called it unrealistic that “Europe would continue to finance military operations in Ukraine in the long term without causing significant harm to European interests.” He confirmed that Hungary supports negotiations between Russia and the United States aimed at resolving the Ukrainian conflict.

As previously reported, EU leaders are halting the development of a new €20 billion military aid package for Kyiv due to Hungary’s objections, which was proposed by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas.