Europe steps up to fund its own defense, provide security for Ukraine after Trump threats

French President Emmanuel Macron led a gathering of Europe's defense chiefs as the continent has moved to step up its own defense and meet NATO spending requirements.

French President Emmanuel Macron shakes hands with the chiefs of staff of the European Union and NATO armies before a meeting in Paris. (Reuters/Sarah Meyssonnier/Pool)

Europeans were dismayed last week when the U.S. announced it would pause all aid and intelligence sharing with Ukraine, but that pause was lifted Tuesday after Ukraine agreed to a 30-day ceasefire. All eyes are now on Russia to see if Russian President Vladimir Putin accepts the deal, which came after U.S.-brokered talks in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Tuesday. 

The U.S. has insisted that it is Europe’s responsibility to offer military resources to help Ukraine deter Russia from invading again once a ceasefire is reached. President Donald Trump has flirted with the idea of not protecting European nations under NATO’s Article 5 if they refuse to meet their defense spending obligations under the treaty.

The new call for Europe's defense was a welcome development for NATO’s eastern flank, where tiny nations have for years beaten out their larger European counterparts in defense spending as a percentage of their GDP. 

"We should not be panicking about [Trump statements]," said Giedrimas Jeglinskas, chairman of the Lithuanian parliament’s national security committee.

"Europeans need to think about what sort of troops to put in Ukraine," he told Fox News Digital. "Europeans need to hold most of [our security] now. We need to show good will. Next to good will, you need to show numbers. How many troops can we generate, what sort of troops can we generate, what support we’re going to need from the U.S." 

Europe met to discuss security guarantees as Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to a ceasefire. (Viktor Kovalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Lithuania is currently spending 4% on defense and plans to bump that figure to 5-6% next year, which is why Defense Minister Dovile Šakalienė told reporters her nation plans to pay U.S. defense manufacturers "at least $8 billion" more in "the coming years" to boost defenses. 

Russian aggression that could extend beyond Ukraine, including potentially into Baltic States like Lithuania, "worries us," she said.

"That’s why we are really pushing forward with our military capability plans, with our defense capacity-building, infrastructure and personnel and acquisitions, from weapons to ammo, building factories, defense industries."

Europe has offered Ukraine around $139 billion in aid since the start of the war, while the U.S. has offered around $128 billion. 

But the European Union last week proposed an $841 billion plan to "rearm Europe," which included a $158 billion emergency loan proposal to arm European capacities in vulnerable areas like air defense and ammunition. The plan also calls for relaxing strict debt ceilings agreed to by the bloc for defense spending. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"This is a moment for Europe, and we are ready to step up," said European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen last week. 

Šakalienė said "strengthening the northeastern flank" of Europe was the "joint goal," which could mean stationing hypersonic missiles aimed at Russia in Baltic states like Lithuania.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/europe-steps-up-fund-its-own-defense-provide-security-ukraine-after-trump-threats