Europe’s security is at a turning point, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday, February 17, as she arrived in Paris for an emergency meeting to address Washington’s shock policy shift on the war in Ukraine. “Europe’s security is at a turning point. Yes, it is about Ukraine – but it is also about us. We need an urgency mindset. We need a surge in defense. And we need both of them now,” she wrote on X.

Leaders from key European powers gathered in France to strategize after US President Donald Trump blindsided allies by launching efforts with Russia to end the war in Ukraine.

European Council chief Antonio Costa, who was also participating, said the meeting was “the beginning of a process that will continue with the involvement of all the partners committed to peace and security in Europe.” “The European Union and its Member States will play a central role in this process,” he wrote on X.

Europe is scrambling to come up with plans to ensure any peace deal in Ukraine is lasting, with Britain saying it would be willing to deploy peacekeepers if necessary.

The Paris meeting was to bring together the heads of government of Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain, as well as the heads of the European Council, the European Commission and NATO.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a key participant, said before the summit he would urge European leaders to “immediately” boost Europe’s defenses, warning they do not match Russia’s. “We will not be able to effectively help Ukraine if we do not immediately take practical steps regarding our own defence capabilities,” Tusk told reporters.

Hungary’s foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, said at a press briefing that “pro-war, anti-Trump, frustrated European leaders” were meeting to “prevent a peace agreement” in Ukraine. “Unlike them, we support Donald Trump’s ambitions, unlike them, we support the US-Russian negotiations, unlike them, we want peace in Ukraine,” he added.

Slovenia’s pro-EU president also criticized the Paris meeting for not including all 27 of the bloc’s leaders. “On a symbolic level, the organizers of the Paris summit show to the world that even within the EU not all states are treated equally,” Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar said in a statement.