Thursday's summit brings all 27 EU leaders together for the first time since the explosive meeting between presidents Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky last week, with US military aid and intelligence sharing since suspended.
While the Brussels meeting will aim to cement European support for Kyiv, it is unlikely to yield any major announcements of aid beyond the 30 billion euros ($32 billion) the bloc has already committed for this year.
Ahead of the meeting, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen laid out an 800 billion euro plan to “re-arm Europe” and assume responsibility for the continent’s defence.
“The real question in front of us is whether Europe is prepared to act as decisively as the situation dictates. And whether Europe is ready and able to act with the speed and the ambition that is needed.”
The bolstering of European defences has taken on a new urgency as Trump makes clear his desire to swiftly end the war caused by Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine through direct negotiations with Moscow.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called for a “coalition of the willing” to come together to draw up a peace plan and present it to the United States.
France and Britain have pitched a one-month truce “in the air, at sea and on energy infrastructure”, though not initially on the ground.
Zelensky, who will join the summit, has gone so far as to call for the creation of a European army, arguing the continent can no longer count on Washington.
'Legitimately worried'
Trump has accused allies of underpaying, and demanded NATO members more than double their defence spending target from two percent of GDP to five percent.
Finding the cash to do so will be top of mind at Thursday's summit.
Several EU members are already seeking to loosen the purse strings in the face of Washington's pivot.
French President Emmanuel Macron has also called for “extra investments” in defence and offered a stark picture of the stakes.
About Washington, he said he was “legitimately worried” about the start of a “new era” after Trump began his second stint in the White House by reversing US policy on Ukraine and upending of the transatlantic alliance.
“I want to believe that the United States will stay by our side but we have to be prepared for that not to be the case.”
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