The recent phone calls between Trump and Putin have prompted Europe to reconsider its defense strategies, leading to increased assertiveness among EU member states. A series of diplomatic meetings have blurred traditional alliances, particularly with the involvement of countries outside the EU. The challenge posed by Hungary's leader, Viktor Orban, complicates unanimous EU action on Ukraine. As the EU prepares for its third summit in six weeks, new coalitions are forming to address defense needs and strategic divergences among member states, highlighting a significant shift in European geopolitics.
"The advent of the Trump administration has given history a shove, and concentrated minds about what needs to be done," summed up Ian Lesser of the German Marshall Fund think tank.
"It's clear that a Europe that takes defence, not just more serious, but actually acts in a different way, is going to need new alliances and new formats of motivations.”
"The frenzy of diplomacy sparked by Trump's outreach to Moscow over Ukraine has blurred a number of lines, involving sub-groups of countries from in and outside the EU.”
"For the second time running, leaders expect to settle in Brussels on a 26-nation statement to sidestep what a senior EU official termed the 'strategic divergence' with Orban over the conflict."
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