European leaders gathered in Paris on March 27 for another summit on the war in Ukraine, continuing discussions launched alongside peace negotiations initiated by the Trump presidency. The stated goal of the meeting was shaping a roadmap towards a “robust peace.”
Judging from the conclusions of the summit, European heads of state continue to believe such a peace will be achieved by prolonging sanctions on Russia, financing more weapons for Ukraine, and preparing a so-called “reassurance force” to be deployed after a future ceasefire.
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French President Emmanuel Macron, co-hosting the summit with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, stressed – once again – the need to strengthen Ukraine’s military and Europe’s own armament capabilities. He also announced that French and British military officials would soon visit Ukraine to identify possible deployment sites for the new force.
This plan, just like previous ideas shared by European leaders, sidesteps Russia’s repeated warnings that any European troop presence in Ukraine would rule out a ceasefire.
While some EU officials, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, claimed this “coalition of the willing” is getting “bigger, stronger, and more determined,” doubts remain. Among the 31 participants of the summit, a sizable portion expressed concern about sending troops without US support – a perplexing stance, considering that much of these European summits seem to be designed to convince Donald Trump that the region is serious about rearming and decreasing its reliance on the US.
Despite bold statements, the summit ended with few concrete answers. And while Macron insisted the coalition doesn’t need unanimity for acting, ongoing divisions suggest that plan-making will remain complicated in the foreseeable future.
