French President Emmanuel Macron portrayed European unity by inviting a small group of select European leaders to the Elysee Palace on Monday, while the Trump administration bypassed all of Europe by resuming direct talks with Russia on Tuesday over the war in Ukraine, the US news agency AP reports.
The question arose: Could Europe take responsibility for its own security, or would it be left only to react to the decisions of the US and Russia?
From Macron's push for EU-led defense to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's "third way" diplomacy, to Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni's balancing act between Brussels and Washington and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's resistance to breaking with NATO, Europe remains divided on what to do.
Hosting the summit on Monday at his Paris palace, Macron has stepped up his push to become the dominant voice on Ukraine and European security. With Scholz politically weakened and potentially soon out of office, Britain out of the EU, and Italy leaning toward Trump, Macron has emerged as the bloc's de facto leader in a bid to achieve strategic autonomy.
Macron is in office until 2027, and France's nuclear arsenal makes it the only nuclear power in the EU. His proposal for European "security guarantees" fits into his broader push for a continent less dependent on Washington, the AP said.
However, consensus-building has proven difficult: Germany is resisting, key frontline EU countries have been left out of the summit, and Trump's unpredictability is clouding the future of European security.
"Macron has sought to impose himself as a European strongman," said French political analyst Jean-Yves Camus.
Keir Starmer is charting a different course, positioning himself as Europe's key link to Washington and maintaining a firm pro-Ukrainian stance.
Having met with Trump before the election - "I like him a lot!" the US president said of Starmer at the time - the British prime minister will travel to Washington next week in what some see as an attempt to bridge the divide between the US and Europe and gain the hallmark of a "special relationship".
As Trump moves toward de-escalation in Ukraine, Starmer is doubling down on his support for Kiev, saying the United Kingdom is "ready and willing" to send British troops if needed once a peace deal is reached. That contrasts with the more cautious approach of Macron and Scholz, the AP notes.
Starmer's surprise decision last week not to sign a key international declaration on the future of artificial intelligence that would align with the US rather than the EU has raised questions about whether Britain is moving closer to Washington on wider geopolitical issues.
"The UK is unique in that it is practically the only major ally that Trump has not deliberately antagonised," said Anand Sundar, special adviser on foreign affairs at the European Council on Foreign Relations. "The Starmer government is doing everything it can to avoid putting a target on its back," he added.
Some analysts suggest that Starmer is positioning himself as Trump's European "whisperer" who can influence the White House while staying in step with Europe.
Giorgia Meloni, a Trump ally who was the only leader of a major European economy to attend his inauguration in January, arrived late to the Paris summit and left without making a statement, which observers saw as a sign of skepticism about Marconi's meeting.
According to the Italian news agency ANSA, Meloni questioned why the summit was in Paris and not in Brussels, the EU's natural decision-making hub, and criticized the exclusion of "frontline" states such as the Baltic states, Sweden and Finland.
At the Paris summit, she rejected the deployment of European troops to Ukraine, calling it "the most complex and least effective option," especially if there are no solid security guarantees for Kiev.
Observers noted that Meloni echoed some of US Vice President J.D. Vance's criticism of Europe's reliance on US protection. "We should not ask ourselves what the Americans can do for us, but what we must do for ourselves," she said, ANSA reported.
Despite skepticism, Meloni participated in the negotiations, bringing to the table Italy's concerns about long-term European military commitments.
The absence of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has warm relations with Trump and is a frequent critic of EU policy, was particularly noticeable at the negotiations in Paris.
Although no official reason was given for his exclusion, some observers saw it as a pointed message from Paris and its European allies about the limits of engagement with leaders seen as too aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin's worldview, the AP reports.
If Macron steps forward, Scholz pushes back, writes AP, because at the summit, the German chancellor rejected proposals to establish a European-led security force in Ukraine, calling them "completely premature" and "highly inappropriate" given the ongoing war.
Scholz did not hide his frustration, saying he was "a little annoyed" that peacekeeping forces were even being discussed "at the wrong time." He insisted that NATO, not an independent EU force, must remain the foundation of security.
Because of its historical legacy from the world wars, some argue that Germany was willing to cede leadership in European security to France, a role that the French had held during the era of President Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970).
At the same time, the debate over military spending is intensifying, as NATO officials emphasize that the alliance's goal of two percent of GDP is now a baseline, not a limit, the AP concludes.
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