BRUSSELS — Ukraine will get money from EU countries to fund its war effort even if Hungary and Slovakia continue to block a promised €90 billion loan, two EU diplomats told POLITICO. EU leaders will meet for a summit in Brussels next week, hoping to convince Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and his Slovak counterpart Robert Fico to stick to their promise to approve the loan, which is supposed to provide two-thirds of the money Ukraine needs to continue fighting the Russian invasion until the end of 2027. But if the pair refuse to back down, Baltic and Nordic countries have a plan to give Ukraine enough money to keep it afloat through the first half of this year, said the two EU diplomats familiar with the discussions. They were granted anonymity to speak freely about the sensitive negotiations, as were others in this story. The total amount being considered is €30 billion, another person with knowledge of the talks said. As these would be bilateral loans, they would not require EU approval. Separately, Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen told his peers on Tuesday that his government has made provisions to send Kyiv €3.5 billion a year in bilateral support until 2029, two other diplomats told POLITICO. Budapest, or any other EU capital, can block the €90 billion loan despite already agreeing to it in December because one of the bills that needs approval before the cash can be disbursed requires the approval of all member countries. “It’s not the first time we are facing a similar kind of difficulties with Hungary,” the EU’s Economy Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said in response to a question from POLITICO on Tuesday. “We will deliver on this loan one way or another.” The idea of providing individual funding to Ukraine was already discussed before the December summit, at which all member countries’ leaders agreed to press ahead with one EU loan. The individual loans option was seen as unpalatable at the time because it undermined the EU’s solidarity with Ukraine and exposed deep splits in the bloc. But if Orbán refuses to drop his opposition, that might be the only way forward. UKRAINE HAS MONEY UNTIL MAY Kyiv’s funding needs have eased after the International Monetary Fund approved an $8.1 billion loan late last month, disbursing $1.5 billion straight away. The country should have enough money to stay solvent until early May, four people familiar with Kyiv’s finances told POLITICO. Previous EU estimates had indicated Kyiv would go broke at the end of March, putting it at a major disadvantage against Russian forces and amid ongoing U.S.-led peace talks, and therefore increasing the urgency of the €90 billion EU lifeline. The loan seemed locked in until late January, when a Russian drone attack damaged the Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian oil across Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia. Budapest and Bratislava are exempt from EU sanctions on Russian oil. Orbán accused Ukraine of intentionally delaying repairs to the pipeline for political reasons, and reneged on the commitment he made at the December summit to wave the Ukraine loan through. The Hungarian leader also blocked the EU’s 20th sanctions package against Russia, which requires unanimous support from all 27 leaders to pass. Orbán, who faces a crucial national election on April 12, has been campaigning on an anti-Ukraine platform. His political party, Fidesz, is behind the opposition Tisza in the polls by a wide margin. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has denied the accusation that Kyiv is refusing to fix the pipeline for political reasons, last week told reporters that while he did not want to do so, he could get oil flowing through the Druzhba “in a month or a month and a half” — which would be just after the Hungarian election. Zelenskyy last month told reporters including POLITICO that Ukraine wasn’t fixing the pipeline because Russia had targeted it repeatedly, including while maintenance workers were on-site repairing it. WAITING FOR THE HUNGARIAN ELECTION The calculation in both Kyiv and Brussels is that if Orbán loses the election, opposition leader Péter Magyar may be more amenable to approving the loan to Ukraine, particularly if the Druzhba pipeline is fixed or if Hungary receives some other carrot from the EU, according to three of the diplomats. While Magyar has made critical statements about Ukraine during the election campaign and — like Orbán — has ruled out troops or weapons deliveries, he has also recognized Russia as the aggressor in the war. The diplomats said they hoped he could be motivated by the desire to have frozen EU funds for Hungary released. Another potential carrot: Hungary has applied for €16 billion in loans from the EU’s SAFE program, which provides cheap money to countries buying weapons in bulk. The European Commission has yet to approve its application. If Orbán defies the polls and wins the election, the EU is hoping that he will step out of the way because he will no longer need to whip up anti-Ukrainian sentiment to win over voters, three of the diplomats said. Brussels views Slovakia’s Fico, who has teamed up with Orbán to block the loan, as less of an obstacle, two other EU officials said. Fico on Sunday vowed to block the loan unless the Druzhba pipeline is repaired, even if Orbán loses the election. Fico met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Paris on Tuesday on the sidelines of a Nuclear Energy Summit, and appeared to backtrack from his combative position. In a video on social media, he said the two had “discussed the need to restore the transit of Russian oil through Ukrainian territory to Slovakia,” adding: “I am glad that on this issue, we share the same view with the European Commission.” An EU official said when it comes to convincing Fico to play ball, “we’re getting there.” Gabriel Gavin and Esther Webber contributed reporting.

PARIS — France will bolster its military presence in the Middle East after an Iranian counterattack hit a French naval base in the region. French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking ahead of an emergency security and defense council Sunday evening, said France will “strengthen its [military] position and defensive support to stand alongside those with whom we have defense treaties and be able to adapt our stance to the developments of the last few hours.” Paris said Saturday it was not informed about or involved in the American and Israeli strikes on Iran. Macron initially called for diplomacy to resume — but his tone shifted after two Iranian drones hit a French naval base in the United Arab Emirates on Sunday. France, alongside Germany and the United Kingdom, announced in a statement Sunday evening that it would work with the U.S. and others to “defend our interests and those of our allies in the region.” That could include “enabling necessary and proportionate defensive action to destroy Iran’s capability to fire missiles and drones at their source,” the statement said. BFMTV reported that France would divert its aircraft carrier from the Baltic Sea to the eastern Mediterranean, but two French officials have told POLITICO that wasn’t the case.

Belgium working with France seized a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the North Sea late Saturday, as Europe ramps up the targeting of Moscow’s fleet of vessels suspected of carrying sanctioned oil or damaging undersea infrastructure. Armed forces boarded the ship on Saturday evening and were escorting it to the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium’s Defense Minister Theo Francken wrote on X around 1 a.m. local time Sunday. France’s President Emmanuel Macron said French helicopters participated in the “major blow for the ghost fleet.” Prime Minister Bart De Wever congratulated Belgium’s armed forces for “last night’s successful operation” and thanked France for its assistance. “Belgium will uphold international maritime law and the security of its territorial waters,” De Wever added in a post on X. Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot said in a separate post that the operation “was carried out within the International Task Force on the Shadow Fleet, alongside our G7, Nordic and Baltic partners.” The EU has struggled to stop Russia from exporting oil with the shadow fleet. As of December, it had designated about 600 vessels as part of the fleet.

PARIS — Far-right leader Jordan Bardella pushed back against President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to make France’s nuclear doctrine more European in an interview Friday. “What I dispute in this dialogue [with European countries] is that we are wrong to think that deterrence is only nuclear; it is primarily conventional, and here again we have missions in Eastern Europe that must be maintained,” the National Rally’s president told TV news channel LCI, referring to French troop presence in Romania and Estonia and air policing missions in the Baltics. “As members of NATO and the EU, we have a duty to provide mutual assistance,” he added. Bardella acknowledged that France’s nuclear doctrine has always foreseen that the country’s vital interests do not stop at the French borders. “When it comes to nuclear power, I defend principles, and those principles are that there can be no sharing, no co-financing, and no co-decision-making on the nuclear button,” the MEP also said. The Elysée Palace has always stressed that any decision to launch a nuclear weapon would remain with the French president. The National Rally, historically skeptical of engagement with both NATO and the European Union, is leading early polls for next year’s pivotal presidential election. If longtime leader Marine Le Pen’s appeal to shorten or overturn her five-year election ban related to embezzlement charges is unsuccessful, the 30-year-old Bardella will likely run in her place. Bardella’s remarks come a few days ahead of a landmark speech Macron is set to deliver on how France’s nuclear weapons can contribute to Europe’s security. Paris has been in talks with European capitals such as Berlin, Stockholm and Warsaw over how French nukes could help the continent deter Russian President Vladimir Putin. Alongside the United Kingdom, France is one of two Western European nuclear powers. Its arsenal is both airborne and seaborne, with at least one submarine patrolling the seas at all times. When asked whether the National Rally would be open to bringing back a land-based nuclear deterrent — a capacity that France has abandoned after the Cold War — Bardella replied: “It could be part of the debate.” During the interview, Bardella also reiterated his party’s pledge to leave NATO’s integrated command if it came to power. Bardella’s comments come across as more nuanced than other members of the National Rally. “If Mr. Macron thinks he can give France’s nuclear weapons to the EU, he will face impeachment proceedings for treason,” said Philippe Olivier, another MEP from the far-right party and a close adviser to Le Pen.

Listen on * Spotify * Apple Music * Amazon Music The war in Ukraine is reshaping life well beyond the battlefield. On this episode of the Brussels Playbook Podcast, Zoya Sheftalovich and Ian Wishart unpack the European Commission’s new plan to support EU regions bordering Russia, Belarus and Ukraine — from eastern Poland to the Baltics and Finland — where investment has slowed, trade has shifted and security concerns are weighing on local economies. They also look at Germany’s move to expand the powers and budget of its foreign intelligence agency, as Berlin reassesses how much it can rely on Washington in a more uncertain transatlantic climate. And finally, a new poll suggests about one in five Europeans believe a dictatorship can be preferable in certain cases. Is this democratic decline — or frustration with how democracy works in practice? Plus: the coffee saga continues. After discovering that some Brussels lattes now cost more than €5, we heard from listeners with recommendations for better (and cheaper) spots. Keep them coming — you can reach us on our WhatsApp at +32 491 05 06 29. **A message for Amazon: Today's episode is presented by Amazon. Sixty percent of sales on Amazon come from independent sellers. Across Europe, over two hundred and eighty thousand Small and Medium Enterprises partner with Amazon to grow their business. Learn more at Aboutamazon.eu. **

BRUSSELS — The European Commission will on Wednesday announce plans to invest in EU regions bordering Russia, Belarus and Ukraine that are suffering economically because of the war. Dwindling investments, reduced cargo traffic and a decline in tourism have delivered an economic blow to the EU’s easternmost regions, chiefly affecting the Baltic countries, Finland and Poland. The Commission’s strategy attempts to give an incentive to international financial institutions to provide funding to those areas — but falls short of putting new money on the table. “The safest borders are not just controlled, they’re alive,” said Niina Ratilainen, a member of the Finnish city council of Turku and the European Committee of the Regions’ Working Group on Ukraine. “Investing in jobs, clean energy and education in EU border regions sets the foundation of real security.” The EU is concerned that if these easternmost regions depopulate, Europe’s ability to defend the border is compromised, said a Commission official granted anonymity to speak freely. Brussels is also worried that the economic woes suffered by those living in the regions could see them turn to fringe parties in elections and make them vulnerable to Russian propaganda. Władysław Ortyl, the governor of the Polish region of Podkarpackie, noted that his area is “directly affected by the consequences of the ongoing war, including migratory pressure, transport disruptions and increased strain on public services and the regional economy.” He added that “escalating geopolitical tensions” mean the EU should reallocate resources toward “strengthening resilience” of its border areas. A priority of the plan is to revitalize border areas that are economically depressed as a result of the Russian invasion, whether because of a lack of tourism or due to the dangers associated with living near the Ukrainian border. “Europe’s security begins at its Eastern frontier,” the Commission wrote in a draft of the plan, officially called the Communication on Eastern Border Regions, which was seen by POLITICO. “A strong, prosperous, and resilient Eastern border is essential to safeguard the entire continent.” Yet the strategy to be presented by Executive Vice President for Cohesion Raffaele Fitto contains no new money as the EU’s current budget, which expires in 2028, is overstretched, said two Commission officials. “What we need is direct access to EU funding and a strategy that reflects today’s realities on the ground,” said Milan Majerský, governor of the Prešov self-governing region in Slovakia. “In Eastern Slovakia, we feel the economic, social and security impacts of Russia’s war every day. Our GDP per capita is just over 54 percent of the EU average, and the war has deepened long-standing structural gaps.” Majerský said he met with Fitto in Bratislava last week ahead of the plan’s unveiling. Baltic countries have already set their sights on the EU’s next budget, which is currently being negotiated by member countries. They argue that the Commission’s plan will strengthen their demands to earmark money for the easternmost regions from 2028. “We do expect our specificities to be reflected in the negotiations” on the next EU long-term budget, Lithuania’s Europe Minister Sigitas Mitkus told POLITICO. “This communication [on eastern border regions] will be a living document.” Under Fitto’s plan, global financial institutions will be part of the “EastInvest platform,” which will immediately enter into force to “address investment needs” and provide financing aid to those regions, according to the document draft. A view of Kaliningrad from the Lithuanian town of Pagėgiai on July 10, 2023. | Omar Marques/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Brussels will allow countries bordering Russia and Belarus — Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — to use part of their EU regional development funds to offer guarantees to the European Investment Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Nordic Investment Bank and national promotional banks to invest in their easternmost regions, according to the document. The end goal is to offer cheap credit to businesses from regions that border Ukraine that would otherwise struggle to access funding. The door is open for other EU countries bordering Ukraine — including Romania, Hungary and Slovakia — to join at a later stage, one Commission official said. In a partial concession to Baltic countries, the Commission wrote that it will “explore the possibility of dedicated calls for EBRs (Eastern Border Regions) in the upcoming European Competitiveness Fund,” which is a €410 billion pot to support innovative EU businesses from 2028 onward. Such a change would be significant as the Commission previously dismissed calls to attach geographic criteria to the new fund.

MUNICH, Germany — Multiple European countries are publicly backing talks on a homegrown nuclear deterrent to complement American atomic weapons following an erosion of trust in a Donald Trump-led U.S. Top officials from two Baltic countries told POLITICO that, while they still see NATO as the cornerstone of nuclear deterrence, they are now willing to talk about Europe’s role — adding fresh momentum to a debate that resonated through both public speeches and private conversations at the Munich Security Conference this weekend. The rising pressure to start a serious nuclear conversation in Europe is a response to wavering confidence that the U.S. would repel a Russian attack, something that hasn’t lifted despite U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s relatively conciliatory tone in a speech Saturday morning. Estonia isn’t ruling out joining early-stage talks on a common nuclear deterrent in Europe, Deputy Defense Minister Tuuli Duneton said in an interview. “We are always open to discuss” with partners, she said, while emphasizing the U.S. was still “committed to providing nuclear deterrence for allied nations.” Latvia’s Prime Minister Evika Siliņa echoed that. “Nuclear deterrence can give us new opportunities. Why not?” she said, while cautioning that any steps would have to be in compliance with “our international commitments.” Trump has questioned NATO’s common defense Article 5 provision, ridiculed allied contributions to the U.S.-led war in Afghanistan and repeatedly called for annexing Greenland, part of NATO-member Denmark. That’s leading Europe to hunt for what officials call another layer of “insurance” against Moscow. Evika Silina, Prime Minister of Latvia, at the Munich Security Conference. | Felix Hörhager/Picture Alliance via Getty Images In practice, that means turning to France and the U.K. — Europe’s only nuclear powers. Unlike London, Paris is not part of NATO’s Nuclear Planning Group, which discusses the use of nuclear force through the alliance. French presidents have underlined that France’s national interests have a European dimension, while stressing that any launch decision rests purely with Paris. Both German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron addressed a European nuclear deterrent in their Munich speeches. “Nuclear deterrence is a prominent subject” at this year’s conference, Latvia’s Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said. Belgian Defense Minister Theo Francken also attended a closed-door discussion on the topic. But not everyone is on board. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez admitted on Saturday that Europe must get stronger to deter Russia, but said: “I strongly believe that nuclear rearmament is not the right way of doing it.” U.S. Undersecretary of Defense Elbridge Colby said America was not withdrawing its nuclear umbrella from the continent, although Washington wants Europe to step up and do more for conventional defense. CRITICAL MASS Nuclear talks between France, Germany and other countries including Sweden are at very early stages. On Friday, Macron mentioned the need to “rearticulate nuclear deterrence” to also take into account conventional weapons such as deep-strike missiles. He has a landmark speech on France’s approach to its nuclear doctrine planned for early March. Conversations about France’s atomic weapons with European allies is “important because this is a way to articulate nuclear deterrence in a holistic approach of defense and security,” he said. According to nuclear expert Bruno Tertrais, who is deputy director of the Foundation for Strategic Research, a French security think tank, that signals a slight change where France sees a greater interaction between conventional and nuclear deterrence. A new paper presented on the conference’s sidelines assesses six different nuclear options for the continent: Doubling down on America’s deterrent; increasing the role of France and the U.K.; developing a supranational Eurodeterrent; acquiring new independent arsenals; and focusing on conventional deterrence. Two senior European government officials said that capitals could theoretically help support France’s nuclear deterrent by providing conventional military assets like submarines. Paris could also consider increasing its nuclear arsenal, subsidized by other countries, added the officials, both of whom were granted anonymity to speak freely. Some countries are calling for France to join NATO’s official nuclear planning process, which they argue would more closely tie the French arsenal to European security. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he is not against talks in Europe as long as they don’t undermine America’s role. | Halil Sagirkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images French Deputy Defense Minister Alice Rufo said in Munich that Paris has no intention of doing that. Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūds told POLITICO that, “We respect the sovereign choices of countries,” but added: “Of course we are open also to integrate as much as possible the French nuclear capability into the NATO nuclear capability.” NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said he is not against talks in Europe as long as they don’t undermine America’s role. “I think every discussion in Europe making sure that collectively the nuclear threats is even stronger — fine. But nobody is arguing in Europe to do this as a … replacement of the nuclear umbrella of the United States,” he told POLITICO on Saturday. Now, the next step is Macron’s speech in March — and there’s pressure on him to deliver. “After years of French attempts to develop a common strategic approach to deterrence in Europe, often at odds with the interests of our allies, the geopolitical context now allows for alignment,” said Héloïse Fayet, a researcher at the French Institute for International Relations. “We must now translate these words into concrete actions and proposals in order to strengthen European deterrence in the face of the Russian threat and American volatility,” she added.

ALDEN BIESEN, Belgium — The EU has always prided itself on its members all moving forward as one. That era is over. At a gathering in eastern Belgium on Thursday, the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and others backed plans — that they’ll flesh out as early as the European Council next month — to peel off and sign up to initiatives in smaller groups. Governments spoke of being gripped by a sense of urgency because Europe’s competitive edge is slipping away as many of its ideas get bogged down in indecision and discord. “We need to act fast,” said French President Emmanuel Macron, who appeared to put his recent disagreements with his German counterpart behind him as they both urged the EU to pursue policies that will spark economic growth. With the bloc buffeted by multiple geopolitical crises, it’s starting to realize that it can’t come to grips with them if it only acts when all 27 member countries agree. From defense to energy to investment, the European Commission, which makes the rules, and national governments, which are supposed to implement them, are finding themselves hamstrung. Meanwhile, businesses talk of being strangled by red tape and high energy costs.  Donald Trump’s threats to seize Greenland and his wavering on helping Ukraine fend off Russia, combined with China’s strategy of flooding Europe with artificially cheap goods, have provided an impetus to the EU’s most senior decision-makers to finally get moving. Thursday’s summit of EU leaders — only 15 kilometers from the Dutch city of Maastricht, where one of the most significant treaties underpinning the bloc was signed in 1992 — occasioned some “strategic brainstorming” on how to “promote our prosperity, create high quality jobs and ensure affordability,” European Council President António Costa said. “Today’s discussion brought a new energy and shared sense of urgency around that objective,” he said. At their summit back in Brussels next month, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will present what she called a “One Europe, One Market Roadmap and Action Plan” setting out reforms in areas such as reducing administrative burdens and unleashing private and public capital to help European start-ups scale up. Leaders will vote on the plan when they meet again before the summer. If not all 27 countries agree in some areas, the EU will use what it calls “enhanced cooperation” — smaller groupings of member countries moving faster on policy proposals — which, while it’s been championed by some leaders before, has largely been avoided and labeled as divisive. “Talk of enhanced cooperation could be a bit of a motivating factor to get member states on board,” said a diplomat from a European country, granted anonymity to be able to talk about confidential discussions. The diplomat explained that few capitals will want to risk being left behind on prosperity-driving measures, even if they have concerns about certain aspects of those policies. ‘GEOPOLITICAL REALITY’ “Two or three years ago we would probably not have had a discussion similar to the one we have had today,” German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said. “We are confronted by a completely new geopolitical situation and we are willing to stand up to this geopolitical reality. But Europe will be able to hold its own only if we are competitive.” One place where “enhanced cooperation” may be used is for the Savings and Investments Union, the EU’s push for a U.S.-style capital market. The Commission wants an EU equivalent to the Securities and Exchange Commission, but EU-wide supervision needs buy-in from capitals — including Dublin and Luxembourg, where most funds reside, and which have been reluctant to give up their powers. The roadmap will set measurable targets in areas such as telecoms, capital markets, services and energy. Von der Leyen said she wants all the targets to be achieved by the end of 2027. The first proposal will be the “28th regime,” a startup-friendly EU-wide corporate law that is scheduled to be presented March 18. It would allow companies to register 100 percent online within 48 hours and would make it easier for them to scale across EU borders. At the summit, agreement emerged in four key areas, according to two people briefed on the talks: the need to unlock the savings of Europeans and to use them to invest in key EU businesses; a desire to address high energy costs in some parts of the bloc, including potentially via revisiting old debates on issues such as the Emissions Trading System to bring down prices; a need for the EU to continue striking trade deals with new partners to diversify its dependencies; and greater sympathy for a European preference — aka Macron’s “buy European” pet policy. That latter point was perhaps the biggest win at the castle retreat, with leaders giving the Commission the go-ahead to come up with a sector-by-sector list of dependencies in which European companies should be given preferential treatment to help prop up key industries such as car manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. BAD BLOOD Fractures between the EU’s big economic players and the rest were on show before the summit began. A flurry of papers and counter-papers emerged from EU countries ahead of the meeting, with France and Germany on either side of a “buy European” split and other major disagreements on how far to go when it comes to completing the single market. A pre-summit session saw 19 leaders meet to discuss the issues in play — with some nations, including the leaders of Spain, Ireland, the Baltic states and Slovenia, not invited. Those who made the guest list, determined by Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever, were selected because they were on the same page when it comes to cutting red tape and more free trade, according to an EU diplomat familiar with the plans. Several of the leaders who attended the pre-summit were then late arriving in Alden Biesen, holding up proceedings by almost an hour. Merz, Meloni and Macron were so delayed that Costa started without them. Divisions were also apparent between EU countries and the Commission. Germany and Italy issued a statement saying the EU should “limit itself” in pursuit of new rules, while von der Leyen blamed national rules for many of the problems plaguing industry. But Macron at least was all smiles as he left Alden Biesen, projecting harmony after a rapprochement with old rival Germany and the discovery of some common ground. Macron was asked by POLITICO whether he was now good friends with Merz, with whom he had appeared side by side in the morning. “Yes,” Macron laughed, “always.” Tom Schmidtgen contributed reporting.

European leaders must “toughen up” and lead the continent, rather than wait for direction from the U.S. or even the EU institutions, Sweden’s Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch said. In an interview with the EU Confidential podcast on the eve of the Munich Security Conference, Busch, who leads the Christian Democrats in Sweden’s center-right coalition government, added: “Europe has to be saved from itself” by becoming more agile and not being slowed down by an increasingly powerful bureaucracy. She said that instead, European leaders need to “toughen up and need to stop waiting for the Commission to take a lead” on deregulation, competitiveness and promoting energy security through new nuclear energy. Despite expressing her admiration for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Busch had strong words of criticism for the EU institutions. “The European Union was built for stability, not for speed,” she said. “We need to make sure that we are building strong democracies and not very large bureaucracies,” she added, because the latter are eroding the bloc’s public legitimacy. “That’s why we lost our British friends, and that is why we’re also now seeing long-term support for the union being undermined in a lot of member states.” Busch said member states need to take the initiative in certain areas, rather than Brussels. “Just look at the commitment of cutting our dependence on Russian gas, for example, after the full-scale invasion [of Ukraine]. It took until the Energy Council in Luxembourg last October before we made the final decisions. And then we’re still waiting a few more years [for them to be implemented].” It’s a warning she’s repeated before: Following weeks of tension after President Donald Trump’s threat to annex Greenland from Denmark, Busch advised her EU counterparts to follow the lead of Nordic and Baltic states in boosting defense and energy security. As EU leaders meet today in Belgium to discuss the bloc’s future, it remains to be seen whether they will heed her advice. Busch warned that Europe is at a “crossroads now, not only in words, but in action” as the war in Ukraine approaches its fourth anniversary. Asked why the Trump administration is sidelining Europe in the peace talks, Busch said: “This is the reason why Europe needs to be respected in its own strength and unity, because it’s very apparent that the Trump administration has become increasingly unpredictable and is not very impressed by our slow and steady institutions.” She added: “The president does not respond well to weakness.” An emerging figure with forthright views on the European stage, Busch is no stranger to controversy at home. She has argued that extremist forms of Islam have no place in Swedish society and criticized pro-Palestinian protestors for threatening freedom of speech after protesting outside ministerial offices.   This week, the Swedish government has proposed toughening the rules on deportations of foreign criminals and is calling on other European countries to overhaul international conventions — particularly the UNHCR — that can limit the scope of such deportations. “If you look at where we’ve seen gun violence and predominantly the gang violence in Sweden, it has been in areas where we have a high degree of migrants,” Busch said, adding that even migrant communities now say “someone is actually fighting for Swedish values and Swedish law to apply to me.” Listen to the full interview on EU Confidential here.