{"id":2410420,"date":"2025-03-06T10:10:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-06T15:10:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/european-leaders-urge-switch-to-war-footing-as-us-support-for-ukraine-wanes-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-03-06T10:12:48","modified_gmt":"2025-03-06T15:12:48","slug":"european-leaders-urge-switch-to-war-footing-as-us-support-for-ukraine-wanes-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/european-leaders-urge-switch-to-war-footing-as-us-support-for-ukraine-wanes-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"European leaders urge switch to war footing as US support for Ukraine wanes &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Feuropean-leaders-urge-switch-to-war-footing-as-us-support-for-ukraine-wanes-washington-examiner%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2410420&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>European leaders are \u200dcurrently advocating for a shift toward a war\u200d footing as support from the \u200bUnited States for Ukraine diminishes. This concern has been heightened by \u200ba recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/china-lashes-out-at-lithuania-for-creating-de-facto-embassy-for-taiwan\/\" title=\"China Lashes Out At Lithuania For Creating De Facto Embassy For Taiwan\">diplomatic fallout<\/a> involving U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, leading countries like France and Germany to reconsider their security strategies. \u200dFrench President Emmanuel Macron\u2062 addressed the nation, warning that the long-standing \u2064era of peace in Europe is over and emphasized the need for France and its allies to prepare\u200d for potential\u2063 U.S.\u2064 withdrawal in\u2064 support. Meanwhile, German political figures like Friedrich Merz are pushing for\u2064 notable military rearmament and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fact-check-has-the-pentagon-surrendered-norfolk-naval-base-to-nato\/\" title=\"FACT CHECK: Has The Pentagon Surrendered Norfolk Naval Base To NATO?\">increased defense spending<\/a>,\u200d reversing Germany&#8217;s historically conservative fiscal policies. As discussions on security restructuring take place, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen\u200c has proposed \u200ca defense spending plan to mobilize \u20ac800 \u200cbillion over the coming years. Despite these\u200c initiatives, European leaders acknowledge that they cannot match the \u200cU.S. military \u2063commitments \u200dto Ukraine, highlighting\u2064 a delay \u200din rearmament efforts aimed at strengthening future <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vp-harris-to-meet-with-french-president-as-biden-admin-tries-to-salvage-its-relationship-with-france\/\" title=\"VP Harris to Meet with French President as Biden Admin Tries to Salvage Its Relationship with France\">european defense<\/a> \u2063capabilities.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">European leaders urge switch to war footing as US support for Ukraine wanes<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2029095\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Several <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/europe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"European\">European<\/a> leaders are urging their countries to change to a war footing as the United States&rsquo;s support for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ukraine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Ukraine\">Ukraine<\/a> wanes.<\/p>\n<p>The diplomatic fallout from the Oval Office spat between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has triggered panic in European capitals. Two of the European Union&rsquo;s largest members, France and Germany, are now looking to drastically change their security situation by rearming and reducing reliance on the U.S.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3338534\/greenland-scoff-trump-address\/\">Greenland PM scoffs at Trump address: &#8216;We do not want to be Americans&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3338367\/us-holding-talks-hamas\/\">US holding first-ever bilateral talks with Hamas<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3337748\/hungary-international-alliance-patriotic-forces-liberal-ivory-tower\/\">Hungary seeks &#8216;international alliance&#8217; of &#8216;patriotic forces&#8217; to replace liberal &#8216;Ivory tower&#8217;<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Ukraine&rsquo;s President Volodymyr Zelensky, left, meets French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the European Council to discuss continued support for Ukraine and European defense in Brussels, Thursday, March 6, 2025. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>French President Emmanuel Macron gave a major televised address on Wednesday, saying that the era of peace Europe had enjoyed since World War II appeared to be over.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Our generation will no longer reap the dividends of peace. It is up to us to ensure that our children reap the dividends of our commitments tomorrow,&rdquo; Macron said.<\/p>\n<p>Most notably, Macron said that France would &ldquo;open the strategic debate&rdquo; on extending its nuclear umbrella to some of its allies in Europe in response to a call from likely German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.<\/p>\n<p>The French president didn&rsquo;t specify what allies this included or whether it would include Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Russian threat is here and is affecting European countries, affecting us,&rdquo; Macron said. &ldquo;I want to believe that the U.S. will stay by our side, but we have to be ready if they don&rsquo;t.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Moscow viewed Macron&rsquo;s sentiment as a direct threat against Russia.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is, of course, a threat,&rdquo; Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters in Moscow.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Unlike their predecessors, who also wanted to fight against&nbsp;Russia, Napoleon, Hitler, Mr. Macron does not act very gracefully, because at least they said it bluntly: &lsquo;We must conquer&nbsp;Russia, we must defeat&nbsp;Russia,&rsquo;&rdquo; he added.<\/p>\n<p>Merz has been as outspoken as Macron, proposing drastic measures to fast-track Germany&rsquo;s rearmament. On Tuesday, Merz announced a reversal of the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">famously fiscally conservative country&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s financial position, removing caps on military spending.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Given the threats to our freedom and to peace on our continent, we must do whatever it takes for our continent,&rdquo; he said, adding that the country needs to rearm.<\/p>\n<p>The new move on military spending, along with a &euro;500 billion fund for infrastructure spending, carries its own risks, however. Friedrich Heinemann, an economist at the ZEW think-tank, said the deal would skyrocket Germany&rsquo;s debt.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This would quickly put Germany among the highly indebted countries of the EU, and the debt-to-GDP ratio will reach 100 per cent as early as 2034,&rdquo; Heinemann said, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.firstpost.com\/world\/chancellor-elect-merzs-public-spending-deal-sees-german-borrowing-costs-soar-highest-since-1997-13869301.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"according to\">according to<\/a> <em>First Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Merz and Macron will discuss a restructuring of the 27-nation nation bloc&rsquo;s security at Thursday&rsquo;s European Union Summit in Brussels. Zelensky will also attend the summit.<\/p>\n<p>On the agenda is a proposal from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to open up &nbsp;&euro;800 billion over several years for defense spending.<\/p>\n<p>In his Wednesday address, alluding to Thursday&rsquo;s meeting, Macron said that the EU will &ldquo;take decisive steps forward,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gop-rep-bice-biden-budget-an-insult-to-our-military\/\" title=\"GOP Rep. Bice: Biden Budget an &#039;Insult&#039; to Our ...\">increasing military spending<\/a> for members and &ldquo;massive joint funding will be provided to buy and produce some of the most innovative munitions, tanks, weapons and equipment in Europe.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/3337894\/hungarian-foreign-minister-says-ukraine-nato-membership-impossible\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS UKRAINE NATO MEMBERSHIP OUT OF THE QUESTION: &lsquo;TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE&rsquo;\">HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS UKRAINE NATO MEMBERSHIP OUT OF THE QUESTION: &lsquo;TOTALLY IMPOSSIBLE&rsquo;<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Despite Zelensky&rsquo;s attendance, Thursday&rsquo;s meeting isn&rsquo;t expected to address major proposals regarding aid to Ukraine, such as the seizing of frozen Russian assets to use for Ukraine&rsquo;s military.<\/p>\n<p>European leaders have expressed their wish to boost military aid to Ukraine after the U.S. paused further weapon shipments, though it quickly became apparent they couldn&rsquo;t match the U.S.&rsquo;s commitments. Current calls for rearmament would take time and are aimed at boosting European defense in the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_2029095\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"2029095\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>European leaders call for a war footing as US support for Ukraine declines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2410421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Macron-Zelensky.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[50419,42102,6991,51635,51634],"class_list":["post-2410420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-european-leaders","tag-geopolitical-tensions","tag-ukraine","tag-us-support","tag-war-footing"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Macron-Zelensky.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2410420","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2410420"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2410420\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2410424,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2410420\/revisions\/2410424"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2410421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2410420"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2410420"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2410420"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}