European leaders brace for their ‘five-minutes-to-midnight’ nightmare summit

The European Union is used to crises. This could be the one to beat them all, Report informs via Politico.

As the bloc’s 27 leaders gather in Brussels on Thursday, they know the entire post-1945 security architecture ― one that depends on being buttressed by the United States ― could crumble any day.

Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, leaders have talked a lot about sovereignty and defense. Officials from European governments told POLITICO that they acknowledge that the moment has come to translate words into action, yet some already fear it could go horribly wrong.

While French President Emmanuel Macron has talked of the need for “an incredible awakening” and German Chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz described Europe as being “five minutes to midnight,” the worry from those close to the discussion is that events are happening more quickly than they can cope with.

“The nightmare scenario is that the U.S. announces a deal soon that accepts most of Russia’s demands and then tells Ukraine and Europe to take it or leave it,” said Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general at the Royal United Services Institute in London.

And they’re not only scared of the United States. They’re also wary of some of their own. While Thursday’s hastily arranged summit, just days after less formal gatherings in Paris and London, signals an intention to come up with solutions, diplomats are already bracing for a pro-Russia group of leaders led by Hungary’s Victor Orbán derailing the whole thing.

The number of topics under discussion and the ominous lack of unity means this is a summit that has the potential to shoot off in multiple different directions. Leaders will contemplate how they can rapidly redirect resources to bolster national armies, and at the same time they’ll try to demonstrate support for Ukraine, by reasserting its path to EU membership for example. The will also try to underscore their revulsion of Vladimir Putin’s regime, including perhaps a commitment to another round of sanctions.