European leaders, including Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelenskyy, met in the UK for the EPC summit to discuss the ongoing war in Ukraine, migration and the state of democracy.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Leaders from 46 European countries met to discuss, albeit informally, major issues impacting
00:06the security and stability of the continent.
00:09The European Political Community Summit discussed migration, Ukraine and defending democracy
00:13amid a surge of far-right extremism across the globe.
00:17The new UK government says it's also a reason to reset relations with partners and reaffirm
00:22the continent's defence of Ukraine.
00:25The summit also highlighted the importance of supporting the country's energy needs
00:32ahead of winter and cracking down on the ships that are helping Russia to evade sanctions.
00:41We need to be clear, Ukraine is fighting not just for the Ukrainian people, though of course
00:46it is, but for the European people, for freedom, democracy and the rule of law.
00:53Our security therefore starts in Ukraine, so we pledge to President Zelensky once again
01:00that we will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.
01:04Looming large is the potential of another Trump presidency.
01:08Donald Trump already has bad relations with Ukraine's President Zelensky, having tried
01:12to blackmail him in 2019 by threatening to withhold military aid.
01:16And Trump's pick for Vice President, J.D. Vance, has regularly stated he doesn't agree
01:20with military support for Ukraine.
01:23I think it's really important that the European Union and the European family prepares to
01:27stand by Ukraine for however long it takes, regardless of what else happens in the rest
01:32of the world.
01:33Our support for Ukraine is not conditional on the outcome of an election in another part
01:37of the world.
01:38Our European values remain the same and consistent regardless of what any other country decides
01:42to do, and it's not for me to cut across that process.
01:46But I would hope in other parts of the world, including the United States, that support
01:50for Ukraine will remain, because I do recognize that on a cross-party basis in Congress that
01:54support has been quite strong.
01:56The fact that the Republican National Convention is taking place at the same time as the European
02:00political community is helpful because it gives European leaders a chance to discuss
02:03how to prepare for a more hostile United States should Donald Trump re-enter the White House.
02:09And some of the issues on discussion, migration, defence, Ukraine, democracy, are shared issues
02:14with the United States.
02:15However, there's a tacit acknowledgement, at least from some leaders, that depending
02:19on who wins the election will really determine how these issues are resolved.
02:23Shona Murray, Euronews, Blenheim Palace.