EU under unprecedented pressure from USA ahead of meeting on Ukraine funding – media

European Union leaders are under "enormous and unprecedented pressure from the United States" ahead of a meeting in Brussels on Thursday to discuss funding for Ukraine, Politico reports.

“The European Council this week must do two things. Leaders need tangible results, particularly on financing Ukraine. But mainstream governments also say they need to stick up for the EU when the White House is trying to influence policy, and more European leaders than ever ― from Hungary’s Viktor Orbán to Czechia’s Andrej Babiš ― reject Brussels’ accepted wisdom,” the ezine said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that EU would be “severely damaged for years” if it fails to do a deal on funding Ukraine,

“And we will show the world that, at such a crucial moment in our history, we are incapable of standing together and acting to defend our own political order on this European continent,” he added.

Trump administration officials have been pushing European governments ― those they consider friendliest at least ― to reject the plan to use EUR 210 billion in Russian assets to fund Ukraine, four EU officials involved with the discussions said.

The Belgian government says its opposition to the use of the Russian assets to fund the loan is down to the need to protect its own taxpayers from being on the hook in case the money ever needs to be repaid.

However, the American influence campaign that has seen Trump administration officials bypassing Brussels and backchanneling with capitals has led to Italy, Bulgaria, Malta and Czechia joining the group of dissenting countries.

European officials stated that failure would be catastrophic for the EU's standing globally, given the signal it would send—not only to the hawkish Trump administration, which declared its support for Eurosceptic forces in its National Security Strategy released earlier this month, but also to Vladimir Putin, who openly questions the sovereignty of former Soviet republics.

According to a leaked draft peace plan negotiated by the White House and the Kremlin, Washington wants to use part of Russia’s frozen assets to fund U.S.-led reconstruction efforts. Releasing the frozen assets to Ukraine as part of a reparation loan would allow Kyiv to decide where to direct the money, with France pushing for a Europe-first approach to arms spending.

Trump is also exerting pressure on Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to cede swathes of heavily fortified and strategically important territory in the Donbas to Russia — land the Kremlin does not currently control.

The White House brushed off Brussels’ accusations of meddling.