Morning opening: Bienvenue à Paris
Jakub Krupa
Leaders from some 30 countries – not just from Europe, but beyond, including Turkey and Canada – are meeting in Paris to firm up their previous discussions about what “the coalition of the willing” could do to help Ukraine in case of a US-negotiated ceasefire or peace agreement.
Convened by French president Emmanuel Macron, the leaders are expected to hold further talks about the format of any future security guarantee they could offer to Ukraine, but also to coordinate on current issues being discussed in the US-led negotiations, including the contentious Russian demand to relax existing sanctions.
Speaking alongside Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Macron said “Russia shall have no right of say regarding the support we are providing and will provide Ukraine, nor shall they set the conditions,” as he accused Russia of coming up with an increasingly long list of demands.
He said that European forces could be stationed in “important town, strategic bases” to “mark the clear support from several European government and allies,” but made it clear they would have to “respond” to any attack from Russia.
Macron also pointedly rejected any suggestion of lifting sanctions, saying it was “much too early” to make such decision.
“Ultimately, sanctions depend solely on Russia’s choice of aggression, and therefore, their lifting depends solely on Russia’s choice to comply with international law,” he said.
Notably, the US is not involved in the talks today. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff spoke dismissively about the French-British idea last week, calling it “a combination of a posture and a pose and a combination of also being simplistic.”
The leaders are expected at the Élysée Palace very shortly, with the main event starting at 10am CET (9am GMT).
Talks are going to run for two, maybe three hours, and will be followed by press conferences. I will bring you all the key updates here.
It’s Thursday, 27 March 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
Key events
Search for missing US soldiers continues in Lithuania
The search continues for four US soldiers that went missing in Lithuania on Tuesday night, as their vehicle has been discovered submerged in water.
The operation continues on Thursday with attempts to reach the area. Lithuanian defence minister Dovilė Šakalienė said that the vehicle was located at “more than 5 meters down,” and digging is under way to get to it.
“Our armed forces & rescue services are working around the clock,” she added in a social media post showing the scene.
On Wednesday, the Nato secretary general, Mark Rutte, had told reporters that the four soldiers had been “killed”, adding that he did not know any details, but this was later clarified by his spokesperson.
“The secretary general was referring to news reports that had just emerged. He did not confirm the death of the four US soldiers, but noted that the details remain unconfirmed,” the Nato acting spokesperson, Allison Hart, later clarified.
Jakub Krupa
As leaders talk in Paris behind the closed doors, let’s take a quick trip round Europe to cover other updates.
Oh, of course there was one more thing we needed before sitting down for talks: a family photo! But now we’re properly off.
Zelenskyy arrives at the Élysée as Paris talks begin
… and with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UK’s Keir Starmer arriving last, I think we now have a full house, and so the talks can begin.
Élysée arrivals – in pictures
The Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever was the first to report at the Élysée Palace this morning, but now we have a big wave of arrivals, with cars coming to the front doors every 30 seconds.
Finland’s Alex Stubb, reportedly very influential in these talks, gets the biggest hug of the morning so far as the pair enjoys a friendly chat.
The stage is set – Élysée Palace
Putin shows he is not a serious player in peace talks, Starmer warns
Among the European leaders expected in Paris, we are going to see the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, who said in a statement released overnight that “unlike President Zelenskyy, Putin has shown he’s not a serious player in these peace talks.”
He said:
“Playing games with the agreed naval ceasefire in the Black Sea despite good faith participation from all sides – all while continuing to inflict devastating attacks on the Ukrainian people. His promises are hollow.
The US is playing a leading role by convening the ceasefire talks, President Zelenskyy has demonstrated his commitment repeatedly, and Europe is stepping up to play its part to defend Ukraine’s future. Now Putin needs to show he’s willing to play ball.”
Trump announces 25% tariffs on overseas cars, threatens with further tariffs against EU
While our main focus this morning is on Paris, I will also keep an eye on reactions to US president Donald Trump’s announcements on tariffs overnight which fears about the escalating trade war with the European Union.
Trump announced plans to impose sweeping 25% tariffs on cars from overseas, days before he is expected to announce further wide-ranging levies on other goods from around the world.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen reacted almost immediately, saying:
I deeply regret the US decision to impose tariffs on European automotive exports.
The automotive industry is a driver of innovation, competitiveness, and high quality jobs, through deeply integrated supply chains on both sides of the Atlantic.
As I have said before, tariffs are taxes – bad for businesses, worse for consumers equally in the US and the European Union.
We will now assess this announcement, together with other measures the US is envisaging in the next days.
The EU will continue to seek negotiated solutions, while safeguarding its economic interests.
As a major trading power and a strong community of 27 Member States, we will jointly protect our workers, businesses and consumers across our European Union.
German finance minister Robert Habeck said “the EU must now give a firm response to the tariffs – it must be clear that we will not back down in the face of the USA.”
The German car lobby VDA said the imposition of these tariffs was a “fatal signal” for global trade, and called for “immediate negotiations” with the US.
French finance minister Eric Lombard warned this morning about the shift in US policy calling it “very bad news and an uncooperative act,” and also calling for the EU “to raise tariffs on American products in response.”
Spanish foreign minister José Manuel Albares came up with a more straightforward response, simply urging consumers to buy Spanish or European-made cars.
But these comments did not deter Trump from threatening the EU with further tariffs, as he said in a late night post that he would impose “far larger than currently planned” tariffs if the bloc “works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA.”
If the European Union works with Canada in order to do economic harm to the USA, large scale Tariffs, far larger than currently planned, will be placed on them both in order to protect the best friend that each of those two countries has ever had!
Morning opening: Bienvenue à Paris
Jakub Krupa
Leaders from some 30 countries – not just from Europe, but beyond, including Turkey and Canada – are meeting in Paris to firm up their previous discussions about what “the coalition of the willing” could do to help Ukraine in case of a US-negotiated ceasefire or peace agreement.
Convened by French president Emmanuel Macron, the leaders are expected to hold further talks about the format of any future security guarantee they could offer to Ukraine, but also to coordinate on current issues being discussed in the US-led negotiations, including the contentious Russian demand to relax existing sanctions.
Speaking alongside Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Macron said “Russia shall have no right of say regarding the support we are providing and will provide Ukraine, nor shall they set the conditions,” as he accused Russia of coming up with an increasingly long list of demands.
He said that European forces could be stationed in “important town, strategic bases” to “mark the clear support from several European government and allies,” but made it clear they would have to “respond” to any attack from Russia.
Macron also pointedly rejected any suggestion of lifting sanctions, saying it was “much too early” to make such decision.
“Ultimately, sanctions depend solely on Russia’s choice of aggression, and therefore, their lifting depends solely on Russia’s choice to comply with international law,” he said.
Notably, the US is not involved in the talks today. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff spoke dismissively about the French-British idea last week, calling it “a combination of a posture and a pose and a combination of also being simplistic.”
The leaders are expected at the Élysée Palace very shortly, with the main event starting at 10am CET (9am GMT).
Talks are going to run for two, maybe three hours, and will be followed by press conferences. I will bring you all the key updates here.
It’s Thursday, 27 March 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
