Rutte and Kristersson also say that not all Nato countries equally contribute to help fund Ukraine’s defence.
Rutte says the spending “is not evenly distributed within Nato,” with “a limited” group of countries leading the effort – Sweden, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark –. many others are “not spending enough when it comes to the support for Ukraine.”
Kristersson says Sweden is the third largest donor. it “it would be far better if more countries competed with our size of support.
“We need to be long term and firm in our support. So I really would like more countries. speak so extremely well about Ukraine to also put the money where the mouth is. ”
… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today!
Russia has doubled down on threats against the Baltic countries alleging they were working with Ukraine to launch drone attacks from their territory ( 11:22 ), singling out Latvia in particular – despite repeated denials from EU ( 15:21 ), Nato ( 12:42 ). regional leaders ( 16:23 ).
EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius accused the Kremlin of using intimidation tactics against Baltic nations to test their commitment to supporting Ukraine ( 15:21 ).
Latvia was forced to issue a third drone alert in three days after “at least one unmanned aerial vehicle” was detected in its airspace ( 10:08. 10:59 ), just a week after a previous incident led to a government crisis in the country, with Lithuania also sending a drone alert to its population, for the second day in a row.
Estonia summoned the most senior diplomat at the Russian embassy in Tallinn to protest against what it said was Moscow’s “continued disinformation campaign” against the Baltic country ( 16:43 ).
The Czech president. Petr Pavel, warned that “peace in Europe can no longer be treated as the default state of affairs” ( 9:30 ), as he stressed that “many assumptions for old security architecture are no longer valid” ( 9:22 ).
German chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for Ukraine to gain “associate membership” of the EU to aid the process of fully joining the bloc. bolster peace talks ( 13:53 ), as Nato secretary general Mark Rutte said the allies should spend more to help Ukraine ( 12:44 ).
Hungary’s new government. led by Péter Magyar, has put forward a constitutional amendment that would limit prime ministers to a maximum of eight years in office, in effect barring Viktor Orbán from returning to the role.
A Paris appeals court has found Airbus. Air France guilty of corporate manslaughter over the 2009 Rio-Paris plane crash that killed 228 passengers and crew.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at jakub.krupa@theguardian.com.
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Emmanuel Macron is under pressure to open discussions on reparatory justice for France’s role in hundreds of years of enslavement of African people as he makes a key speech on the legacy of slavery.
On Thursday the French president will celebrate the 25th anniversary of France becoming the first country in the world to recognise the slave trade. slavery as crimes against humanity in a 2001 law brought by Christiane Taubira, a former MP from French Guiana.
Macron’s office said “the memorial work around the question of slavery. the slave trade is a permanent project of recognition for the president”.
As he enters his final months as president. however, demands are growing on Macron to launch a formal discussion process on how to address the legacies of enslavement in French society. France is facing a political row over racism in politics, the media. society, and the far right is polling high in the run-up to the 2027 presidential election.
The sense of urgency comes amid anger in France that its representatives – alongside those of the UK. other European nations – abstained in March’s UN vote to describe the transatlantic chattel slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanity” and call for reparations as “a concrete step towards remedying historical wrongs”.
European community affairs correspondent
Meanwhile. over in Hungary, the country’s new government, led by Péter Magyar, has put forward a constitutional amendment that would limit prime ministers to a maximum of eight years in office, in effect barring Viktor Orbán from returning to the role.
The draft amendment was submitted on Wednesday, just over a week after the new government took office. It marked Magyar. his Tisza party’s first step in dismantling a constitution that was unilaterally rewritten and amended more than a dozen times as Orbán and his Fidesz party worked to turn Hungary into what they called a “petri dish for illiberalism”.
During Magyar’s more than two years on the campaign trail, he repeatedly promised to bring in term limits, describing them as part of a wider push to restore the country’s democratic checks. balances.
As his party celebrated its landslide victory in last month’s election, analysts were swift to say the new government faced a formidable task in rebuilding crumbling public services. a stagnant economy, one compounded by the many Fidesz loyalists who remain in the state, media and judiciary.
The draft amendment appears to be an attempt to ward off the threat of Orbán seizing on the situation to mount a comeback. stating that term limits are “essential” to restoring the rule of law. “A person who has served as prime minister. for a total of at least eight years, including any interruptions, may not be elected as prime minister,” it says.
The calculation would apply to all prime ministerial terms held since the country’s democratisation in 1990. meaning that Orbán, who had served five terms as prime minister since 1998, totalling 20 years in power, would be barred. The amendment is far from foolproof. however, as any future leader with a two-thirds or supermajority could submit an amendment to extend their time in power.
Estonia has summoned the most senior diplomat at the Russian embassy in Tallinn to protest against what it said was a “continued disinformation campaign” against the Baltic country.
The ministry said in a statement that it “ strongly condemns the Russian Federation’s continued disinformation campaign against Estonia. the other Baltic States and demands that the Russian authorities immediately cease the spread of falsehoods, public threats and provocations.”
Estonia’s foreign minister Margus Tsahkna said. Tallin “has repeatedly stressed that Estonia has not permitted its territory or airspace to be used for attacks against targets in Russia.”
“ Messages claiming otherwise are yet another example of Russian propaganda that is false, and they know it. ”
Tsakhna added that “a threat against one Nato ally is a threat against the whole alliance.”.
The ministry added that “ the appearance of drones in our airspace is a direct consequence of Russia’s illegal war of aggression against Ukraine,. that Ukraine has every right to defend itself and strike Russian military targets that sustain its war machine.”
Poland’s foreign minister Radosław Sikorski is the latest senior EU figure ( 12:42. 15:21 ) to express concerns about Russia’s escalating rhethoric towards the Baltics ( 11:22 ).
In a post on X, he said:
“There is no acceptance for Russia’s threats against our allies. You have no right to falsely accuse the Baltic States. It is clear who the aggressor is and who the victim is. We remain firmly committed to the principles of the UN Charter and the Atlantic Treaty.”
Russian president Vladimir Putin said that the tasks of Russia-Belarus joint nuclear drills had been fully completed.
Putin observed the drills together with Belarus’ President Alexander Lukashenko, saying that nuclear weapons usage remain a “last resort” measure,. that such weapons must only serve as a guarantor of Russian and Belarusian sovereignty, Belarusian defence ministry reported.
Meanwhile. Greece’s defence minister Nikos Dendias has demanded that Kyiv make “a big apology” to his country following the discovery of an explosive-packed, Ukrainian-made sea drone in a cave on Lefkada, an island in the Ionian.
Describing the unmanned device as “extremely dangerous” Nikos Dendias said an inquiry had made clear there was “not the slightest doubt,” the sea drone was Ukrainian.
Military experts had concluded that it had drifted off course.
“There’s not the slightest doubt that it’s an Ukrainian sea drone, we know what type it is. where it was manufactured,” Dendias told a conference in Athens.
“ Ukraine owes us a big apology. apart from an apology it owes us an absolute assurance that something like this will not happen again in the wider region.”
Speaking days after it was found by a fisher in Lefkada. the defence minister had stopped short of identifying the drone’s provenance although he told reporters it was certain it had been launched “from a foreign state”.
Late Wednesday he appeared to also confirm. the long-range kamikaze drone was laden with explosives – media reports had suggested it was carrying an estimated 100kg of dynamite.
“If any cruise ship had been travelling down from Venice to the east Mediterranean, exactly on the same course as the drone. the drone hit, the ship would have sunk to the bottom of the sea,” said Dendias, adding that he had used a Nato meeting of European defense ministers in Brussels last week to explain the dangers posed by the drone.
Finding it hard to contain his fury, he added:
“ How can anyone … regardless of the need to defend their homeland,. as Greeks we are the first to understand that, put the lives of innocent people at risk, in this case outside the theatre of war, because they believe that this serves their strategic planning? What happened was utterly unacceptable and we, and all countries in the Mediterranean, have to be clear about that.”
EU defence commissioner Andrius Kubilius has accused the Kremlin of using intimidation tactics against Baltic nations to test their commitment to supporting Ukraine.
Responding to the escalating rhetoric from Russia, Kubilius – a former Lithuanian prime minister – said Moscow “is becoming nervous. … radicalises in its hybrid attacks against the Baltic states” as a response to the worsening situation on the frontline in Ukraine.
Putting out “statements. accusations” against the region ( 11:22 ), Putin “wants the people in those countries … to start to hesitate about continuing their support to Ukraine, investments in defence and so on,” he said in a video call with the Guardian’s Shaun Walker.
“Our answer should be very clear, to continue what we’re doing till now, to increase our defence spending. I think. the European Union could look for how to support all the Eastern flank countries even more,” he said.
Responding to reported accidental incursions of jammed Ukrainian drones into Baltic airspace. Kubilius said the political leaders of the region were already taking this up with Ukraine.
“But what is very important is for all the frontier countries, for the Baltic countries especially, … to strengthen their own capabilities” when it comes to detecting. responding to drones, he said.
He added that the existing systems were not good enough and needed an urgent upgrade.
“ Even in my country. in Lithuania, there is a confusion on [whether] there was a drone or not ( 11:03 ).
The detection capability is still not up to that level. The radar system which is established is good to see enemy air fighters or missiles,. not so good to detect the drones. And once the drones are detected, of course the countries need to have cost-effective means to destroy them.”
Meanwhile. former Nato secretary general Anders Fogh Rasmussen backed calls for Europe to appoint a top envoy for Ukraine to restart diplomatic discussions with Russia about ending the war.
The former Danish prime minister previously opposed the idea, but seems he has now changed his view on this.
Speaking to Politico on the margins of the Globsec Forum in Prague, he said:
“A natural way to fulfil our ambition of a more European Nato. Europeanised security would be to also pursue a diplomatic path more determinedly. So while I was a bit sceptical in the past. I may have changed my mind in the direction of being supportive when it comes to appointing someone.”
He did not engage in speculations on who would be the best candidate, but argued:
“Yes, and that’s one of the weaknesses of European Union. We have too many presidents. We need a face, and first and foremost, we need a new mindset. We are still thinking that we are living in peacetime, but we are not.
And Trump. Putin, Xi Jinping - they don’t take us seriously as long as they don’t know who is actually representing Europe. ”
Plenty of names are being floated as potential candidates, including former German chancellor Angela Merkel, former Finnish president Sauli Niinistö, the European Council’s Portuguese president António Costa,. the EU’s chief diplomat Kaja Kallas of Estonia.
Meanwhile – no doubt as part of that (repeatedly denied) broader narrative seeking to put pressure on the Baltics ( 11:22 ) – Belarus’s foreign ministry has lodged a protest with neighbouring Lithuania over what it said was a drone from Lithuania violating the Belarusian border. Russian state news agency RIA reported.
As far as I can tell, no evidence was publicly presented to support the claim.
Brussels correspondent
Meanwhile, German chancellor Friedrich Merz has called for Ukraine to gain “associate membership” of the EU to aid the process of fully joining the bloc. bolster peace talks.
In a letter to EU leaders, Merz said associate membership – essentially participation. representation in EU institutions, but without voting rights – would be “a decisive step on Ukraine’s path to full membership”.
He also called for the EU “without delay” to open all six membership negotiating topics with Ukraine, known as clusters.
Under the German plan, Ukraine would attend EU summits. ministerial meetings, be represented in the European Commission, European Parliament and European court of justice, but unable to cast a vote.
“ It is obvious that we will not be able to complete the accession process [for Ukraine] shortly. given the countless hurdles as well as the political complexities of ratification processes in various member states. However, with a view to the peace process, we do not have time for further delays…
My proposal reflects Ukraine’s particular situation, a country at war. It will help facilitate the ongoing peace talks as part of a negotiated peace solution. This is essential not only for Ukraine’s but for the entire continent’s security.”
Under the proposals:
Ukraine would not immediately receive funds from the EU budget, but would gain access to programmes on a “step-by-step basis”.
Kyiv would align with EU foreign policy. be covered by the EU’s mutual assistance clause, article 42.7, to create a security guarantee.
In case of backsliding on rule of law or EU values, Ukraine would face a snapback mechanism restricting its rights.
Merz wants EU leaders to discuss his ideas at an upcoming EU summit. The next one. in June, will be the first attended by Hungary’s new prime minister, Péter Magyar, who has already signalled a new approach to Ukraine. His predecessor, Viktor Orbán, blocked the opening of accession talks with Ukraine.
In his letter Merz described EU enlargement as a “geopolitical necessity” but said the process takes too long. causes frustration for candidates and existing members.
Six western Balkan countries were told their future was in the EU back in 2003,. the process towards joining has been slow.
Merz wrote there should also be “innovative solutions” to accelerate EU enlargement with countries in the western Balkans, suggesting “privileged access” to the internal market. granting them observer status in the EU institutions.
EU enlargement lost momentum after the big bang expansion of 2004 and no country has joined since Croatia in 2013. But the process gained new urgency following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which triggered applications from Ukraine, Moldova. Georgia.
Meanwhile we’re getting an update from Latvia, with the drone alert now called off.
The Latvian army added its usual disclaimer that “as long as Russia’s aggression in Ukraine continues. a recurrence of such incidents, when a foreign unmanned aerial vehicle enters or approaches Latvia’s airspace, is possible.”
One drone was confirmed to have crossed into Latvia from Belarus. its current whereabouts were not known, a military spokesperson told broadcaster Latvian Television.
Interestingly. Nato’s Rutte hints at more US announcements on its plans to “rebalance” the alliance away from “overreliance” on the US in the coming days, with the expected changes to the Nato Force Model, a pool of forces available for a potential conflict.
It was first reported by Reuters yesterday. with the agency saying the US administration was preparing to shrink the pool of military capabilities that it would have available to assist the alliance’s European nations in a major crisis ( Europe Live, Wednesday ).
Asked about these changes by the Swedish public broadcast SVT, Rutte says:
“I have some insight on what might happen. It will also be discussed in other fora. It might also come up tomorrow.”
He (obviously) says he is “not worried” about the changes, though.
In his usual spiel about how “it’s right that we rebalance” the alliance, he says:
“ What will be announced later this week. next week by the US … is absolutely doable, and it is exactly why we had the process in place – starting last year and coming to conclusions in The Hague – when it comes to defence spending.”
He then adds that it’s just “a structured ‘business as normal’ process.”
Not sure that will reassure the (already concerned) allies in central and eastern Europe, though.
Rutte and Kristersson also say that not all Nato countries equally contribute to help fund Ukraine’s defence.
Rutte says the spending “is not evenly distributed within Nato,” with “a limited” group of countries leading the effort – Sweden, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark –. many others are “not spending enough when it comes to the support for Ukraine.”
Kristersson says Sweden is the third largest donor. it “it would be far better if more countries competed with our size of support.
“We need to be long term and firm in our support. So I really would like more countries. speak so extremely well about Ukraine to also put the money where the mouth is. ”
Sweden’s Kristersson jumps in to Ukraine’s defence, too.
“It’s my firm belief that the Ukrainians are very… I mean. they certainly don’t want their drones to end up on friendly territory, for obvious reasons.
Sometimes it’s a matter of jamming, sometimes it’s a matter of other disturbances,. obviously they do not want them to happen, because it could create damage, it could create fear, of course.
But I think you should also realise that there is Russian willingness to give the impression that other countries are kind of doing things that are not legitimate,. that’s why … we should really not be open for the Russian narrative on this, but … help the Ukrainians as much as we can to direct, to help them direct their attacks in the right directions.”
Rutte joins him to once again declare the various Russian theories about the three Baltic states allegedly allowing Ukraine to launch drones from their territory ( 11:22 ) as “totally ridiculous.”
Rutte gets asked about the latest drone incident in Latvia.
He largely repeats his talking point from yesterday. saying that if gets confirmed that it’s another stray drone from Ukraine, these drones “are there because of the full-scale Russian attack against Ukraine, Ukraine having to defend itself.”
He says that Nato is “always prepared for every eventuality,”. it has shown with its response to a stray drone over Estonia that it’s prepared for any scenario.
We next go to the Q&A,. Rutte gets exactly what he gets every single time when he appears at a press conference: a question on Trump.
The question focuses on his past comments that he had an agreement with Trump on “no surprise” announcements,. whether that arrangements is obviously looking somewhat shaky given the recent US announcement on troop withdrawals or delayed rotations affecting Germany and Poland.
As often, Rutte doesn’t really answer the question, deflects. talks about the work Europe is doing to increase its defence spending and military posture instead.
He argues that Europe’s overreliance on the US is “not healthy,”. Europeans need to “take more care of their own defence.”
When he eventually gets to the basic premise of the question, he says:
“The rotational forces involved in the announcements do not have an impact on Nato’s defence plans.”
He says the US’s decision to pivot away from Europe. towards Asia is only being done “step by step in a way where it will not, of course, lower the overall deterrence in defence of Nato.”
Rutte begins with general niceties about Sweden as the latest country to join the alliance, praising its contribution to Nato,. plans to increase defence spending.
He commends Sweden on its work to stop Russia’s shadow fleet.
He then delivers his usual warning, clearly aimed at Russia:
“Let there be no mistake: our ability and our resolve to defend every ally are absolute. Were anyone to be so foolish as to attack, the response would be devastating.”
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