EU lawmakers warn against security talks that sideline Ukraine

European Parliament members warned that reshaping Europe’s security architecture over Ukraine’s head would be dangerous, as would inadequate funding for civil protection in Estonia. They discussed the issues on ERR’s television programme First Studio.

Asked whether the US-Europe alliance could endure, Yana Toom said she was sceptical of Donald Trump’s administration. “I have no such question. For me, it is very clear, at least when I look at Trump, that with allies like these, you don’t need enemies,” she said.

Toom said the EU was divided into two camps on foreign policy: one seeking to preserve the existing security architecture and order, and another arguing that they are already changing or have changed. She said the division also extended to the European Commission’s leadership, describing a conflict between the principled position represented by Kaja Kallas and Ursula von der Leyen’s pragmatic approach.

Riho Terras said talks in Abu Dhabi drew a dangerous parallel with the Yalta agreements, but argued that Europe’s economic weight should give it a role in discussions involving China, Europe and the United States. He said Russia was playing the Americans and pretending to negotiate, despite having no real desire to do so.

Terras said Europe should not exclude itself from efforts to find a solution or ask to be included submissively. He argued that no resolution was possible without Europe and said the EU needed to decide on its strategy in the war. He also said Europe should support Ukraine and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky represented that position.

Jüri Ratas said security discussions initiated by the United States played into Russia’s interests. Urmas Paet and Sven Mikser warned against rushing into talks if doing so could legitimise the aggressor’s demands.

Paet said attending negotiations without knowing their agenda or framework could mystify the aggressor and strengthen it morally. He called for clear moral support for Ukraine, saying its society and leaders should not feel abandoned in the hope that they would surrender quickly.

Mikser said that if the United States and Russia began talks on a future order and how to revise its principles, joining them as a third party would legitimise an “utterly illegitimate attempt” to dismantle the foundations of the security architecture.

Toom says civil protection needs defence funding

Russian military strikes in border regions brought Estonia’s civil protection and warning-system readiness into the discussion.

Terras, a former commander of the Estonian Defence Forces and a member of the European Parliament, said NATO’s response had left much to be desired, while the sense of danger in neighbouring countries was immediate. He said he had spoken several times overnight with his wife, who lives in Vilnius, and that the threat felt more real in Lithuania than in Estonia.