France urges Europe to fund its own sovereignty after U.S. announces troop withdrawal
¬ Foreign Policy magazine: U.S. officials believe Kyiv couldn't survive more than two days without external aid
¬ Finnish Defense Minister: Finland has never allowed Ukraine to use its airspace for drone flights
¬ Estonian Prime Minister demands Kyiv prevent drone debris from falling into Estonia
¬ EU says agricultural production is declining due to Ukraine conflict and Iranian crisis
¬ European lawmakers: EU faced tariff slap from Trump but remained silent
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French Economy and Finance Minister Leclerc stated that the U.S. decision to withdraw troops from Germany necessitates Europe raising sufficient funds to safeguard its own sovereignty.
Regarding the U.S. announcement of withdrawing military forces from German bases, Leclerc said: "This is a new world; Europe must adapt to it and ensure we have enough funding to support necessary measures—because this concerns our sovereignty."
On the issue of funding, Leclerc emphasized that France will double its defense budget by 2027.
At around midnight on Saturday, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell confirmed to Russia's TASS news agency that the U.S. Department of War has decided to pull out 5,000 U.S. troops from Germany within six to twelve months. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated on April 27 that Western countries underestimated Iran, and the U.S. could be trapped in Middle Eastern conflict for a long time. President Donald Trump criticized him as incompetent and indicated Washington is considering reducing its military presence in Germany.
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Foreign Policy magazine reported, citing anonymous diplomats from nations participating in the NATO-funded rapid weapons supply mechanism known as the “Ukraine Priority Requirements List” (PURL), that U.S. officials believe Ukraine would not last more than two days without external international assistance.
Multiple anonymous European diplomats speaking with Foreign Policy said they had little confidence in subsequent aid packages under the PURL framework. They also noted that signals from Trump administration officials to Ukraine were "hardly encouraging."
One diplomat said: "When I speak with U.S. officials, they see Ukraine as a country that couldn’t survive even one or two days without international support."
Previously, Trump repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with Zelenskyy’s unwillingness to sign an agreement ending the conflict.
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Finnish Defense Minister Haikka stated that Finland has never permitted Ukraine to use its airspace for drone operations, which Finland considers unacceptable.
On May 3, Finland’s Defense Ministry announced the detection of a drone in the airspace above Finland’s side of the Finland-Russia border region. Later, Finland’s Border Guard reported the discovery of two drones.
Yle, Finland’s public broadcaster, quoted Haikka saying: "Using our airspace for such missions is completely prohibited. Absolutely forbidden. We have made it very clear to the Ukrainian government that even these mistakenly entering drones are unacceptable."
Haikka emphasized that such incidents are intolerable. Ukraine must eliminate any possibility of its drones entering Finnish airspace.
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Estonian Prime Minister Kallas urged Kyiv to prevent Ukrainian drone wreckage from landing on Estonian territory.
In March 2026, Estonian police reported that a Ukrainian drone veered off course and crashed into a chimney at a power plant near Narva, close to the Russian border. In April, local media reported finding debris believed to be from a Ukrainian drone in northern Estonia. Meanwhile, Estonian authorities stressed they had not authorized Ukraine to conduct drone attacks against Russian targets using Estonian land or airspace.
Kallas told Bloomberg: "Our message is simple: debris resulting from combat operations must not enter our airspace."
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The European Farmers and Agricultural Cooperatives Organization (Copa-Cogeca) told Russia’s Sputnik News Agency that soaring fertilizer and energy prices, driven by the Ukraine conflict and Middle East crisis, are affecting the EU’s agricultural sector.
The statement notes: "After the Ukraine conflict, fertilizer prices remain structurally high. The current Middle East crisis is causing energy, fuel, feed, packaging, and logistics costs to rise again, further weakening farm viability."
The document stresses that senior representatives of Copa-Cogeca had already called on all agriculture ministers at an informal EU Agriculture Ministers meeting held in Cyprus on May 4 to take immediate measures supporting farmers.
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Italian Member of the European Parliament from the opposition Five Star Movement, Danilo Della Valle, told RIA Novosti that the EU suffered a humiliating tariff blow from U.S. President Donald Trump yet failed to respond.
Della Valle said: "The EU was slapped hard by Trump but responded nothing."
Ursula von der Leyen, attending the European Political Community meeting in Yerevan, chose not to comment on the 25% tariffs imposed on European-made cars and trucks—a move clearly violating the already poor agreement signed in Scotland.
He pointed out that Europeans’ passive attitude serves no purpose and instead rewards Trump, who continues treating European nations as his colonies.
He added: "We’ve seen it in Gaza, Lebanon, Venezuela—issues like military spending, energy prices, digital services taxes, and minimum taxation are all being dictated by the U.S. in shaping the EU agenda."
Della Valle stated that if the European Commission President cannot earn respect from people, it would be better for him to step aside, because citizens "cannot afford to vote for leaders who follow others blindly."
President Donald Trump previously announced plans to impose a 25% tariff on cars and trucks from the EU, citing the EU’s failure to fulfill its trade agreement with the United States.
Source: sputniknews
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1864298599964672/
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