EU can prove Trump wrong on Europe by agreeing on Russian assets plan, Estonian PM says

HELSINKI — European leaders can rebut Donald Trump’s claim they are weak by cementing a deal to unlock hundreds of billions in frozen Russian assets for Ukraine, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told POLITICO Tuesday.

Last week, the U.S. president branded Europe a “decaying group of nations” and lambasted its leaders, days after his administration released a sweeping security strategy that rebuked the continent. “I think they’re weak,” Trump told POLITICO in an exclusive interview, “They don’t know what to do.”

Now, those same leaders “absolutely” have an opportunity to correct Trump, Michal said in an interview, as they gather for a critical EU summit on Thursday that will determine the fate of its plan to provide a €210 billion loan backed by frozen Russian assets to keep Kyiv afloat.

“Europe can act together, we have the funds to back up Ukraine for many years, and these funds are taken from Russian assets — this is a very strong message,” Michal said in the run-up to a gathering of leaders from eight EU frontline countries in Helsinki on Tuesday.

“We are not against America, we are with America,” he said, but getting an agreement this week would prove we are “a strong partner [which] is better than to have a weak partner.”

The comments underscore the sky-high stakes at play as the bloc’s 27 leaders meet this week. Ukraine is facing a $71.7 billion budget shortfall next year, and unless its EU backers find a compromise, Kyiv is set to run out of cash by spring. Beyond the impact on the front lines, the worry is that would weaken Ukraine’s hand in ongoing peace talks.

Michal’s call also adds to the pressure on Belgium, the key country opposing a deal. The EU institutions’ host country also houses Euroclear, the financial institution that holds most of the bloc’s Russian reserves, and has repeatedly sought changes to the deal over fears of becoming liable if Moscow claws back those assets.

During a late-night meeting of EU envoys Monday, Belgium again rebuffed the latest proposals from the European Commission, arguing they did not provide sufficient reassurances.

EU leaders have repeatedly urged the country to back down, arguing that backup options such as issuing joint debt would be still harder to achieve, given it would require unanimity from the bloc’s 27 members. This means Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has long been skeptical of support for Ukraine, could block the initiative.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday warned the EU would be “severely damaged for years” if the bloc fails to finalize a deal. At Tuesday’s frontline states summit in Helsinki, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told POLITICO that Belgium should show “unity with us.” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda, too, asked for “political goodwill from the side of Belgium.”

Michal struck a more constructive tone. “There are sensible questions and sensible details that Belgium is asking,” he said. “We’ll discuss them in a calm, rational manner.”

“But after that it comes down to [this],” he added. “Is Europe rising to the occasion that we need … and sending a message that we also can be tough on security questions?”

In the meantime, the Estonian premier warned that unless Russia is held to account after a peace deal is agreed, it would only further encourage Moscow’s revanchism across Europe.

“If Russia is not [held] responsible for the things done, for example paying for the damages done,” he said, then “that will give a message that it’s OK to use force to change borders.”