Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
UK defence secretary John Healey told a meeting of more than 30 countries that the “Coalition of the Willing” was working on “putting Ukraine in the strongest possible position” as he chaired their meeting in Brussels (15:11).
But multiple countries said that there were still too many outstanding questions to commit to their participation in any future reassurance force in Ukraine (14:33, 14:47, 15:04), as they called out Russia’s unwillingness to agree to a meaningful ceasefire (14:37, 15:00).
Elsewhere in Brussels, the European Commission has confirmed that the EU will put the countermeasures against US goods – adopted yesterday and due to kick in on 15 April – on hold for 90 days (12:31).
The EU “wants to negotiate, wants to talk,” the bloc’s spokesperson said, adding: “We are ready to make deals.” (12:35, 12:39, 12:42, 13:03).
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
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.
Portugal puts forward €10bn package to help businesses affected by US tariffs
Elsewhere, Portugal’s caretaker government on Thursday announced a package of loans and other measures worth more than €10bn to help the economy weather the impact of US trade tariffs, Reuters reported.
“The world we knew has changed, we have to adapt and react, there is no certainty about what awaits us, but we were not caught by surprise,” prime minister Luis Montenegro told a news briefing after a cabinet meeting as he announced the plan.
Economy minister Pedro Reis said the package would include €5.2bn in financing lines for companies’ working capital and investment, as well as another €3.5bn specifically for investment by exporters, with €400m in grants, Reuters said.
A snap legislative election will take place on 18 May, after Montenegro’s government lost a key confidence vote last month.
'We are stepping up,' UK's Healey says as he talks of 'well developed' plans to support Ukraine
We are now moving inside the room, where the UK defence secretary John Healey opens today’s meeting.
He starts by thanking over 200 military planners from 30 countries working on what the coalition could do to “put Ukraine in the strongest possible position to protect its sovereignty and to deter any further Russian aggression.”
He says the plans are “well developed” with “clear objectives” of securing safe skies, safe seas, a peace on the land, and supporting the Ukrainian armed forces “to become their own strongest possible deterrent”
“Our reassurance force for Ukraine would be a committed and credible security arrangement to ensure that any negotiated peace does bring what president Trump has pledged, a lasting peace for Ukraine,” he says.
Ministers will hear a presentation from UK and French chiefs of defence, Adm Tony Radakin and Gen Thierry Burkhard on the preparatory work so far.
He says the coalition also “cannot jeopardise the peace by forgetting about the war,” with more support needed for Ukraine.
“We’re stepping up. We’re serious. We’re sending a signal to president Putin and to [Ukraine’s defence] minister Umarov and the Ukrainian people. We stand with you in the fight, and we will stand with you in the peace,” he says.
And that’s concludes the open part of the meeting as their talks will continue behind the closed doors.
Updated
'Important to have the US on board,' Dutch minister says, as he hopes for clarity on coalition's plans
Dutch defence minister Ruben Brekelmans says today’s meeting is more “political” about various scenarios for Ukraine.
He says that many countries, including the Netherlands, need to go through domestic approval procedures for any deployment, so “it is important that there is a clear picture on what such a mission would entail.”
He explicitly says it would be important to have the US’s backing, but says the exact role needed would depend on the format of the mission.
“So you use the word peacekeeping mission, it’s a very different definition than a assurance mission. So it really depends on the goal of the mission,” he says.
“I think it’s very important to have the United States on board. But then it also needs to be clear what type of mission and what we ask from the United States. And that’s what we will discuss also today,” he says.
'It's clear Ukraine wants peace, but Russia, so far, doesn't,' EU's Kallas says
Back in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas notes in her comments that it has been over four weeks since Ukraine agreed to an unconditional ceasefire, but Russia is yet to make an equivalent commitment.
“It’s clear that Ukraine wants peace, but Russia, so far, does not,” she says.
On reassurance force, she says there needs to be more clarity if its role is to deter, to monitor, or to keep peace on the ground.
“And that is very much related to whether we have peace or not. So far we don’t have peace,” she says.
She is asked about the fact the US defence secretary is not involved in talks today and tomorrow, but sidesteps that and merely says that “it is also in the interest of the US that there is stability and peace in Europe.”
“We have to map what we all can do so this is the position where we are and … trying to also keep the United States on board,” she says.
Meanwhile, Polish prime minister Donald Tusk spoke on the phone with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen in the aftermath of the EU’s decision to suspend its retaliatory tariffs on the US.
In a social media update he said:
Defending our interests in a tough and decisive way and at the same time protecting our transatlantic alliance against all odds is our common goal. This was the conclusion of my today’s talk with @vonderleyen.
'Several things' need clarifying before decision is made on reassurance forces, Swedish minister says
Swedish defence minister Pål Jonson also said that there were “a number of questions that we need to get clarified” to progress talks on the deterrence force in Ukraine.
“I think there [are] several things that have to sorted out before we can make any kind of commitment,” he says, but does not rule out Sweden engagement.
“There is strength in numbers,” he says.
Russia has 'no desire for peace', Finnish minister says
Finnish defence minister Antti Häkkänen says that allied countries see “that Russia does not have enough desire for peace,” which makes it more important to look at strengthening Ukraine’s position in talks.
He says the ministers will also get military briefings on the current situation on the frontline, and have a discussion on what sorts of forces and capabilities would be most helpful as the reassurance forces.
Häkkänen says that it remains important to have the US involved in guaranteeing Ukraine’s security, but does not go into details.
Updated
We need to 'support Ukraine through strength,' Latvian minister says
Arriving at the meeting in Brussels, Latvian defence minister Andris Sprūds said the group has a clear goal to “support Ukraine through strength” to push for a “sustainable” peace.
He says the so-called “reassurance force” – a form of deployment of allied troops to Ukraine to safeguard peace in case of a peace deal – will be discussed, but added that “there are several dimensions to it,” and he “would not go … public before we make some decisions.”
He said some countries had “discussions … nationally … what they can contribute.”
He confirms Latvia “considers potentially contributing,” but says eastern countries need to also maintain strong forces to protect themselves from a potential Russian aggression.
Updated
'Coalition of the Willing' meets in Brussels to talk about Ukraine
Ministers from more than 30 countries in the so-called “Coalition of the Willing” are now arriving for their meeting in Brussels.
The summit, hosted by UK defence secretary John Healey and French defence minister Sébastien Lecornu, will look at advancing their plans in support of Ukraine.
I will bring you all the key lines from their meeting here.
You can watch arrivals with me below, and the talks start at the top of the hour.
Updated
France to tighten mobile phone ban in middle schools
Meanwhile, France is to tighten its ban on the use of mobile phones in middle schools, making pupils at the ages of 11 to 15 shut away their devices in a locker or pouch at the start of the day and access them again only as they are leaving.
The education minister told the senate she wanted children to be fully separated from their phones throughout the school day in all French middle schools from September.
Élisabeth Borne said: “At a time when the use of screens is being widely questioned because of its many harmful effects, this measure is essential for our children’s wellbeing and success at school.”
In 2018, France banned children from using mobile phones in all middle schools – known as collèges. Phones must remain switched off in schoolbags and cannot be used anywhere in the school grounds, including at break-time.
Schools have reported a positive effect, with more social interaction, more physical exercise, less bullying and better concentration. But some did report a few children would sneak into the toilets to watch videos on phones at break.
Now the government says it is necessary to go further, fully separating children from their devices for the entire school day.
This enforced “digital pause” – as the French government calls it – has been tested in a pilot scheme in about 100 middle schools for the past six months, with children giving up their phones on arrival – placing them a locker or box, or in a special locked pouch that can only be unlocked by an electronic system at the school gates as they go home.
Full story:
EU had no advance notice of US tariff pause, spokesperson suggests
EU spokesperson Gill gets asked to offer more detail on EU trade commissioner Šefčovič’s call with US commerce secretary Lutnick and if the EU had any advance warning of the planned US tariff pause.
He says the pair spoke “two nights ago,” and it was “a kind of, a touching base call, just for both sides to provide a state of play.”
He then says there was no advance warning and appears to question if even Lutnick knew it was coming:
“I don’t believe that any mention of the American pause was coming in that call, but then I doubt that the interlocutor was aware that it was coming. I could be wrong about that, but that just my own reflection.”
Updated
But the commission spokesperson Gill is having a slightly trickier time explaining why the EU has paused its countermeasures, even though they were imposed in response to the first round of US tariffs on steel and aluminium, which actually remain in place, and not the ‘reciprocal’ tariffs that were paused by Trump last night.
He says:
The answer is quite clear.
We’ve pressed the pause button to allow space for negotiations.
So yes, the US, steel and aluminium tariffs are now in place, not just against us, but against the entire world. And yes, the car tariffs are in place.
But we are not going to take any further steps right now, because we want to leave space for negotiation. We want to talk to our American counterparts.
He also confirms that EU trade commissioner Šefčovič spoke with US commerce secretary Lutnick “a couple of nights ago, where they just kind of took stock of where things stood,” but adds “that was before the [pause] announcement by president Trump.”
Updated
Gill also gets asked about the technical process.
He says:
We have postponed what we had planned for next week.
What happened yesterday was that member states gave us a mandate to go forward with it. That’s not, that doesn’t mean it has automatically happened. They’ve simply given us a mandate to do it.
So our intention was to publish the legal act that would allow the tariffs to click in next week and we have now paused that.
'We are ready to make deals,' EU spokesperson says after EU pause
We’re getting a bit more details from EU spokesperson, Olof Gill, speaking at the commission’s press briefing right now (which, notably, got delayed by almost half an hour as that von der Leyen statement was being put out).
He said:
We are not going to offer any greater detail at this point about what we are not saying to the Americans beyond what we have already said.
We want to negotiate, we want to talk.
We appreciate that you have brought this pause on so called reciprocal tariffs, and we, in turn, are now pausing our proposed countermeasures in order that we have the maximum space to consult with our member states, consult with our industry and negotiate with the US.
We’re ready to make deals.
EU delays its countermeasures by 90 days in response to Trump pause
… and picking up on that comment I spotted and brought to your attention earlier: the European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has just confirmed that the EU will put the countermeasures adopted yesterday – which were due to kick in on 15 April – on hold for 90 days.
“We want to give negotiations a chance,” she said.
“If negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in,” she warned.
Von der Leyen added:
“Preparatory work on further countermeasures continues. As I have said before, all options remain on the table.”
Updated
German growth forecast slashed due to Trump tariffs
Leading German economic institutes slashed their 2025 growth forecast for the country’s struggling economy to near stagnation, as they warned against extra pain from the US tariff blitz, AFP reported.
The six thinktanks, in their latest joint forecast, now predict GDP growth of just 0.1 percent for 2025, down from the 0.8 percent expansion they forecast in September.
The new forecast comes just a day after Germany’s biggest mainstream parties have sealed an agreement to form a government keeping the far right out of power.
By the way, the European Commission’s daily press briefing is coming up in the next half hour, and I’m wondering if anyone will ask them about Trump’s apparent surprise at the EU’s retaliation.
When told by the reporter about it, Trump laughed it was “bad timing,” with US secretary of commerce Howard Lutnick quickly intervening to say “they threatened, they picked a later date.”
But then, crucially, he added: “Our expectation is that it is going to be later still.”
Trump concluded: “I’m glad that they held back.”
Could this come up in EU-US talks in the coming days, before first measures kick in on 15 April?
You can watch the exchange here.
US-Ukraine technical consultations on minerals deal to start on Friday
Technical consultations between the United States and Ukraine on a minerals deal will begin in Washington on Friday, the Interfax Ukraine news agency quoted Ukrainian deputy prime minister Olha Stefanishyna as saying on Thursday, Reuters is reporting.
France could recognise Palestinian state 'in June,' Macron says
Elsewhere, French president Emmanuel Macron is making headlines with his announcement that France plans to recognise a Palestinian state within months and could make the move at a UN conference in New York in June on settling the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
“We must move towards recognition, and we will do so in the coming months,” Macron, who this week visited Egypt, told France 5 television, reports Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“Our aim is to chair this conference with Saudi Arabia in June, where we could finalise this movement of mutual recognition by several parties,” he added.
He said:
I will do it because I believe that at some point it will be right and because I also want to participate in a collective dynamic, which must also allow all those who defend Palestine to recognise Israel in turn, which many of them do not do.”
Such recognition would allow France “to be clear in our fight against those who deny Israel’s right to exist – which is the case with Iran – and to commit ourselves to collective security in the region,” he added.
France has long championed a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict, including after the 7 October 2023 attack by Palestinian militants Hamas on Israel.
You can follow this closely on our Middle East blog here:
Updated
Spanish prime minister hails tariff pause as 'door to negotiation' with US
Spain’s prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has also welcomed the tariff pause, describing it as “a door to negotiation and deals between countries”.
But the PM, who is currently on a trade visit to southeast Asia, also described Trump’s decision to impose tariffs “on the whole world – including a terrifying 46% on Vietnam”, as “an unjustified and unjust decision”.
As the prospect of possible negotiations loomed, Sánchez insisted Spain would always work for “a world of open doors”, adding:
“Spain’s response is being coordinated with the EU in order to protect our exporters. Not a single business will be left exposed because of this measure.”
Greek prime minister calls for 'win-win' deal with US
Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis put forward a proposal for a “win-win” trade deal with the US last night, saying the EU and the US should push "for “a solution which will be mutually beneficial.”
Speaking to Breitbart US, he said there was “still room for negotiations before we consider any major reciprocal response beyond what has been announced today, which, anyhow, was, the expected EU reaction.”
“I think, at the end of the day, Europe and the European market is very important for the US and the US is important for Europe and we need to work out a solution,” he added.
European markets soar at the open
As expected, European stock markets are soaring at the open in reaction to Trump’s pause on tariffs.
German DAX, French CAC 40, Stoxx 600 are all around 7% up. British FTSE 100 is up by just under 6%.
Follow our business blog for the latest:
Morning opening: 'Nice to wrap it all up in one package'
US president Donald Trump stepped away from the brink of an all-out trade war last night, suspending his “reciprocal” tariffs for 90 days for everyone but China to create space for negotiations on better arrangements.
Trump appeared surprised when asked about the EU’s retaliatory tariffs adopted yesterday, only to be reassured by his officials that the expectation is that they will be effectively delayed until never.
Overnight, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen welcomed Trump’s decision as she said it was “an important step towards stabilising the global economy.”
She also floated again the idea of a zero-for-zero tariff agreement with the US, saying she hoped to achieve “frictionless and mutually beneficial trade.”
But that by no means the end of this chaotic process.
In further remarks in the Oval Office, Trump appeared to once again link the presence of US troops in Europe to the outcome of trade talks with the bloc.
Asked if he had any plans to reduce US presence on the continent, as reported by US media, he said:
Well, we could. I mean, it depends. We pay for military over in Europe. You know, we don’t get reimbursed by much. …
So it would be one of the things we discuss that’s unrelated to trade, but I think we’ll make it part of it, because [it] makes sense, [would] be nice to wrap it all up in one package for each country. You know, it’s nice and clean.
His comments will further fuel speculations about the future of the US military presence, after Poland and Romania got spooked earlier this week with reports that the US was looking into pulling as many as 10,000 troops out of central and eastern Europe.
I covered all of this earlier this week, including top US general in Europe Christopher Cavoli’s comments that he would want to maintain the US forces as they are now (Europe Live on Tuesday).
But in less than reassuring comments overnight, US defence secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that “the only person that will make a determination about force structure of US troops in Europe will be president Trump.”
“We will continue to have ongoing discussions, including inside the context of Ukraine-Russia negotiations, of what our force posture should be on the continent that best addresses American interests and ensures burden sharing in Europe as well,” he added.
Given Russia’s past demands of ‘demilitarisation’ in parts of Europe, particularly those that joined Nato after 1997, this is unlikely to placate these regional fears.
The comments come just as representatives of the “Coalition of the Willing” meet in Brussels to talk about their future options for Ukraine. Plenty to consider.
I will bring you all the latest on that throughout the day.
It’s Thursday, 10 April 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Updated
