Putin is 'playing' and has no interest in stopping war, EPP chief warns

Russian President Vladimir Putin is "playing" to "win time and win on the battleground" while Ukraine is "ready for peace," Manfred Weber, the president of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), has told Euronews.

Speaking in a live interview hours before a crunch summit of EU leaders kicks off in Brussels, Weber said Putin "has no interest to stop the war," adding that the Trump administration in the US is now seeing the "reality that Putin has a clear plan (...) to conquer and occupy Ukraine."

"Putin is not ready to go for peace, for a real peace process," he added.

On Tuesday, the Russian President rejected a proposal - tabled by Trump and endorsed by Zelenskyy - for a comprehensive ceasefire that would see a halt to fighting on land, in the sea and in the air.

He agreed instead to a partial ceasefire that would spare Ukraine's energy infrastructure from strikes, a proposal that fell far short of Trump's ambitions.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a call with Donald Trump where he agreed to that partial truce.

Europe has so far been sidelined in the telephone diplomacy between the three leaders.

Two diplomatic sources told Euronews that the possibility of naming an envoy to sit at the table in potential future peace talks would not be discussed as EU leaders gather for a summit on Thursday.

"Europe and Ukraine must be on the table and America must understand there will be no agreement at all without Ukraine," Weber said, adding that the 27 EU leaders must now "speed up" to prove that "Europe can do its task."

Joint arms procurement can 'save money'

High on Thursday's summit agenda are plans to rearm Europe in order to ensure it can rely on its own armed forces and military might in the event of an aggression.

A proposal on how to free up the necessary funds to do so was unveiled by the EU executive on Wednesday, which include president Ursula von der Leyen's proposal to relax of the EU's fiscal rules and free up €150 billion in loans by raising capital on EU markets to be spent on rearming the continent.

Weber said the surge in defence spending would not hit taxpayers but that the bloc would rather "save a lot of money" by "buying together."

"We need some flagship projects where people immediately understand that as Europeans, together we are better protected," he said. "Look at cyber defence (...) or a missile defence system or drones defence system. Let's do this on the Polish-Belarussian border, for all Europe. Then we are better protected if you do it together."

Weber, who hails from the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), is expected to run unopposed for another three-year term as the president of the European People's Party (EPP), when the party meet for their annual congress in Valencia in April.

The German heavyweight has consolidated power as the chief of both the pan-European party and its European parliamentary group, the most numerous and powerful in the chamber.

Asked whether he still had the support of his party, Weber said: "You never know in politics. But until now, I don't have a competitor."

"Today we are the strongest party of Europe ... so we are confident."