Is Europe's Geopolitical Relevance at Stake? Macron's Paris Summit and the Russia-Ukraine War

French President Emmanuel Macron

French President Emmanuel Macron is rushing to arrange meetings with European leaders for an emergency summit in Paris, following recent developments regarding Washington's and Moscow's efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war. Since the inauguration of President Trump, the future of the relationship between the United States and Europe has been uncertain. With the United States looking to take a more isolationist approach towards Europe, many European leaders are scrambling to survive in a geopolitical climate without a heavily involved United States. 

The United States has started to get the ball rolling with Russia over peace in Ukraine. Top Trump cabinet members, such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, are scheduled to travel to Saudi Arabia to meet with undisclosed Russian officials to discuss the situation in Ukraine. As of February 16th, 2025, these discussions are supposed to take place within the upcoming days.

These conversations excluded representatives from top European contributors to the Ukrainian war effort, such as France, Germany, and Poland. Naturally, this exclusion enraged European nations as they felt left in the dark in the current peace talks. In response, French President Emmanuel Macron’s emergency summit is a reaction and response to being cut out of the picture by America. This summit seeks to focus on Europe’s role in ending the conflict in Ukraine. German, Polish, and Danish heads of government, along with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, plan to be at the summit (Nos.nl).  

This summit in Paris stands for more than being excluded from peace talks by the United States for two main reasons. European powers are still key geopolitical players in the international system. It is also an attempt to demonstrate to the world that Europe can and will try to function without a strong alliance with Washington. Since the end of the Second World War, major European powers such as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany have lost significant geopolitical power and importance. Post World War II history has shown attempts of desperation from European nations to regain the power that they once obtained. For example, the humiliation of the Suez Crisis with the United Kingdom and France. Less remarkably, President Macron’s calling of an emergency summit for European leaders to discuss their involvement in the Ukrainian peace talks can be interpreted as a move to reestablish Europe’s relevance in geopolitics. 

The potential of no European Union members being included in the peace talks of the largest war in Europe since the Second World War would cause irreversible damage to nations like the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has stated that Europe "must provide the overwhelming share of future lethal and nonlethal aid to Ukraine.” Hegseth also spoke on how “The US is prioritizing deterring war with China in the Pacific, recognizing the reality of scarcity, and making the resourcing trade-offs to ensure deterrence does not fail. As the United States shifts its attention to these threats, European allies must lead from the front.” Many European leaders interpret these comments as abandonment from the United States regarding the Ukraine-Russia conflict. To avoid a decisive Russian victory, Europe must act on its own. European foreign policy will now change. To protect the sovereignty of European nations, European policymakers must not rely on the United States for anything in case of a scenario where Washington finds itself unwilling to come to the defense of the Baltic States (for example).