Closing summary
… and on that note, it’s a wrap for today!
Nato secretary general Mark Rutte told EU lawmakers that if they think that Europe can defend itself without the US, they should “keep on dreaming” (16:47), as he repeatedly defended the need for a close working relationship with the US president, Donald Trump, despite recent public clashes over Greenland and the role of Nato allies in Afghanistan.
In his first longer public outing since last week’s talks with Trump on the margins of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Rutte said there were two separate work streams looking at resolving tensions over Greenland (16:37), saying Nato would have a role in figuring out a way to strengthen the Arctic security.
Rutte also acknowledged there were “very sensitive” issues to be resolved around Russian demands regarding Ukraine’s territory, but he insisted only Kyiv could make these decisions on what, if anything, can be accepted as a compromise.
Nato chief also insisted that the US “greatly appreciates” all allied contributions to its “war on terror” in Afghanistan (16:42), despite Trump’s recent comments causing an uproar in Europe (10:51).
Elsewhere,
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the trilateral talks with US and Russia “covered a range of important issues,” but conceded that “complex political matters … remain unresolved,” hinting at further talks later this week (14:22) as the country struggles to deal with the impact of recent Russian strikes on its energy infrastructure (14:08, 15:18).
The 27 EU countries have given their final approval to fully ban Russian liquefied natural gas imports by 1 January 2027, and Russian pipeline gas by 30 September 2027 (10:36), despite Hungary and Slovakia’s fierce opposition to the move, with the former threatening with a legal action (14:32).
The European Commission has launched an investigation into Elon Musk’s X over manipulated sexually explicit images and possible child sexual abuse material spread by the platform’s AI Grok feature (12:05, 12:14, 12:47).
India and the European Union have reportedly concluded negotiations on a long-coveted trade deal, which could be announced as early as Tuesday (14:43).
Meanwhile, the European Parliament has put off until next week a decision on whether to resume its work on the European Union’s trade deal with the United States, Reuters reported.
And that’s all from me, Jakub Krupa, for today.
If you have any tips, comments or suggestions, email me at [email protected].
I am also on Bluesky at @jakubkrupa.bsky.social and on X at @jakubkrupa.
Updated
Rutte ends on a warning that Ukraine’s interception rates against Russian drones has come down, as the country doesn’t have enough interceptors to fight back and work.
He urges EU lawmakers to help him make the case for some leaders who sit on a large pile of interceptors – though he refuses to name them in an open session - to help Ukraine.
“This is the difference between life and death, day in, day out, and how we protect the crucial energy infrastructure,” he says.
He ends by joking that he answered most questions, but he found one or two “too difficult” to answer on the spot.
And that’s it from him.
