Europe confronts Ukraine’s cash crunch at Meloni’s summit for Kyiv

Good morning. The UK and France have pledged for the first time to co-ordinate the use of their nuclear weapons, and jointly respond to protect Europe from any “extreme threat”. That signals a major step-up in co-operation between Europe’s two nuclear powers as they seek to both respond to a growing threat from Russia and reduce the continent’s reliance on the US for security.

Today, our reporters in Rome and Kyiv preview an event in the Italian capital in support of Ukraine, and our Balkan correspondent reports on the big step forward in North Macedonia’s bid to become an EU member.

Spare change

As Russia’s war against Ukraine relentlessly continues, Kyiv’s western allies will huddle in Rome to grapple with the thorny issue of how to plan the reconstruction of a country while it’s still at war, write Giuliana Ricozzi and Christopher Miller.

Context: The Rome event is the fourth edition of the annual Ukraine Recovery Conference, aimed at rallying support from governments, financial institutions and international organisations for investment in postwar reconstruction.

The two-day gathering is also an opportunity for host Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to restate her credentials as a staunch supporter of Kyiv, despite domestic resistance to higher defence spending and uncertainty over her friend US President Donald Trump’s stance towards the conflict.

Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders will meet Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as European capitals wrestle with ways to increase financial support to Kyiv as it seeks to plug a looming budget hole of up to $19bn.

EU capitals and financial institutions that had previously braced for a Trump-imposed ceasefire in Ukraine this year are now having to recalibrate their financial support, anticipating a longer-running conflict that will put a larger strain on Kyiv’s resources.

Meloni’s government will unveil a €300mn scheme for Italian companies that participate in Ukraine’s reconstruction, while von der Leyen is expected to announce new EU guarantees to unlock billions more in investment.

On the sidelines of the conference, the leaders in Rome are also set to join a virtual meeting of the so-called “coalition of the willing”, a group of mainly European countries coordinating to implement a potential ceasefire and support Kyiv in the aftermath.

Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg will represent the US in Rome.

Yesterday, Zelenskyy met Pope Leo XIV at the papal summer residence outside Rome. The president said they had a “very substantive conversation”, and he thanked him for his offer to host peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Vatican. 

However, Moscow continues to reject this proposal and “all other peace initiatives”, Zelenskyy added. The meeting was the second between the two since Pope Leo’s inaugural mass in May. 

Chart du jour: Swiss solution

Switzerland’s pragmatic, slow-moving political system is playing into UBS’s hands as the bank seeks a compromise in an emotional argument over its balance sheet.

Unblocked

North Macedonia is back on the EU accession track following a three-year hiatus, after long talks managed to absorb tough resistance from Bulgaria over cultural and historical differences that have threatened to derail Skopje’s bid, writes Marton Dunai.

Context: Macedonia became an EU membership candidate in 2005. On its accession journey it was forced to add “North” to its name by Greece — which considers Macedonia a Greek entity — and was later held up by Bulgaria, which says Skopje must recognise its Bulgarian heritage in its constitution.

The statelet of 1.8mn with a complex history is home to ethnic Bulgarians, and politicians in Sofia often claim the distinct North Macedonian language and history as part of Bulgaria’s own heritage.

Yesterday, the European parliament for the first time in three years adopted its progress report on North Macedonia’s EU accession.

“Its accession has been unfairly blocked for too long due to bilateral disputes,” Thomas Waitz, the Green MEP who led negotiations on the report, told journalists yesterday. He called for consensus to “strengthen the country’s multi-ethnic character and accelerate EU progress”.

The parliamentarians however also noted that the bid had been held back by “worsening trends in high-level corruption and low public trust in the judiciary”.

Bulgarian MEPs attached a side note to the report, insisting that any recognition for North Macedonia’s independent culture and identity by the EU did not mean automatic acquiescence by Bulgaria.

Skopje’s membership bid has been one of the roughest in the Western Balkans, a region long considered the EU’s vulnerable backyard. After Russia’s assault on Ukraine, the bloc made it a priority to complete enlargement across the six countries.

Aside from North Macedonia, parliamentarians also backed reports for Albania and Bosnia.

What to watch today

1. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni hosts Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome, attended by various European leaders.

2. Informal meeting of EU environment ministers in Aalborg, Denmark.

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