European leaders discuss migration and Ukraine at a UK summit as concern grows about direction of US
Leaders from across Europe are gathering at an English country mansion for a summit of the European Political Community
WOODSTOCK, England — Leaders from across Europe expressed support for Ukraine and concern about the direction of the United States on Thursday at a security-focused summit clouded by worries about whether the U.S. will remain a reliable ally if Donald Trump wins a second presidency.
Newly elected U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer welcomed around 45 heads of government to a grandiose English country mansion to discuss migration, energy security and the threat from Russia as he seeks to restore relations between the U.K. and its European Union neighbors four years after their acrimonious divorce.
The venue for the European Political Community meeting, Blenheim Palace, was the birthplace of Britain's World War II Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Starmer said the leaders were gathering “as a new storm gathers over our continent.”
«Our first task here today is to confirm our steadfast support for Ukraine, to unite once again behind those values that we cherish and to say we will face down aggression on this continent together,” Starmer said, adding that the threat from Russia “reaches right across Europe.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was a key guest at the meeting, aimed at shoring up Europe’s support for his country’s defense and discussing ways to defend democracy. The U.K. accuses Moscow of seeking to undermine European democracies with cyberattacks, disinformation and sabotage.
Others making the trip to Blenheim Palace, a Baroque country mansion 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of London, included German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister
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