Both happy and worried: EU reaction to Trump's new Ukraine policy

Big plans, but "who's going to pay?"

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas appeared to be having an "I told you so" moment when US President Donald Trump reversed his previous praise for Vladimir Putin and vowed to increase pressure on Moscow, according to DW.

“We see from the US side that they have also realized that Russia does not really want peace,” Ms. Kallas told reporters in Brussels on July 15.

The former Estonian prime minister has established herself as one of Ukraine's staunchest political supporters, and warned at EU talks this week that Russia's bombing campaign had "reached record levels".

Ms Kallas and many of her EU counterparts welcomed the change in Washington's rhetoric. "What we experienced yesterday with the new messages from Mr Trump is very, very important," said Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

However, top EU leaders also had notes for the US on the latest announcements, including Washington's threat to impose 100% secondary tariffs on Russia and countries trading with it unless a peace deal with Ukraine is reached by early September.

"The 50-day period that Mr. Trump has announced is quite a long time," German Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said on the sidelines of the talks on July 15.

Mr. Trump also made headlines on July 14 with his announcement that he would greenlight the sale of Patriot air defense systems and other weapons to European countries for Ukraine, just two weeks after Washington halted some arms shipments to Kiev.

But Mr Trump has been quick to portray the new deal as a lucrative business opportunity for the US, insisting that Europe will have to foot the bill. And that appears to be causing some scepticism among transatlantic partners.

After the meeting on July 15, Ms. Kallas told reporters that she wanted to see Europe and the United States “share the burden” of arming Ukraine.

“If we pay for these weapons, that is our support — so it is European support — and we are doing as much as we can to help Ukraine. And so the appeal is that everyone should do the same,” she said.

She added sharply: "If you promise to give weapons and then say someone else will pay for them, then they're not really given by you, are they?"

Denmark's Mr Rasmussen made a similar reference. "We are providing a lot of funding to Ukraine to buy whatever weapons and ammunition they need... But I mean, I would very much like to see all our partners actually contribute if we want this war to stop," he said.

Data from the Kiel Institute shows that while the US is Ukraine’s largest single donor, the European Union as a whole spent almost as much as Washington over the same period. The figure is even higher when the cost of hosting and supporting Ukrainian refugees is included.

Challenges for the "Buy European" policy

EU countries may be breathing a sigh of relief after the US policy shift, but policy analyst Torrey Taussig said it was too early to judge whether Mr Trump's stance had changed permanently.

"There has been a shaky approach to the relationship over the past few months under this administration, and I wouldn't be surprised if the US-Ukraine relationship continues to take many more twists and turns," the former US government official, now a fellow at the Atlantic Council, told DW.

As European countries race to boost their own defense capabilities in the face of pressure from the United States and a broader rethink of the EU's geopolitical fragility, governments have debated how much of their massive military spending plans should go toward American weapons.

Arms purchases, especially of large weapons systems, tend to tie buyers into years-long relationships with vendors, from production to delivery to future repairs. Experts say ending Europe’s dependence on American-made weapons, logistics and intelligence capabilities could take at least a decade – and with US foreign policy proving unpredictable, that’s worrying for some.

France, a powerhouse in the EU, has been pushing for more European-only purchases, which has frustrated some other countries who say it will only slow down the flow of arms to Europe and Ukraine. The new US-led plan could be seen by some as a blow to the French effort, with more European money likely to flow to US arms manufacturers.

While Europe has been pressing the US to do more, its own efforts have stalled. Ms Kallas said she was “really sad” that ministers failed to adopt the 18th package of EU sanctions against Moscow on 15 July due to opposition from Slovakia.

The landlocked central European country has opposed EU plans to ban Russian gas sales altogether. Slovakian Prime Minister Roberto Fico said the country had asked the EU to postpone the vote on sanctions while his government considered its response.

However, Ms Kallas said she was "optimistic" that a deal could be reached between EU states in the coming days.