Morning opening: The lull before the storm
US President Donald Trump said he plans to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin about next steps in the peace process on Ukraine on Tuesday, after “a lot has been done over the weekend.”
His comments – particularly on “dividing up certain assets” – will make Europeans wonder what exactly he is planning to propose when he talks to Putin, and how this aligns with their views on what should happen in Ukraine.
On Saturday, “the coalition of the willing” discussed what they can do, as UK prime minister Keir Starmer talked the arrangement up as moving to “operational phase.”
But the very existence of the coalition appeared to be firmly opposed by Russia, as deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko said that any long-lasting peace treaty on Ukraine must meet Moscow’s demands.
He warned that any deployment of foreign troops to Ukraine would come with “all the consequences for these contingents as parties to the conflict.”
In response, French President Emmanuel Macron said Russia’s permission was not needed as Ukraine was sovereign. “If Ukraine requests allied forces to be on its territory, it is not up to Russia to accept or reject them.”
As Washington gears up for Tuesday’s call between Trump and Putin, European leaders are scrambling to prepare for what’s coming next, fearing any sort of unpredictable and potentially controversial concessions from Trump.
EU foreign ministers are meeting this morning in Brussels to discuss what else they can do to help Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas sought to ramp up pressure on Russia as she arrived for the meeting this morning, insisting that “the ball is in Russia’s court and what kind of conditions they are presenting, which is [a] big question whether they want peace.”
“Those conditions that they have presented, it shows that they don’t really want peace, actually, because they are presenting as conditions all the ultimate goals that they want to achieve from this war,” she warned.
Let’s see what we hear over the next 24 hours, ahead of that Trump-Putin call.
It’s Monday, 17 March 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
Key events
North Macedonia mourns victims of deadly fire at nightclub
Helena Smith
in Athens
North Macedonia has declared a seven-day period of mourning after a fire in a nightclub that left at least 59 dead and scores injured, as authorities detained 15 people for questioning and the interior minister said a preliminary inspection revealed the club was operating without a proper licence.
Interior minister Panche Toshkovski said the venue in the eastern town of Kočani where the pre-dawn blaze occurred appeared to be operating illegally.
More than 20 people were under investigation, 15 of whom were in police custody, while others suspected of involvement were in hospital, he said.
Most of those killed by the blaze, which ripped through the Pulse nightclub during a hip-hop concert, were teenagers and young adults. Over 155 were injured, many critically.
Italy one of five ‘dismantlers’ of democracy in Europe, report says
Jennifer Rankin
Brussels correspondent
Italy’s government has profoundly undermined the rule of law with changes to the judiciary and showed “heavy intolerance to media criticism”, in an emblematic example of Europe’s deepening “democratic recession”, a coalition of civil liberties groups has said.
A report by the Civil Liberties Union for Europe (Liberties) said Italy was one of five “dismantlers” – along with Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovakia – that “intentionally undermine the rule of law in nearly all aspects”.
“Europe’s democratic recession has deepened in 2024,” Liberties said in a statement. The report, shared with the Guardian before publication, highlighted judicial systems subject to political manipulation, weak law enforcement against corruption, overuse of fast-track legislative procedures, harassment of journalists and growing restrictions on peaceful protests.
“Without decisive action, the EU risks further democratic erosion,” the report – compiled by 43 human rights organisations in 21 EU member states – concluded.
Major protests against Vucić’s rules in Serbia
Tens of thousands of people from across Serbia joined an anti-corruption rally in Belgrade on Saturday, in what is regarded as the culmination of months of protest that have shaken the grip of the country’s autocratic president, Aleksandar Vučić.
The anti-government rally is likely to be the biggest ever held in the Balkan country.
Between 275,000 and 325,000 people took part in the protest, according to the Public Assembly Archive, an organisation that monitors crowd size. That figure is far higher than the government’s estimate.
Morning opening: The lull before the storm
US President Donald Trump said he plans to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin about next steps in the peace process on Ukraine on Tuesday, after “a lot has been done over the weekend.”
His comments – particularly on “dividing up certain assets” – will make Europeans wonder what exactly he is planning to propose when he talks to Putin, and how this aligns with their views on what should happen in Ukraine.
On Saturday, “the coalition of the willing” discussed what they can do, as UK prime minister Keir Starmer talked the arrangement up as moving to “operational phase.”
But the very existence of the coalition appeared to be firmly opposed by Russia, as deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko said that any long-lasting peace treaty on Ukraine must meet Moscow’s demands.
He warned that any deployment of foreign troops to Ukraine would come with “all the consequences for these contingents as parties to the conflict.”
In response, French President Emmanuel Macron said Russia’s permission was not needed as Ukraine was sovereign. “If Ukraine requests allied forces to be on its territory, it is not up to Russia to accept or reject them.”
As Washington gears up for Tuesday’s call between Trump and Putin, European leaders are scrambling to prepare for what’s coming next, fearing any sort of unpredictable and potentially controversial concessions from Trump.
EU foreign ministers are meeting this morning in Brussels to discuss what else they can do to help Ukraine. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas sought to ramp up pressure on Russia as she arrived for the meeting this morning, insisting that “the ball is in Russia’s court and what kind of conditions they are presenting, which is [a] big question whether they want peace.”
“Those conditions that they have presented, it shows that they don’t really want peace, actually, because they are presenting as conditions all the ultimate goals that they want to achieve from this war,” she warned.
Let’s see what we hear over the next 24 hours, ahead of that Trump-Putin call.
It’s Monday, 17 March 2025, and this is Europe live. It’s Jakub Krupa here.
Good morning.
