On Tuesday, General Keith Kellogg, the United States Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, held discussions in Brussels with key European officials, including Antonio Costa, President of the European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.

In a post on social media, Kellogg described the meetings as productive but did not disclose specific details regarding their discussions.

Costa termed the meeting as taking place at a crucial moment, underscoring the need for a comprehensive, fair, and lasting peace agreement in Ukraine, rather than merely a ceasefire.

Costa affirmed the EU's readiness to continue constructive cooperation with the United States to ensure peace and security.

During his conversation with Kellogg, von der Leyen highlighted the EU's critical role in assuring Ukraine’s financial stability and defense, citing a total commitment of €135 billion ($145 billion) from the EU. This amount exceeds the contributions of any other ally and includes $52 billion in military aid, which is comparable to the US contribution.

Von der Leyen outlined plans to increase defense production and spending in Europe while also enhancing both European and Ukrainian military capabilities.

She stated that the EU is fully engaged in providing military assistance to Ukraine and is prepared to do more.

Reports from the EUrologus platform have provided further insights into a council meeting held on Monday evening in Paris, which was hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and included representatives from Denmark, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, as well as the European Council, European Commission, and NATO.

During this gathering, leaders agreed to be ready to offer security guarantees that would support a potential peace agreement, contingent upon the level of American support.

They also concurred that countries at both the member state and EU levels are prepared to increase their defense budgets to better share the burden with the United States.

This initiative has been primarily advocated by Poland, but it appears the EU may follow this trajectory as well.

The United States expects that at a minimum, every country should reach a defense budget equivalent to 2% of their GDP. EU communications indicate that while the EU averages meet this guideline, nearly one-third of member states do not.

However, discussions suggest a willingness to exceed the 2% target; former President Trump previously mentioned a goal of 5%, while NATO Secretary-General recently indicated a new expected target of around 3.6-3.7%.

Negotiations on these new targets are anticipated to continue for several months, with decisions possibly being made at the NATO summit in The Hague scheduled for June.

In the interim, specific proposals from the European Commission are expected to be forthcoming "very soon." One element already reported indicates that member state governments may receive exemptions from strict budgetary and state aid rules should they wish to allocate public funds to the defense industry.