The trading bloc was set to impose duties on US products, including a 50% levy on whiskey, from 1 April to which Trump then responded with a 200% alcohol tariff threat.

In a move that could calm the dispute, the EU said on Thursday it would push back its tariffs, saying it wanted “additional time for discussions” with the US.

It comes as global leaders try to respond to the White House’s trade threats, including looming “reciprocal” tariffs Trump has promised to announce on 2 April.

Over the last week, leaders in France and Italy – home to many wine exporters who would be affected if Trump carried out his threat – have criticised the EU for its escalation in response to Trump.

The EU had initially said its tariffs would unfold in two phases, with a first set of duties coming into force on 1 April and a second round on 13 April.

EU Spokesperson Olof Gill said on Thursday delaying the first round of US tariffs until 13 April was “a slight adjustment to the timeline and does not diminish the impact of our response”.

He said officials planned to consult with EU members on the items from the US that will be targeted.

“In the meantime, the EU continues to be ready to engage in constructive dialogue with the US, in order to seek a solution that avoids unnecessary harm to both economies,” he said.

He declined to say if the EU had made any headway discussing the issue after reaching out to the Trump administration.

Distilled Spirits Council president Chris Swonger, who represents US alcohol-makers in the US, welcomed the EU’s tariff delay.

“This is a very positive development and gives US distillers a glimmer of hope that a devastating 50% tariff on American whiskey can be averted,” he said, urging the two sides to reach an agreement that would preserve “zero-for-zero” tariffs for the spirits trade.

The White House is in the middle of preparing to announce another round of tariffs on countries around the world, with the EU expected to be one of the major trading partners affected.

While it remains unclear how the duties will be set, Trump has talked up the plans for the tariffs, which he says are aimed at countries that have trade practices that hurt US exports.

White House officials have made clear that the EU will be a target, with Trump floating a plan for a 25% tariff on all European products earlier this year.

Though the EU’s average tariffs are not much higher than those imposed by the US, the US has long complained about other kinds of rules, such as those barring trace levels of pesticides, that they say put American products at a disadvantage.

Prosecutors said the alleged corruption was “under the guise of commercial lobbying”, and that several people had been detained for questioning.

According to officials, an address in Portugal was also searched by local police, while in France, one person was arrested.

Belgian newspaper Le Soir said the investigation was linked to Chinese tech giant Huawei and its activities in Brussels since 2021. Huawei said it was taking the allegations “seriously” and would “urgently communicate with the investigation”.

The Belgian prosecutor’s office said: “Corruption was allegedly practised regularly and very discreetly from 2021 to the present day, under the guise of commercial lobbying and taking various forms, such as compensation for political positions or excessive gifts such as food and travel expenses, or regular invitations to football matches.”

In a statement to the BBC, a spokesperson for Huawei said it had “a zero-tolerance policy towards corruption or other wrongdoing, and we are committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations at all times”.

Le Soir reported that several people suspected of being lobbyists working for Huawei were detained, over the alleged bribery of current or former members of the European Parliament (MEP) to promote the company’s trade policy.

Belgian police sealed two offices inside the European Parliament at the request of the judge in charge of the case.

A spokesperson for the the prosecutor’s office told the BBC no MEPs had been directly targeted by Thursday’s raids.

A total of 21 raids were conducted in Brussels, Flanders and Wallonia, the prosecutor’s office told the newspaper.

The investigation focuses on “active corruption within the European Parliament” as well as “forgery and use of forged documents”, all within the framework of a “criminal organisation”, the prosecutor’s office said, adding that it was also looking to uncover possible money laundering.

As well as rearmament, leaders are expected to discuss how the body can further support Kyiv in the face of US President Donald Trump’s announcement on Monday that he would suspend military aid to Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is invited to the summit.

Nerves have grown increasingly frayed across Europe since Trump and Zelensky’s showdown at the White House last week, and the rhetoric around Thursday’s summit leaves no doubt about the importance EU officials are ascribing to it.

Three years on since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Trump administration’s overtures to Russian President Vladimir Putin have left many in Europe concerned the continent would not be able to rely on US support for its security.

Washington’s decision on Wednesday to pause intelligence sharing with Ukraine did nothing to allay those worries.

In a sign of the depth of concern, President Macron said France was open to discussing extending the protection offered by its nuclear arsenal to its European partners, during an address to the nation on Wednesday.

That followed a call from Friedrich Merz, likely to be Germany’s next chancellor, to discuss increased nuclear sharing.

Europe was facing a “clear and present danger on a scale that none of us have seen in our adult lifetime”, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said, while European Council President António Costa said this was a “defining moment for Ukraine and European security”.

In a letter to European leaders, von der Leyen also said the continent had to “meet the moment” and “unleash our industrial and productive power and direct it to the goal of security”.

On Monday, von der Leyen announced an unprecedented defence package – dubbed ReArm Europe – and said that Europe was ready to “massively” boost its defence spending “with the speed and the ambition that is needed”.

Von der Leyen said the three proposals outlined in the ReArm Europe plan would both support Ukraine and “address the long-term need to take much more responsibility” for European security – probably referring to the fact many Europeans feel the continent can no longer automatically rely on the US to come to its aid.

The proposals include:

• Allowing countries to increase national deficit levels to give room for more defence spending
• €150bn (£125bn) in loans for defence investment in domains that could benefit the defence of the EU as a whole – for example, air and missile defence, anti-drone systems, and military mobility – helping pool demand, and reduce costs through joint procurement
• Allowing countries to redirect funds earmarked for cohesion policy programmes (policies aimed at levelling the differences between more and less advantaged regions) to defence spending

The European Investment Bank would also be allowed to finance military projects.

According to von der Leyen, the plan could free up a total of €800bn ($860bn; £670bn) in defence expenditure.

Many European leaders have signalled their support for swift, decisive action in regards to the continent’s security.

Donald Tusk, Poland’s prime minister, said the Commission’s plan represented “a fundamental shift”, while Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that the summit would give Europe the opportunity to show “whether it’s just a debate club or whether we can make decisions”.

But dissent from certain European leaders sympathetic to Moscow is expected.

Earlier this week, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said the EU’s “peace through strength” approach was “unrealistic”.

And in a letter to Costa, Hungary’s Viktor Orban demanded that Ukraine not be mentioned in any written conclusions following the summit.

Orban – who has repeatedly attempted to block EU aid to Ukraine and has praised Trump for “standing bravely for peace” – said there was now a “strategic divide… between the majority of Europe and the USA”.

“One side insists on prolonging the war in Ukraine, while the other seeks an end to the conflict,” he added.

Yet Orban left the door open for a “greater probability for co-operation” with other leaders over issues of common security and defence.

While Thursday’s crisis summit is taking place in Brussels, UK Defence Secretary John Healey will be in Washington for discussions with his counterpart Pete Hegseth on the US decision to pause intelligence sharing with Ukraine.

Their bilateral meeting will focus on a possible peace plan while efforts continue to bridge a transatlantic rift over Kyiv’s future security.

Perhaps in a final bid to try and achieve unity ahead of the summit, Macron – who has positioned himself at the centre of the EU’s efforts to bridge the gap between Kyiv and Washington – invited Orban to have dinner in Paris on Wednesday evening.

The two leaders met immediately after the French president gave a sombre address to the nation in which he said that France and Europe needed to be ready if the US was no longer by their side.

“We have to be united and determined to protect ourselves,” Macron said. He added that the future of Europe could not be tied to Washington or Moscow, and said that while he “wanted to believe that the US will stay by our side, we have to be ready for this not to be the case”.

The French president plans to hold a meeting of European army chiefs in Paris next week.

Macron said that “decisive steps” would be taken in Brussels, leaving European countries “more ready to defend and protect themselves”.

“The moment calls for unprecedented decisions,” he concluded.

“I am well aware it will not be easy. But I also know that timing and determination counts,” von der Leyen said in Delhi, adding that such an agreement would be the largest deal of this kind anywhere in the world.

The EU Commission chief is in India accompanied by the entire College of Commissioners – the first such visit after the European parliamentary elections in June 2024.

She met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.

Speaking in the Indian capital, she said the two sides wanted to deepen trade and investment collaboration in wide ranging areas like semiconductors, AI and cleantech.

India and EU relaunched talks on a long pending free trade agreement in 2021 and are set to hold another round in March.

An India-EU summit is also being held later in the year.

Von der Leyen also said that India and EU were pushing for renewed cooperation in security and stability and were exploring a future ‘Security and Defence Partnership’ with India similar to the partnerships with Japan and South Korea.

Brussels is keen to expand its relationships in the Indo-Pacific as cracks deepen between the US and Europe over trade tariffs and Ukraine following Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Trump has said he is planning to hit goods made in the European Union with tariffs of 25%, claiming the bloc was created to “screw the US”.

The European Union said it would react “firmly and immediately against unjustified tariffs”.

Given the backdrop, analysts say strong trade and security relations with India have become more important than ever for the EU.

A trade deal has proven difficult so far due to differences in areas like agriculture and manufacturing.

Despite renewed negotiations “the two sides have little to show for the talks thus far”, Observer Research Foundation (ORF), a think tank, said in a note.

However, some 6,000 EU companies operate in India and the bloc is India’s largest trading partner in goods, with bilateral trade reaching $135bn (£107bn) in 2022-23, nearly doubling in the last decade.

After years of scepticism about free trade deals, India is now actively signing agreements and negotiating with multiple countries and blocs.

India and the UK restarted free trade talks this week, nearly a year after negotiations were paused ahead of general elections in both countries.

Last year, India signed a $100bn free trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – a group of four European countries that are not members of the European Union – after almost 16 years of negotiations.

Over the weekend, Trump announced 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, and said he would take similar action against the EU but suggested a deal could be “worked out” with the UK.

Asked if he would be willing to water down attempts to forge closer ties with the EU in exchange for keeping the US on side, Sir Keir said both relationships were important to the UK.

“Now, that for me isn’t new, I think that’s always been the case and will be the case for many, many years to come,” he added.

The prime minister told a press conference in Brussels it was “early days” when it came to tariff talks with the US and that he backed “open and strong trading relations”.

Sir Keir was in Belgium to meet the Nato secretary general Mark Rutte and will later attend talks with EU leaders – the first PM to do so since Brexit.

The focus of the trip is defence and security co-operation, however for Sir Keir it is also part of an ongoing bid to “reset” UK-EU relations in areas such as trade.

The UK government wants to forge stronger links with the EU but that could anger the US and risk the UK getting caught up in a trade war. Similarly the EU might object to Sir Keir siding with the US rather than its European neighbours.

Earlier, No 10 said the prime minister trusted Trump and pointed to “a really constructive early set of conversations” between the two men.

“We’ve got a fair and balanced trading relationship which benefits both sides of the Atlantic,” the spokesman added.

“It’s worth around £300bn and we are each other’s single largest investors, with £1.2tn invested in each other’s economies.”

Following Trump’s tariffs announcements over the weekend, European and Asian stock markets fell, with car manufacturers particularly badly hit.

The UK was also impacted but to a lesser effect than the EU.

Analysis produced last year by the University of Sussex suggested the UK could face a £22bn hit to exports if the US imposed a blanket 20% tariff on all imports.

The top goods exported from the UK to the US include cars, medicinal and pharmaceutical products and mechanical power generators.

Trump believes imposing tariffs will help grow the US economy and protect jobs, however it could lead to consumers paying more as prices adjust to the taxes.

On Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the imposition of the 25% tariffs had been delayed after reaching an agreement with the US which would see her country deploy 10,000 troops to tackle drug trafficking into the US.

However, other countries responded angrily with Canada immediately announcing retaliatory tariffs of 25%.

French President Emmanuel Macron said that if EU interests were attacked, the trading bloc would have to “make itself respected and thus react”.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said: “There are no winners in trade wars.”

If there is a trade war with the US, “then the one laughing on the side is China”, she added.

Asked if he would put tariffs on the UK, President Tump said: “UK is out of line but I’m sure that one… I think that one can be worked out.”

He added that his discussions with the British prime minister had “been very nice” adding: “We’ve had a couple of meetings. We’ve had numerous phone calls. We’re getting along very well.”

While the focus of the Brussels summit is defence, the UK also wants to discuss easing restrictions on the trade of food and animal products and cooperation on emission trading schemes.

The mutual recognition of professional qualifications and allowing touring musicians to travel more easily are also areas of interest.

The EU is keen to set up a youth mobility scheme, which would make it easier for young EU citizens to study and work in the UK and vice versa. However, ministers have so far rejected the idea.

Downing Street has not ruled out joining the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention, which would allow tariff-free trade on some goods.

The Conservatives have accused the government of “trying to reopen the divisions of the past and edge us back into the EU”.

In contrast, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has been urging the government to negotiate a new UK-EU customs union, allowing tariff-free trade between the two sides.

Starmer is heading over the English Channel for talks focused on defence and security co-operation and will also meet Nato secretary general Mark Rutte.

The trip is part of what he calls a “reset” between the UK and the European Union.

The government has promised the UK will not re-join the EU’s single market or customs union, or sign up to freedom of movement.

But ministers do want what they see as a better relationship on defence and security, crime and trade.

They hope to sort this out by the spring and finalise it at a UK-EU summit, possibly in April or May.

Leaders of the European Union’s 27 member states are gathering for what is described as an “informal retreat” at the Palais d’Egmont in Brussels – a 16th century palace in heart of the Belgian capital.

The backdrop is clear: the ongoing war in Ukraine and the return of Donald Trump to the White House.

The EU acknowledges it needs to take greater responsibility for its own defence – a key and recurring demand of President Trump, as he threatens the bloc with import taxes or tariffs.

The prime minister said: “President Trump has threatened more sanctions on Russia and it’s clear that’s got Putin rattled. We know that he’s worried about the state of the Russian economy.

“I’m here to work with our European partners on keeping up the pressure, targeting the energy revenues and the companies supplying his missile factories to crush Putin’s war machine.

“Because ultimately, alongside our military support, that is what will bring peace closer.”

But Trump’s cryptic, threatening and yet tantalising comments overnight on trade with the UK, where he said Britain was “out of line” on trade things “can be worked out”, neatly illustrate a dilemma Whitehall’s been conscious of ever since the president’s re-election.

If the UK shimmies towards Brussels that will likely tread on Washington’s toes; overdo the overtures in the Oval Office and the EU will be miffed. After Monday’s visit to Brussels, the prime minister is expected in the US in the next few week.

The UK is also exploring closer ties with the EU on dealing with serious and organised crime, and, crucially, trade.

Allowing food and animal products to be traded more freely is being discussed, as is cooperation on energy with a possible tie-up between the UK and the EU’s emission trading schemes.

The mutual recognition of professional qualifications and allowing touring musicians to travel more easily are also themes of interest.

Plenty in the EU are keen on a youth mobility scheme allowing young people from the UK and the EU to travel much more easily.

But such a scheme will sound to some rather like freedom of movement, albeit for a narrow chunk of the population and so may be a hard sell for the UK politically.

It is also likely, given the respective sizes of the EU and the UK, that more young people from the EU would come to the UK than vice versa.

Ministers have rejected the idea so far.

The EU has also floated the UK joining what is known as the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean Convention.

The Convention isn’t quite a customs union but removes customs on the components that go into a product that are sourced from the other countries signed up to it.

Notably, the UK has not ruled out signing up to this and it is not seen by the government as a breach of its red lines.

Some sectors, such as the car industry, with its ‘just in time’ supply chains, would likely welcome such a move but other manufacturers would be exposed to greater competition.

Leading the technical negotiations for the UK is Michael Ellam, who worked in Downing Street when Gordon Brown was prime minister.

Ellam has been tasked with managing what is known as the “EU Relations Secretariat” within the Cabinet Office, which the prime minister set up shortly after the general election to lead on his planned “reset” with the EU.

As the negotiations continue, Starmer knows he faces political pressure from both sides of the argument.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has claimed “the Labour government are trying to reopen the divisions of the past and edge us back into the EU”.

Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, has said the government should be negotiating to re-join the customs union.

The second-round vote was cancelled earlier this month after declassified intelligence documents revealed 25,000 TikTok accounts were suddenly activated weeks before polls opened in the first round.

The accounts backed the independent candidate Calin Georgescu, a largely unknown far-right campaigner who described Russia’s Vladimir Putin as a “patriot and a leader”, although he denied being a fan.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said democracies had to be protected from foreign meddling.

EU regulators will assess if TikTok’s advertising policies and the systems it uses to recommend content to users are in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which is aimed at preventing the spread of disinformation and halting illegal activities online.

“Whenever we suspect such interference, especially during elections, we must act swiftly and firmly,” von der Leyen said in a statement.

“It should be crystal clear that in the EU, all online platforms including TikTok must be held accountable.”

Georgescu’s election campaign had been focused primarily on TikTok and, although Moscow has denied interference, Romanian intelligence said Russia had identified the Nato member state as an enemy state and a priority target.

TikToks promoting the candidate were not marked as election content, which is illegal in Romania.One account paid $381,000 (£300,000) on posts for Georgescu, who denied spending any money himself on the platform.

TikTok has vehemently denied the allegations, insisting “it is categorically false to claim [Georgescu’s] account was treated differently to any other candidate”.

Although the platform allows election content to be posted and shared organically, paid political advertising is banned.After the run-off vote was cancelled, TikTok said that “when Romanian authorities contacted us to flag a number of videos that lacked identifiers… we took action on those videos within 24 hours”.

Part of the EU investigation will look at the risks associated with “automated exploitation” of TikTok’s algorithm, which provides tailored content on a user’s “For You” page according to their interests and how they interact with the app.

It will also assess TikTok’s policies on political advertisements.

On 5 December, the EU ordered TikTok to preserve internal documents about how it recommended content to users and any methods it had to mitigate “intentional manipulation” of its platform.

This encompasses content relating to any national elections in the EU between 24 November 2024 and 31 March 2025, including Romania, Ireland and Croatia.

The EU said it would carry out the investigation “as a matter of priority”.

It runs alongside a separate investigation into TikTok’s possible breach of the DSA regarding harmful content and protecting minors.

After the first round of the Romanian presidential vote, Romanian intelligence said that Georgescu’s sudden jump in popularity was due to a “highly organised” and “guerrilla” social media campaign, from accounts sending identical messages.

Before the run-off round was cancelled, he was running neck and neck with reformist candidate Elena Lasconi.Georgescu had campaigned to end political and military aid to Ukraine.

He is a conspiracy theorist who does not believe in the moon landings or the Covid-19 pandemic.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen called the agreement a “truly historic milestone” in an “increasingly confrontational world”.

A previous agreement in 2019 never came into force because not all EU member states were willing to ratify it.

If this deal gets ratified by EU states, it means that companies trading between the two regional blocs will charge each other lower tariffs, use simplified customs procedures and it will give the EU easier access to raw materials.

Ms von der Leyen told reporters in MontevideoMontevideo it was in the interest of Europe’s citizens. “It means more jobs and good jobs, more choices and better prices,” she said.Last year, Europe sold almost $59bn (£46bn) worth of goods to Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.This deal is set to grow exports of goods including cars, machinery, chemicals and pharmaceuticals at a time when trade tensions are growing with other parts of the world, the US and China in particular.Nearly $57bn worth of goods went the other way last year with minerals such as lithium and nickel as well as meat and vegetables among the biggest sellers.Those minerals are crucial to the batteries in electric vehicles and this trade deal will make it easier for European carmakers to get hold of the huge quantities they are expected to need in the coming years.

With the two blocs covering 700 million consumers and around 20% of global economic output, leaders from both sides are hoping that will grow if the deal comes into force.The EU says 60,000 of its companies are also exporting to so-called Mercosur members, and half of those are small businesses.Mercosur refers to the Southern Common Market which is an economic and political bloc that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.Talks first began in 2000. A previous agreement in 2019 did not come into force after EU members failed to ratify the deal due to concerns over environmental protection including sustainable farming practices and deforestation.Some of the concerns have been addressed as a result of the changes of governments in Brazil and Argentina.Uruguay’s president Luis Lacalle Pou, who hosted the final talks, acknowledged there were still hurdles to overcome before the deal can come into force.However, he said it was very important for the smaller economies of Mercosur “that the world opens up”.Trade policy is negotiated by the European Commission rather than its member states but France, Italy and Poland have all expressed reservations about the current agreement and the challenge for Brussels will be to get them all to ratify it.Farmers in France and Poland have expressed concern that they will be subject to unfair competition because European rules on their industry are stricter and more expensive to adhere to than those of competitors in South America.In a defiant social media post shortly after the announcement was made, France’s trade minister Sophie Primas said: “What is happening in Montevideo is not a signing of the agreement but simply the political conclusion of the negotiation. This does not bind the member states.”She added that “France will fight at every stage alongside the member states that share its vision.”The possibility of boosting foreign trade will be particularly welcomed by Germany whose exporters have been struggling amid a wider economic slowdown.A state spokesperson said the deal was “a unique opportunity for an agreement that we must not miss” and that Germany was working to find a compromise over French concerns.

• Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said that a Ukrainian drone attack on Grozny damaged the premises of a special police unit fighting in Ukraine and also injured civilians, marking the second such attack on the North Caucasus Russian region.
• Ukraine needs to conscript younger people into the military to succeed in the war against Russia, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
• A Russian government minister was recorded as saying that 48,000 relatives of Russian troops have submitted DNA samples, in a sensitive discussion apparently referring to attempts to identify Russia’s dead soldiers by their remains.
• Ukraine’s security service said it detained a 16-year-old girl accused of helping Moscow orchestrate an air strike on the northern Chernihiv region.
• Ukraine rejected as “groundless” a Russian suggestion that it was involved in the Syria conflict after Moscow’s United Nations envoy accused Kyiv of aiding rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government.
• Advisers to incoming US President-elect Donald Trump are publicly and privately floating proposals to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, including ceding large parts of the country to Moscow for the foreseeable future and taking NATO membership for Ukraine off the table.
• The fall of France’s government on Wednesday and the country’s failure to pass a budget could make it difficult for Paris to ramp up its support for Ukraine despite President Emmanuel Macron’s repeated promises to help Kyiv for as long as necessary.
• A Ukrainian delegation has met with senior representatives of President-elect Trump, a source familiar with the meeting said, as Ukraine seeks support from the incoming US administration in its war against Russia.
• Friedrich Merz, the conservative candidate for German chancellor, sharply criticised the country’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock over her comments suggesting Germany could send troops to Ukraine to maintain peace.
• Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in Malta for a meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), state news agency TASS reported, marking the Russian minister’s first visit to a European Union member state since the beginning of Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
• The US warned of “serious negative impacts” if Romania turns away from the West, after the victory of a far-right outsider in the country’s first-round presidential vote, paving the way for a run-off. Calin Georgescu, a 62-year-old anti-vaxxer and admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has raised fears in the West that it could herald a shift in the foreign policy of the NATO member that borders Ukraine.
• NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said the military alliance had agreed on “proactive measures” to counter Russia’s campaign of hybrid attacks against its members.
• Rutte also accused Russia of supporting North Korea’s missile and nuclear programmes in exchange for troops and weapons to fight in Ukraine.
• Hungary’s foreign minister said a meeting of his counterparts from NATO member countries in Brussels had produced “no consensus” on the prospect of inviting Ukraine to join the transatlantic military alliance.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy criticised the harsh crackdown on demonstrators in Georgia and accused the country’s leadership of bowing to Moscow.
• Top US military officer, air force General CQ Brown, spoke by phone with Russia’s Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov last week, the US military said, the first time Brown spoke with his Russian counterpart and where they “discussed a number of global and regional security issues to include the ongoing conflict in Ukraine”.
• The crew of a Russian ship in the Baltic Sea shot signal ammunition at a German military helicopter on a reconnaissance mission. German Foreign Minister Baerbock said that there are often ships in the Baltic Sea that are involved in circumventing sanctions imposed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
• A treaty on a comprehensive strategic partnership between North Korea and Russia has come into force, Pyongyang’s state-controlled news agency KCNA reported. The formalisation of the treaty comes as the US and South Korea have accused North Korea of sending more than 10,000 soldiers to help Russia fight Ukraine.
• A multibillion-dollar money laundering network run by two Russian millionaires and used by United Kingdom drug dealers to hide criminal cash has been brought down in an international sting.
• The world stands at the dawn of a “third nuclear age” in which the UK is threatened by multiple dilemmas, the head of the country’s armed forces has warned. However, Admiral Tony Radakin said, there would be only a “remote chance” Russia would directly attack or invade the UK if the two countries were at war.
• The new head of the UN humanitarian aid agency says it will be “ruthless” when prioritising how to spend money, in a nod to challenges in fundraising for programmes to help civilians in war zones like Gaza, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine.
• A Ukrainian government representative urged nations globally to help repatriate Ukraine’s children, taken to Russia since the start of Moscow’s war.
• Ukraine’s Zelenskyy hosted the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset in Kyiv. After their meeting, Zelenskyy posted on X that the pair had discussed the need to establish a tribunal to try the crimes of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Sir Keir Starmer said his government would “never turn away” from its partnership with the US, and also promised to build stronger bonds with Europe.

He also stressed the world faced “dangerous times”, saying stability was essential for growth, and the UK must continue to back Ukraine against Russia.

There’s long been speculation the US president-elect may launch a trade war against Europe and reduce support for Ukraine, even Nato.

In such circumstances, analysts suggest Britain would come under pressure to take sides.

Last month, a close ally of Donald Trump said Britain would have to choose between the US and UK’s “special relationship” and closer ties to the EU – which Trump describes as a “mini China”.

Stephen Moore said that if the UK moved “towards more of the American model of economic freedom… it would spur the Trump administration’s willingness to the free trade agreement with the UK”.

Reflecting on Sir Keir’s speech, Sir David Manning, former UK ambassador to the US, said the prime minister had the “right approach” but warned it would not be “easy”.

“It’s going to be a question of steering our interests between the two poles,” he said.

But he said it was “no good pretending to see eye to eye” on issues such as Ukraine and the Middle East, saying the UK will have to respond to what Trump imposes.

Speaking at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet in London’s Guildhall, an annual event held by the City of London Corporation and where the prime minister traditionally speaks on international issues, Sir Keir set out how the UK would now “stand tall on the world stage”.

“Against the backdrop of these dangerous times, the idea that we must choose between our allies, that somehow we’re with either America or Europe, is plain wrong,” he said.

“I reject it utterly. Attlee did not choose between allies. Churchill did not choose.

“The national interest demands that we work with both.”

He added: “There is no growth without security – and no security without alliances.”

In private as well as in public, there is optimism from those in government gaming out how Trump’s return to the presidency might look.

Regardless of the prime minister’s insistence that he would not have to choose between the US and the EU, there is a private recognition at the top of government that what exactly a Trump presidency would mean in that regard is unclear, depending in large part on which elements of his campaign rhetoric he decides to carry through.

In his speech, Sir Keir praised the incoming US leader as gracious, adding that he told him during their meeting in New York in September that the UK “will invest more deeply than ever in this transatlantic bond with our American friends in the years to come”.

Senior officials say that the dinner held between Trump, Starmer and David Lammy in the last weeks of the presidential election at Trump Tower in New York was genuinely warm, that the presidency’s affection for Britain – his mother was born in Scotland – was apparent, and that there was no sign at all he would hold past criticism from Starmer and Lammy against them.

They are much less sure about how Trump would behave towards Britain should the government make economic and diplomatic decisions of which he disapproves, such as closer involvement with the EU or a warmer relationship with China.

One senior government source involved in the discussions said of Trump: “He really does hate the EU.”

Trump has nominated Arkansas businessman Warren Stephens to be his ambassador in the UK.

The UK government is currently in the process of picking its US ambassador, with former Labour minister Lord Mandelson believed to be a contender for the role.

In his speech, the PM repeated his promise to rebuild and renew ties with Europe, which he said were vital to Britain’s security and prosperity.

He insisted it is “deeply in our self-interest” to support Ukraine against Russian president Vladimir Putin because “the future of freedom in Europe is being decided today”.

The UK is now “determined to fight harder on the world stage for our national interests and ready to dig deeper to defend them”, he said, because a win for Putin would damage “our own security, stability and prosperity”.

“So we must continue to back Ukraine and do what it takes to support their self-defence for as long as it takes.

“To put Ukraine in the strongest possible position for negotiations so they can secure a just and lasting peace on their terms that guarantees their security, independence, and right to choose their own future.”

Supporting allies was what former prime ministers Clement Attlee and Winston Churchill had done, Sir Keir said, adding that he thought of the Attlee government of 1945 and its ambition to build “a country fit for heroes”.

“And they saw that maintaining our strength abroad gave us the foundation to succeed at home. That is as true today as it was then,” he said.

Now was the time, Sir Keir said, to “strengthen our security as the bedrock on which the economy rests – and the ultimate guarantor of everything we hold dear”.

Such words may be tested come January if the US imposes tariffs on European goods and demands the continent trades less with China, all while forcing Ukraine to cede territory.

Conservative Party co-chair Nigel Huddleston said it Sir Keir’s government had “set our country back” since Labour took power five months ago.

He said: “From driving business confidence to near-record lows, working people punished with a jobs tax, growth projections slashed, and a dash to surrender British interests overseas – it’s no wonder he’s been forced into a desperate reset.”