>> coming up we will hear from president trump in the oval office that will happen soon. he will address the new jobs markets numbers showing the labor market growing by 151,000 jobs last month. the unemployment rate picked up by 4.1 percent. some analysts expect layoffs to show up in the report in the coming weeks and months. we will have live coverage from the white house this afternoon when president trump will hold a

cryptocurrency summit after sending an executive order yesterday to create a national strategic reserve of bitcoin. we will have that live here on c-span at 3:00 p.m. eastern. you can watch on the free app, c-span now or online at c-span.org. host: joining us this morning at our desk is the managing director of geo strategy north here to talk about the u.s. pause on ukraine aid and transatlantic relations. let's remind our viewers about the german marshals. guest: it was founded 53 years ago and it champions democracy as the cornerstone of transatlantic relationships. we are here in d.c. and we have european offices. host: what is the german marshall's take on president trump's position on ukraine? guest: we are waiting to see what this means. the german marshall fund wants

there to be a strong and healthy relationship across the atlantic and we want to a prosperous ukre future. we will see how it evolves and we want ukraine to put on the strongest and most secure foot going forward. this does not mean that war should be going by any means for a long duration but we are worried that ukraine could not have what it needs in the short term but this pause as we understand it is a pause on funding and it is a highly fluid situations hour by hour. host: it does not sound like european leaders will wait and see. i will show a headline from the washington post this morning. europe scrambles to bolster its defenses. the eu country's move as trump shifts alliances. the eu's moving forward with

plans to unlock hundreds of billions in defense spending in the coming years but a military spending spree will not be easy. i want to show our viewers what the president of the european commission had to say earlier this week when she unveiled this plan to boost european military spending. [video clip] >> question is no longer whether europe's security is threatened in a real way or if it must take more responsibility for its own security. in truth, we have long known the answers to those questions. the real question in front of us is whether europe is prepared to act as decisively as the situation dictates. we are in an era of re-armament and europe is ready to boost its

defense spending both to respond to the short-term emergency to support ukraine but also to address the long-term needs to take on more responsibilities for our own european security. host: it sounds like she agrees with president trump. europe needs to do more. putting aside this pause, did europe need to do more? was this a long time in the making? guest: absolutely. what you heard was a very clear acknowledgment that europe has not done enough for securing defense since the end of the cold war. there have been many warnings about the fact that the world is becoming more dangerous. not just russia but across the globe. there are actors who seek to hurt europe and the united states and europe has to step up

and spend more. we are seeing that right now. there have been pronouncements across the decades but in this summit that was held yesterday, a lot of the ad hoc's were leaders coming together in small groups. we have seen strong signals for increased funding. over the past few years even before trump came into office again, we have seen a significant increase in european defense spending. but in the last few days it is a question of how do they come together and use some of the european mechanisms so not just each country's individual national budget but how do they borrow together, open collective funds so that the european union because that is what the commission does, how can they make acquisitions and also recharge the defense industry more quickly. host: why haven't they done this

so far? even though there have been warnings, there has been recognition. what has stopped european nations from taking this action? guest: many have. then there are laggards as well. there are different perceptions across the european union and european countries. france has a nuclear fleet that has had to make sure the investments keep going in that. they are also countries that are tiny like luxembourg that have not really seen a purpose. we are needing to have all of them move up in their defense spending. host: here is the french president emmanuel macron delivering an address on wednesday outlined the future of european security and its commitment to ukraine amid a pause by the united states. [video clip] >> piece cannot be achieved by abandoning ukraine. peace cannot come at any price.

it cannot come from russia dictating the terms. peace cannot come with the collapse of ukraine. and we have seen this happen in the past. who can forget that this invasion started back in 2014 and that there was a cease-fire and that russia did not uphold the cease-fire agreement? so we cannot have stability without some robust guarantees. we cannot take them at their word. ukraine has the right to peace and security and it is in our interest and the interest of security in europe and this is why we are working closely with our british, german allies and many other european nations. that is why you have seen me in the past few weeks engage in numerous meetings with these people in europe and london to draft the commitments that are

the base requirements for ukraine. for us to sign a peace agreement , we have to do so by supporting the ukrainians. in the midterm it may require further european forces to be deployed. i want to believe that the united states will stay by our side but we need to be ready if that were not the case. whether we come to peace now or in the somewhat distant future, europe needs to be able to best defend itself and to deter other forms of invasion. whatever the case may be, we need to arm ourselves more. we need to bolster our defense positions. we need to deter. that is why we opposed nato and our partnership with the united states of america. but we need more. we need to reinforce our own defense and security capabilities.

the future of europe is not going to be decided by russia or by washington. [end video clip] host: did the french president just say that europe needs to prepare for war? guest: there could be war. if you prepare for war now, there will not be war. this is the funny thing about deterrence. why do we have militaries? why do we consistently invest in making sure that we have arms that can protect our citizens? frankly so the bad guys do not think they can get away with the bombing or inviting us because it's going to hurt them so much. what is the purpose of preparing for war? making sure you never have to use those weapons. that is the mentality that europe is catching up with. that is why the american people and the american military was so successful throughout the cold war because no one decided to poke at the u.s. to test how real it was. that is what europe is understanding it has to do.

even in the countries like germany which have a very strong antinuclear sentiment, there are some big questions about maybe nuclear weapons might actually be necessary because maybe a show of strength is the best way of being safe and never having to use a single weapon. host: what have we heard from german leaders this week? guest: they are looking at the financial mechanisms for how to improve defense spending. when there was the full-scale invasion of ukraine in 2022 the germans said they had an error shift in which they want some money to increase their defense spending but they were so far behind that it made them less behind. what the germans are doing this week, they will structurally change their budgetary process in order to be able to invest more long-term. not needing there parliament to say we approved x billion every single time but to say we can

investigate how your part of our budget. there is very strict control. you cannot run big deficits in europe at all. this will change that when it comes to defense so that there is a bigger willingness and ability illegally in germany to invest in defense. host: how big of a shift is that for germany? guest: this is massive. they talked about the big era shift in 2022. the financial shift because you have to understand how important upstairs he is in germany. the word for death is the same as the word for guilt. the idea of opening debt, credit card. this is not the same issue in the united states. the notion of being able to take on more debt for defense, germany has not seen the military as a primary mode of global operation for a good reason historically.

but today is different. for them to want to change these complicated austerity measures and be willing to take on more debt, that is the big shift in germany. host: where is britain in all this? guest: britain is a first mover. we did not see them active in brussels. they chose to exit the eu. they had a very important leadership role over the weekend. they have a really good line to washington right now. president trump and the prime minister of britain seem to have a very productive relationship and they are checking in as the europeans come to some for relating suggestions. last weekend, they brought together not only the european union europeans but they brought together turkey and canada as well to see what the non-us allies can do in order to help ukraine. the brits are very eager to have

this leadership role. they are also a nuclear power so their strength is well respected in russia. their finances and budgets are not as strong because of domestic concerns and the growth of their economy but as far as appetite and leadership, they are doing very well. host: why does it take them longer to respond and is it going to happen fast enough for ukraine? guest: i think ukraine has some time. we don't know when the war will end. it could. be soon we have the anticipation that next week there will be conversations between the u.s. administration and the ukrainians. we don't know if we are talking about a war that will go on for another three weeks or three months. if everything falls apart and russia chooses not to stop spiraling, it is the fact that every single day russia chooses to fire missiles and shoot at ukrainians on their territory. host: they did again last night.

guest: they did last night. it is not as though the ukrainians are starting this fight. it is the russians who every day make the decision to shoot ukrainians in their country, in their city and their capital. we don't know how long russia will choose to keep doing that. even with the pause in american aid, ukraine still has the resources it needs as far as the front lines. american aid is not as important. what is necessary as part of the drone warfare and they have their own domestic manufacturing that was able to provide them with drones to keep doing that. yes, the ukrainians have european support right now. they have arms that are necessary. it does get a little bit shakier but for the europeans it is incredibly important for ukraine to be on really strong footing as it goes into the negotiations. it is not that the europeans want the ukrainians to keep fighting for fighting's sake. it is the question of how strong ukraine is when it goes in.

the four point plan the british put out over the weekend or lead the announcement of over the weekend, the point of putting ukraine in the strong as possible position was there. that is why the european leaders in brussels yesterday had a strong mutual consent of -- consensus of over $30 billion to give this year. host: $30 billion this year is what they are talking about. with that number in mind, take a look a the newer times. how soon could ukraine forces start to buckle without u.s. weapons. it could be a little four months as europe scrambles to plug the hole in support left by president trump's suspension of military aid. take a look at the numbers. the u.s. has sent $67 billion of military aid to ukraine. europe has sent $65 billion to ukraine. other countries, for billion dollars. kristine berzina also mentioned

talks between the united states and ukraine picking back up. i want to show our viewers what the white house special envoy had to say. he talked with reporters outside the white house yesterday. [video clip] >> president zelenskyy sent a letter to the president. the president thought it was a positive first step. from that we are now in discussions to coordinate a meeting with ukrainians and while the city is moving around a little bit, but it will be saudi arabia. the idea is to get down a framework for a peace agreement and initial cease fire as well. host: let's go to calls. darrell in idaho, independent. caller: good morning. my daughter spells her name the same way. the thing i am looking at is

here you have a situation with russia and ukraine at the point of signing an agreement. back in 2022. then all here comes boris johnson and joe biden interfering and putting money in. now you have a case where i am independent. i look at the fact that here is hunter biden working at burisma making $80,000 per month and ukraine is famous for being the most corrupt country on the planet earth. but now we trump labels zelenskyy is the world's greatest salesman and now here because we have stopped getting -- giving money coming out of the european bases have decided to jump in. it is impossible for me to understand 6000 nuclear weapons, the united states has 6000