STRASBOURG — Ursula von der Leyen welcomed talks on a Ukraine peace deal led by U.S. President Donald Trump and said Europe considers there is now “a starting point” on a plan after days of negotiations. 

A 28-point plan circulated by the Trump administration last week alarmed Ukraine and its European allies as it heavily favored Moscow. After days of pressure on Ukraine to agree to that contentious proposal, Washington and Kyiv said talks in Geneva generated an “updated and refined peace framework” for additional negotiations.

“Thanks to the work of Ukraine, the United States and us Europeans over the last few days in Geneva, we now have a starting point,” the European Commission president told MEPs in Strasbourg. But she added, “We know that much more effort is needed.”

Von der Leyen outlined  Europe’s key demands for negotiations involving “Ukraine, the United States and the coalition of the willing on the way forward.” She said no peace deal can include a limitation on Ukraine’s armed forces — as the first U.S. proposal outlined — as it would leave the country vulnerable to future attacks. 

“Ukraine needs robust, long-term and credible security guarantees as part of a wider package to dissuade and deter any future attacks from Russia. And it is equally clear that any peace agreement needs to ensure that European security is guaranteed for the long term.”

She also made clear it is a red line for Europe that there can be no changing of borders — the U.S. plan had Crimea and the Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk being recognized as de facto Russian territory, and land in Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions frozen along current frontlines.

Von der Leyen added that Ukraine must be free to join the EU if it decides so. “If today we legitimize and formalize the undermining of borders, we open the doors for more wars tomorrow, and we cannot let this happen.”

In her address, von der Leyen also said the EU will accelerate its plan to use frozen Russian state assets to underpin a €140 billion loan to Ukraine.

“The next step is now that the Commission is ready to present a legal text,” von der Leyen said— though she didn’t say when the document would be put forward.

Europe’s plan to use the Russian sovereign assets to support a loan for Ukraine ran into fierce opposition at a summit last month from Bart De Wever, prime minister of Belgium, where the money is held.

“I cannot see any scenario in which European taxpayers alone pay the bill,” von der Leyen said.

The Commission president doubled down on the fact that Ukraine and EU countries need to sit at the table for any future decisions on the implementation of a peace treaty. “Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine, nothing about Europe without Europe, nothing about NATO without NATO,” she said.