EPC talks in Budapest call for unity on continent as former US president’s return to White House brings uncertainty

European leaders have called for stronger action to defend their continent and support Ukraine in a show of unity after Donald Trump won re-election to the White House for a second term likely to prove a major challenge for the bloc.

Meeting in Budapest for two days of talks hosted by Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, an outspoken Trump ally, the EU’s 27 heads of state and government were joined on Thursday by 20 other leaders from the wider European Political Community including Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.