Europe has already decided who will defend its interests in negotiations to bring an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, although it will not do so through a single representative. The European leaders gathered this Friday in Dublin have agreed to set up a negotiating team made up of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland, together with representatives of the institutions of the European Union. The decision is intended to resolve a diplomatic dispute that had been ongoing for months and that had generated differences among the governments of the continent over who should sit in front of Moscow and Washington to address the future of Ukraine and European security.
The agreement, announced by the President of the European Council, António Costa, involves the consolidation of a format known as E5, which expands the group of France, Germany and the United Kingdom by adding Italy and Poland. To these five countries, representatives of the European Commission and the European Council will be added, while NATO will also participate in the conversations related to security guarantees. The goal is for Europe to have coordinated representation in a diplomatic process promoted by the United States, in which the main decisions directly affect the stability of the continent.
"The leaders have agreed that our European team for the negotiations on peace in Ukraine should be the EU institutions and the E5 of the Coalition of the Volunteers," Costa explained during his appearance after the informal summit held in the Irish capital. The Portuguese leader argued that Europe must speak with a common position, despite the fact that representation will be shared among several governments and EU bodies.
"Europe must speak with a clear and united voice in all discussions that determine the future of Ukraine and the security of our continent," insisted the President of the European Council, who also recalled that only Ukraine has legitimacy to decide on its territory and its sovereignty. This final clarification is especially relevant given the possibility that the talks will include issues related to the territories occupied by Russia, Kiev’s future relations with NATO, and the international guarantees needed to prevent a new military offensive.
The decision also leaves two political issues open. On the one hand, Spain does not appear among the five chosen countries, despite being part of the European Union and having participated in different initiatives to support Ukraine. On the other hand, the EU’s high representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, has failed to be designated as Europe’s sole interlocutor, despite arguing that her position grants her the powers to represent the Twenty-Seven in foreign policy and security matters.
The five countries that will negotiate for Europe: France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland
The composition of the European team reflects both the diplomatic weight of its members and their participation in military and political support initiatives for Ukraine. France, Germany and the United Kingdom form the main core of the group, called the E3, a cooperation format previously used to address different international crises and which has acquired special importance since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
France, under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron, has played a relevant role in diplomatic contacts with Ukraine and its Western allies, as well as pushing, together with the United Kingdom, the so-called Coalition of the Volunteers. This initiative brings together countries willing to contribute to Ukraine’s security after a possible peace agreement, through military support mechanisms, monitoring, or guarantees that are still subject to negotiation.
Germany, led by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, also constitutes one of the main European supports for Kiev and maintains a prominent position in the talks due to its economic capacity, its defense industry, and its participation in the supply of armaments and financial assistance. Berlin has argued for the need to preserve European involvement in any agreement that affects the security of the continent.
The third member of the original core is the United Kingdom, which continues to play a prominent role in European defense despite having left the European Union. Its inclusion in the negotiating team responds both to its participation in the Coalition of the Volunteers and to its status as a nuclear power, a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, and one of Ukraine’s most important military allies.
The main new development of the agreement reached in Dublin is the formal inclusion of Italy and Poland. The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, had called for greater coordination between European governments and warned of the problems that could arise from the existence of different interlocutors without a clearly defined representation. Rome had already taken part in the contacts held in Abu Dhabi, but now it is expressly incorporated into the group that will represent the continent.
In the case of Poland, its inclusion responds to the strategic importance of Eastern Europe countries, especially those that share a border with Ukraine or that maintain greater geographical proximity to Russia. The Government of Donald Tusk had argued that negotiations on European security could not be left exclusively in the hands of the great Western capitals, taking into account that any agreement with Moscow would have direct consequences for the States on the eastern flank of NATO.
In this way, the E5 brings together the main diplomatic and military powers of Western Europe with the representation of one of the countries that most directly perceives the Russian threat. However, this group does not constitute a new institution of the European Union nor does it replace the competences of the Twenty-Seven, but will act in a coordinated manner with the EU bodies and the partners of the Coalition of the Volunteers.
Kaja Kallas asserts her role, but Europe rules out naming her as the sole envoy
One of the main debates at the Dublin summit has centered around Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s high representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and vice-president of the European Commission. The former prime minister of Estonia had publicly argued that her institutional position granted her legitimacy to become the European voice during the peace talks.
Before the meeting of leaders, Kallas reminded that she had been appointed to represent the member states in foreign policy and security—an responsibility that she considers especially relevant when negotiating a conflict that directly affects the Union. "I am the one who represents Europe in foreign and security policy", she said, while questioning whether Russia could condition the choice of European interlocutors.
The Estonian leader acknowledged that Moscow maintains an especially critical stance toward her because of her statements and her defense of a firm policy toward the Kremlin. "I know the Russians don't want me, but do we decide who represents Russia?", she asked, insisting that Europe should choose its representatives according to its own institutional norms and not according to the preferences of Vladímir Putin's Government.
Kallas also argued that she does not act on her own behalf, but rather in representation of the member states. "I do not represent myself. I represent the 27, as I have done for two years," she said during her remarks in Dublin. Her position has the backing of those who believe that European foreign policy should be channeled primarily through EU institutions, to prevent fundamental decisions from being concentrated among a small group of national governments.
However, European leaders have finally opted for a collective solution. The agreement does not provide for appointing Kallas as a special envoy nor does it expressly reserve a specific role for her in the negotiating team, although it also does not mean that the High Representative loses her institutional powers or that she is necessarily excluded from all future conversations.
Community representation will fall to the EU institutions, fundamentally the European Commission, chaired by Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Council, led by António Costa. Depending on the level of the meetings, political officials, diplomatic advisers, and technical representatives could be involved, so the specific composition of each delegation is still pending determination.
The German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, defended continuity of the cooperation format between France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, to which Italy and Poland are added, and he noted that the Union already has institutional structures for external representation. His position reflects the preference of several governments to maintain a direct presence by the states with the greatest involvement in the military and diplomatic initiatives related to Ukraine.
The decision therefore represents, a balance between the institutional representation of Brussels and the prominence of the main European capitals, but it also highlights the difficulties in articulating a common foreign policy when national interests, different military responsibilities, and different international organizations come into play.
Spain is left out of the E5: what role will it play in the talks
The composition of the negotiating group also has consequences for Spain, which is not among the five countries selected to participate directly in the talks. The absence contrasts with the presence of the other major European economies and with the role that the Spanish Government has claimed over the past few years in political, financial, and military support for Ukraine.
The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, did not take part in the informal meeting of the European Council held on Friday in Dublin, coinciding with the start of the campaign for the general elections of 29 November. His absence occurs at a meeting in which European leaders have ended up adopting an important decision on the representation of the continent, although it cannot be established that the lack of Spanish participation was by itself the cause of its exclusion.
The selection of the E5 is based mainly on the countries that had already been collaborating in the diplomatic and security formats related to Ukraine, especially through the E3 and the Coalition of the Volunteers. Spain, although it participates in the common policies supporting Kyiv, is not part of that negotiating core.
However, being left out of the E5 does not mean that Spain loses its capacity to intervene in the decisions of the European Union. The Government will continue to take part in the European Council and in meetings of foreign ministers, where issues are addressed such as sanctions against Russia, the financing of Ukraine, decisions about its future integration into the community, and other measures that require agreements between the Member States.
The difference lies in direct access to the negotiating process. While representatives of France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Poland will be able to participate in the European team, Spain will have to convey its positions mainly through the existing institutional and coordination mechanisms, unless the composition of the delegation is modified subsequently.
This delegation team again highlights one of the difficulties of European Union foreign policy: although the EU is made up of 27 countries, not all of them participate in the same way in international negotiations, especially when these affect matters of defense and security in which European allies that do not belong to the bloc also intervene.
The United States drives the negotiations while Russia maintains its conditions
The agreement reached in Dublin comes at a time when diplomatic contacts, promoted by the Administration of Donald Trump, are being intensified. The American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have led during the past few days a new round of talks with Russian and Ukrainian representatives in an attempt to move toward an agreement that would make it possible to end the war.
One of the main settings for this diplomatic activity has been Abu Dabi, where on November 10 meetings were held between representatives of the United States, Ukraine, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, the European institutions and NATO. During these meetings, the conditions necessary to reach a lasting peace were addressed, especially the security guarantees Kiev would receive and the mechanisms intended to prevent a possible ceasefire from turning into a temporary pause before a new offensive.
The talks have made it possible to keep the dialogue between the parties open, although an agreement on the main territorial issues has not yet been reached. Russia maintains its demands related to the Ukrainian territories it occupies and the security conditions it intends to impose, while Ukraine insists on defending its sovereignty and its ability to decide its own international alliances.
Europe’s direct participation continues to be another of the obstacles. Although the American envoys have conveyed that Moscow would be willing to accept European interlocutors, the Kremlin has introduced nuances and has not yet confirmed in an unequivocal way that it will sit down with the delegation agreed in Dublin.
The Russian presidential spokesperson, Dimitri Peskov, has said that Moscow could hold talks with European representatives if it believes there is a real will to contribute to the peace process. However, Russia insists that any solution should address broader issues related to the continent’s security architecture, a position that has raised concern among several European governments.
The German chancellor Friedrich Merz has rejected the idea that negotiations on Ukraine become a general review of European security in line with Russian demands. Along the same lines, Kaja Kallas has warned that addressing those issues first can divert attention from the immediate goal of securing a ceasefire.
The high representative defends a clear sequence for the talks: first, the cessation of hostilities must be reached; then, a peace agreement should be negotiated; and, subsequently, the necessary security mechanisms should be addressed. In her view, accepting from the beginning Russian demands regarding the future of NATO or the military balance in Europe could weaken Ukraine’s negotiating position and that of its allies.
What will be negotiated: territories, security guarantees, and the reconstruction of Ukraine
The European team will have to step in on a particularly complex process, since the talks are not limited to setting the conditions for stopping the fighting. They also affect Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty, its future relationship with the European Union, the country’s economic reconstruction, and the military guarantees that its allies could offer.
António Costa has explained that the EU institutions will take a central role in matters related to Ukraine’s European future, its reconstruction, and its economic prosperity. These issues depend directly on Brussels’s competences and financial instruments, which during the war have allocated significant resources to support the functioning of the Ukrainian state and to back its military and budgetary needs.
By contrast, security guarantees will have to be addressed mainly through the Coalition of the Volunteers, in coordination with NATO. The goal is to study mechanisms that would allow protecting Ukraine after a possible peace agreement, although the scope of those commitments and the specific obligations each participating country would assume have not yet been determined.
The differences between the parties remain important. Russia has reiterated its rejection of certain Western military deployments on Ukrainian territory and maintains claims over occupied regions, while Kyiv demands sufficiently solid guarantees to prevent a repeat of the invasion.
The official position of the European Union continues to be that no agreement on the borders or on Ukraine’s sovereignty can be imposed without the consent of its authorities. Similarly, Community leaders argue that decisions on the security of the continent cannot be made exclusively between Washington and Moscow, without the participation of the European countries directly affected.
The importance of this issue explains why the designation of negotiators had become a political priority for the EU. Without clearly defined representation, European governments ran the risk of intervening in a fragmented manner in talks that could modify for decades the security balance of the continent.
The next European meetings and the uncertainties of the peace process
Despite the agreement reached this Friday, the European team still does not have a fully defined negotiating mandate and the date of the next direct meeting with Russia has not been confirmed. The Community institutions and the five selected countries will have to coordinate their positions, decide which representatives will participate in each meeting, and determine how the decisions will be communicated to all Member States.
For the time being, diplomatic contacts are carried out mainly through meetings of national security advisers, representatives of the European institutions, and envoys from the governments involved. This structure allows technical discussions to be held without the Heads of State and of Government needing to participate personally in all negotiations.
Meanwhile, the European Union maintains other priorities related to the war. A new meeting of the European Council is scheduled for 26 and 27 November, at which the leaders will address Ukraine’s financing needs for 2027 and the years that follow, based on the proposals presented by the European Commission.
Brussels also prepares a new package of sanctions against Russia, the twenty-second since the start of the large-scale invasion, and works on new measures to support energy ahead of the arrival of winter. Among the actions announced is the mobilization of 500 electrical generators coming from the European civil protection reserves, in addition to other supplies intended to strengthen the response capacity of Ukrainian authorities.
With this scenario, the Dublin summit has managed to partially resolve one of Europe’s main internal disagreements: who should take its place at the negotiating table. France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland will assume that role alongside the Community institutions, while Kaja Kallas will continue to carry out her responsibilities as the highest-ranking official in European diplomacy, without having been appointed as a special envoy for the talks.
The main unknown now lies in determining whether Moscow will accept negotiating directly with this team and whether the contacts promoted by the United States will make it possible to move toward a ceasefire. The composition of the European delegation has already been agreed, but its ability to influence decisions will depend on the role it manages to play in the next diplomatic rounds and the degree of coordination that the governments of the continent maintain.