The Heads of State and Government of the European Union have not managed this Friday to reach a consensus on a single figure that would represent the EU bloc in the future peace talks between Ukraine and Russia promoted by the United States. Instead, an “European team” will participate, made up of representatives of the EU institutions together with Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Poland.
“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,” the President of the European Council, António Costa, explained at a press conference after the informal summit held in Dublin.
This scheme slightly expands the format used by Europeans in the most recent round of contacts in Abu Dhabi, where they went, together with delegates from Germany, France and the United Kingdom, the chief of staff of Von der Leyen and Costa’s principal diplomatic adviser.
For now, neither a date nor a venue has been set for a new meeting between Kyiv and Moscow. The White House special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, pointed out on Thursday that Moscow would have accepted the European presence, but the spokesperson for Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zajarova, denied that that point had been addressed, casting doubt on the EU’s participation.
“We welcome with satisfaction,” Costa added during his appearance, “all diplomatic efforts aimed at bringing Russia to the negotiating table. We are fully committed to supporting the ongoing process and we hope that it will produce concrete results.”
After the meeting, the Portuguese prime minister, Luis Montenegro, detailed that there was an agreement for Poland and Italy to be added to the format known as the ‘E3’ —Germany, France and the United Kingdom— as well as representatives of the European Commission and the European Council.
In any case, the Lusitanian leader stressed that this group “does not yet have a specific mandate” and that its role will be limited to accompanying the talks for peace in Ukraine, without entering into debates about the future European security architecture.
“A strong European presence is important to defend Ukraine’s interests and Europe’s interests, and I welcome (that it be designated) the European team,” the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said at the final press conference together with Costa and the Irish prime minister, Micheál Martin, the current presiding officer of the Council of the EU.
The head of the Community Executive has stressed that the Twenty-Seven have backed Kyiv "from day one" of the Russian invasion, that they have done so "united and steadfast" and that they will maintain that support as long as there remains "work to be done" in favor of Ukraine.
"We decide who represents us and that is what we have done today," the German politician has emphasized, stressing that the goal is to "support Ukraine while safeguarding European interests" and that "as we move toward multilateral talks with the United States, Ukraine and Russia, the objective must focus on ending the war and achieving peace for Ukraine."
Costa has defended that the agreed mechanism fits what is set out in the Treaties of the European Union, which assign to the President of the European Council the representation of the EU at leaders’ level in matters of security, foreign policy and common security, while the President of the European Commission embodies the bloc "externally" in "Community matters."
"It is clear what the Treaties say and we respect the Treaties, of course. To be very clear, we have decided who represents us and that is what we have done today: how the 27 sovereign countries plus the EU will be represented," he concluded when asked about the role of the High Representative for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas. She had defended on her arrival that it should be her who would be the European voice in the peace negotiations, although later she said that the Russians do not want her because "they do not want anyone strong."
The President of the European Council has rejected that the plurality of delegates is a sign of internal division and has argued that it is common for each side to come with several representatives, citing as an example the White House, which has two envoys, Witkoff and Kushner.
Among the first reactions, the Polish prime minister, Donald Tusk, has applauded the designation of this delegation because "what is at stake is peace in Ukraine and the security of Poland and all of Europe: this is our moment."