The French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, have asserted this Thursday in Dublin the role they play in the peace talks on Ukraine within the format known as 'E3' --Paris, Berlin and London--, after several European Union leaders have called for it to be a single "coherent" voice that speaks on behalf of the bloc in any negotiation.
"I don't see any major problem with it continuing that way; what's important is that Russia sits at the table and is willing to enter into talks. Everything else will fall into place on its own," Merz said to the media upon his arrival at the summit of the European Political Community, which brings together in the Irish capital nearly half a hundred European leaders.
Among the attendees is the President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelenski, who at the start of the meeting emphasized the "need to ensure that Europe becomes a regular part of these negotiations and that it also has plans to be in Dublin later with the envoys of the United States, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, after their trip through Moscow."
In this context, Merz stressed that at the negotiating table there should sit Americans and Europeans together with Ukraine and Russia, because "only in this way will it be possible to enter into dialogue," and, when asked about the option of naming a single representative of the Union, he argued that there already exists a "tested" and established format, referring to the E3 --France, Germany and the United Kingdom-- expanded with Poland and Italy.
"What's important is that Russia sits at the table and is willing to engage in dialogue. The rest will fall into place," he reiterated, before adding that "it's not about individual names," but rather that Russian President Vladimir Putin is "willing" to open talks with those interlocutors.
Along the same lines, Macron emphasized the need for Europe to maintain a "clear and united" vision regarding Ukraine and that the "format" appropriate at any given time must be set according to the content of the discussions, citing as an example the Coalition of Volunteers launched in 2025.
"It is necessary that we take up the initiative to discuss with Russia at the (European) level and it will be at that moment when the format will be defined," the head of the Élysée argued, for whom the E3 framework "has imposed itself as a pertinent format in terms of security."
The 27 will address European leadership at the informal summit
Despite the firmness shown by Paris and Berlin, the Heads of State and Government of the EU will address this issue on Friday at an informal summit of the 27, also in Dublin, after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed in a letter to the President of the European Council, António Costa, her displeasure at the lack of coordination among leaders and the appropriateness of setting a counterpart who expresses a single European position.
"We need to identify who, in a phase that could accelerate the negotiations, which would be good news, should represent European interests and with what mandate", Meloni has reiterated upon her arrival at the first day of the meeting in the Irish capital, also insisting that the fact that Italy is or is not present "changes nothing" to her stance.
Meloni has stressed that "it is not only a question of presence or of the variety of formats, of the variety of interlocutors; it is also a question of what is discussed in those forums", underscoring that when security issues affecting European countries are addressed "it requires a fairly clear mandate".
She has also said that she has no "objection" to it being Costa himself who assumes the representation of the EU, although she has warned that the key is to articulate a European mandate that goes beyond the EU itself, that is, one that includes other European countries such as the United Kingdom or Norway.
Costa, a "natural" option to represent the European Council
Although the formal debate among the 27 will take place on Friday, several Heads of State and Government have already indicated their preference for Costa, in his capacity as President of the European Council and, therefore, spokesperson for the 27, to be the one who can engage in talks in future conversations.
Thus, Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden has said that the "natural" post to represent the 27 in the peace talks for Ukraine is the President of the European Council and, for that reason, has shown his support for this alternative.
"What is important is that we speak with a common message. The message is more important than the person, and that message is clear: We are on Ukraine's side and with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations regarding its sovereignty, territoriality and integrity", he added.
For his part, the prime minister of Ireland, Micheál Martin, has defended this Thursday the need for the European Union to have a “clear and coherent” leadership in the peace talks for Ukraine, beyond whether it should be articulated or not through a single figure that represents the bloc.
In similar terms, the prime minister of Poland, Donald Tusk, has recalled that there are already “many formats” that allow for a united representation of the Union and has warned of the risk of getting into a “race of presidents and prime ministers” to occupy the interlocution, a role in which he has assured that Warsaw has no interest.
“I feel that there are too many meetings. Well, today we are here in Dublin, soon there will be one from the coalition of volunteers, meetings of advisers at different levels. At the table where the people of Putin sit, at the table organized by the U.S. diplomats of President Trump, Poland is not precisely well received by these two main actors,” he has insisted.
Alongside these discussions, the EU High Representative for Foreign Policy, Kaja Kallas, has also wanted to assert her role as the voice of the bloc and has recalled that the Treaties establish that it is the head of European diplomacy —and vice president of the European Commission— and the president of the European Council who are mandated to deal on behalf of the 27 with matters that affect “European security”.
For her part, the prime minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, has flatly rejected considering Moscow a reliable interlocutor in a peace process, understanding that the Kremlin has not given “any signal” of wanting to end the war, and therefore she has defended that the debates among the 27 focus on “ensuring that Ukraine has weapons to defend itself and economic resources to keep the country running.”