The European Commission and the European Council will agree to send a joint delegation to the peace talks on Ukraine that will take place this week in Abu Dhabi, after the president of the EU executive, Ursula von der Leyen, confirmed this Monday that the European Union will have representation in the negotiations promoted by the United States in an attempt to end the war with Russia.
As sources from the EU told Europa Press, among the delegation members will be Anna-Maria Boura, the chief diplomatic adviser to the President of the European Council, António Costa. However, for now it has not been specified who will attend on behalf of the European Commission or what exactly the mandate the European envoys will receive will be.
The head of the EU executive herself had already advanced hours earlier that the European Union will be part of the peace talks on Ukraine scheduled for the capital of the United Arab Emirates, where the aim is to move toward a possible agreement that would end the conflict with Russia, in a context of increasing diplomatic activity between Kyiv, Washington and its European partners.
Von der Leyen said this in a statement released after having a telephone conversation with the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, in which she detailed that both discussed "the ongoing peace efforts", including the talks that will take place this week in Abu Dhabi, "in which the EU will be present alongside our partners".
The EU leader thus confirmed the participation of representatives of the European Union in the negotiations planned in the United Arab Emirates, although she avoided specifying who will attend on behalf of the Twenty-Seven or what specific role the EU bloc will assume during the talks.
Von der Leyen also said that, in her exchange with Zelenski, they analyzed the security situation in the Black Sea region, where she warned that threats are worsening and attacks are intensifying, with fatalities among the civilian population.
"It is necessary to restore and preserve freedom of navigation in the Black Sea", Von der Leyen has argued, who also reiterated her support for the Ukrainian leader’s request to establish a ceasefire that includes food and energy infrastructure.
The chairwoman of the Commission added that she hopes to meet again with Zelenski at the end of this week in Dublin, on the occasion of an informal European Council, where she expects to discuss with other heads of State and Government the next steps to move toward a possible peace agreement.
The statements by the German politician come just before beginning this Monday a visit to Romania and Bulgaria, where she will meet with its leaders to assess the situation on the ground and study how the European Union can strengthen its response to the deterioration of security in the area.
Criticism for lack of European coordination
The announcement of European participation in Abu Dhabi comes after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni demanded last week that the Twenty-Seven designate "once and for all" a single representative to intervene in the peace negotiations backed by the United States, amid the multiplication of diplomatic initiatives by different European countries.
In a letter sent to the President of the European Council, António Costa, Meloni criticized the limited coordination among the member States and demanded clarification of who must sit at the negotiating table on behalf of the European Union and with what political mandate.
In his response, the Portuguese leader argued that "the interests of the European Union must be represented by its institutions, in accordance with the Treaties," a position that was subsequently supported by the European Commission, which said that it was "in agreement" with this.
Meloni's criticism focused especially on the proliferation of diplomatic initiatives driven by different European capitals without a common strategy, such as the two meetings held on Wednesday and the Thursday before last in Brussels, organized by the European Commission and NATO, in which France and Germany acted on behalf of the EU.
The Italian 'premier' also cited as examples the talks in Miami between the United States and Ukraine, the Oslo meeting with the participation of a senior official from Ursula von der Leyen's cabinet, as well as the phone contacts maintained by the leaders of Finland and Norway with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.