The EU is still divided over who should represent Europe in negotiations with Russia - Politico
Kyiv • UNN
EU leaders will discuss the bloc's representative at negotiations on Russia's war against Ukraine in Dublin. The candidates include António Costa and Kaja Kallas.
EU leaders gathering in Dublin on Friday, November 13, will continue arguing over who should represent them in talks on Russia’s war against Ukraine after a day of intense diplomatic activity. Politico reports, UNN writes.
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As U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration steps up its efforts to mediate in the war with Russia, and Europe may already have secured itself a seat at the negotiating table, disputes over who will speak on behalf of the bloc already appear to be overshadowing the summit in the Irish capital—it was not even supposed to be devoted to Ukraine, the publication writes.
"You could even make a television show about it," Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal joked in an interview on Thursday, indicating how sharp the divisions among the leaders have become. "But we’re saving the best part for tomorrow."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who met in Dublin on Thursday with approximately 50 leaders of EU and non-EU countries, warned that Russia seeks to change Europe’s security architecture and insisted that European governments must have a say in the talks following two days of negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi, which largely left the EU out.
Trump’s envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, discussed the issue with Kremlin head Vladimir Putin in Moscow earlier on Thursday before landing in Dublin in the evening to share their views with Zelenskyy.
The EU is united in the need to have a seat at the negotiating table as Ukraine’s main supporter, but not on whom it should send, with diplomats and officials saying the bloc has split into at least three camps
In one of them, support is growing for European Council President António Costa, whose role makes him a natural candidate to represent the bloc. In another are France and Germany, which are reluctant to give up their seats at the negotiating table to Brussels.
And then there is the loneliest camp of all—the supporters of Kaja Kallas. The bloc’s top diplomat would be the obvious choice were it not for her hawkish stance on Russia, which, according to some diplomats, could alienate the Kremlin and make her a liability, the publication writes.
When it comes to speaking on behalf of Europe, there is one person for whom this is already part of his job description.
Costa is becoming the most acceptable candidate among EU capitals, the publication notes. His institutional role gives him a mandate to represent the bloc’s leaders on the world stage, while his position and experience as a former prime minister of Portugal provide him with a certain degree of neutrality, according to a European diplomat.
Michal of Estonia was the first leader to voice support for Costa, saying that his "mandate comes directly from the [European] Council" and makes him "accountable" to the EU member states.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who called for the issue to be added to the agenda of Friday’s talks, said she had nothing against Costa, while the leaders of Luxembourg and Poland also backed him in remarks to reporters on Thursday.
Costa himself also made it clear that the EU is represented internationally by its institutions—that is, by him.
Kallas, meanwhile, is a much more controversial candidate.
Some diplomats consider the former prime minister of Estonia, whom an EU official once said eats "Russians for breakfast," an unacceptable interlocutor for the Kremlin.
"Is this a joke?" another European diplomat said about the prospect of Kallas representing the EU in high-stakes talks, calling her "probably the worst person you could choose."
But others argue that this very "hawkish" reputation makes her the right person for the job. "It would make much more sense," said a second senior European diplomat. "That’s exactly what Putin would do. He would choose someone you don’t want to talk to."
Michal argued that Kallas's role makes her the natural second after Costa, and that both will likely remain in their positions until their terms end in 2029, making them more reliable than a national leader. "Putin does not necessarily have to like that," he added.
Paris and Berlin less interested
However, the biggest obstacle to choosing a negotiator may not be Putin, but the two largest EU capitals.
France and Germany are unlikely to approve a deal that grants Brussels a monopoly on representing Europe in negotiations, two European diplomats and an EU official said.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz made his disagreement clear on Thursday, calling the participation of the E3 countries in negotiations on Ukraine a "well-established format."
Paris also has little incentive to give up its seat at the negotiating table. France is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and possesses Europe's only nuclear arsenal, giving it diplomatic and military leverage that no EU institution can replicate, said French MEP Fabrice Leggeri of the "National Rally," adding that he "can hardly imagine" Costa or Kallas speaking on behalf of Paris.
"France, Germany and the United Kingdom," the E3 countries, "will always remain France, Germany and the United Kingdom," argued Michal of Estonia, adding that nothing prevents them from speaking with Moscow on a bilateral level. But when it comes to decisions affecting the entire continent, they need to follow a "consensus policy."
"That is what the European Union is," he said. "It is the foundation of such a consensus policy and of keeping everyone together on the same page against Russia."
EU leaders are unlikely to officially appoint an envoy at Friday's meeting, but the discussions could lead to a broader "understanding" of how Europe should be represented,
Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said that at Friday's talks, leaders would still need to "think this through a little more."
However, they may not have that much time. This week, Zelenskyy urged the EU to hurry and choose someone—anyone—to speak on its behalf. "I think that in November, and no later, we need to decide who will represent Europe in the negotiations," he said.