EU names negotiating team for Ukraine talks: EU institutions plus five E5 states

A format of EU institutions and five states

EU leaders meeting informally in Dublin on Friday, 13 November, settled who will represent Europe in future talks on ending the war in Ukraine. EU Council President António Costa said the team will consist of the EU institutions and the E5 group of Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Italy and Poland. Ursula von der Leyen identified the institutions as the European Commission and the Council of EU member states. The German government welcomed the decision, with a spokesperson saying it saw its existing negotiating approach confirmed and that the focus now had to be on the content of a peace settlement. Before the summit, smaller member states and the EU institutions had backed Kaja Kallas or Costa for the negotiating role, while Germany and Italy wanted to send their own negotiators. Costa is to present proposals on strategy and the EU budget within two weeks.

Russia has not yet confirmed

European participation depends on Vladimir Putin agreeing, and the Kremlin has been noncommittal. US envoy Jared Kushner said the Russians had consented to including the European partners in the next round, and that a timetable would be announced soon. Kushner and Steve Witkoff had met Putin in Moscow on Thursday, 12 November. Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said the composition of the Russian delegation was stable on his side and that the president would decide on any expansion if it made sense. Russian negotiator Vladimir Medinski said Moscow had received no European peace initiative or concrete proposal, and that it was unclear what Europe would discuss. Kushner also said considerable differences remain between the Russian and Ukrainian positions, although significant progress had been made in identifying possible solutions. Volodymyr Zelensky said the Europeans would take part in the next round.

Abu Dhabi talks and the Berlin meeting

Delegations from Russia and Ukraine held talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 and 11 November, under US mediation, the first such round since February. Europeans did not sit at the table but held separate talks on the sidelines, and security advisers from Germany, France and the United Kingdom were on site along with representatives of the EU Commission and NATO. The Abu Dhabi talks produced an agreement on a comprehensive prisoner exchange, and further meetings are planned. Merz called Germany's place in the talks a given and said the United States must play in a team with Europe, with the message to Washington being "Bitte keine Überraschungen". Merz has also invited the so-called Coalition of the Willing to Berlin in the week of 16 November, expecting more than 20 heads of state and government to discuss financing Ukraine next year and the peace talks.

“For the first time, concrete peace talks in which Europe is represented are to take place in the coming weeks.”

Security demands and European unity

Kaja Kallas warned that agreeing to Russian demands for talks on a new European security architecture before a ceasefire would walk the EU into traps set by Moscow. Her warning came as the question of who sits at the table remained open, with Costa, Kallas and Finnish President Alexander Stubb all named as possible negotiators. Costa has said the European team will keep acting in close coordination and in full unity. Merz has argued that Europe must speak with one clear and united voice in talks that shape Ukraine's future and the security of the continent. Those talks are now expected to produce a schedule and further details, according to Kushner.