In brief

• Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš proposed EU heads of government as Europe's negotiators with Russia.
• He argued the European Council should choose them because it controls the budget.
• The EU remains split into at least three camps over who should represent it.

Babiš names his candidates

Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš said on Thursday in Dublin, where the 9th summit of the European Political Community was taking place, that the EU must finally name the people who will represent Europe at the table with Russia (Vyjednávačmi Európy s Ruskom by mohli byť Meloniová alebo Tusk, povedal český premiér – HNonline.sk). Some reports also list European Council President António Costa (Ať za Evropu s Ruskem mluví Meloniová, žádá Babiš. Vyslovil i jiná jména – Aktuálně.cz) (Babiš by rád, aby za Evropu s Ruskem mluvili Meloniová, Tusk, nebo Costa – Deník.cz).

Why heads of government

Babiš argued that the choice should fall to the European Council, because that body decides on the budget and money. He said the negotiators should be heads of government or heads of state, and added that the selection should take account of which leaders face elections soon. He also referred to a letter from Meloni that criticised the disorder in recent contacts with Moscow, such as phone calls and meetings held outside agreed formats (Kto má hovoriť s Putinom za Európu? Babiš navrhol konkrétne mená, medzi nimi Meloniovú aj Tuska – Aktuality.sk). Babiš agreed with that criticism and said such matters should be approved by the Council.

He also rejected linking approval of the EU's long-term budget to continued financial aid for Ukraine, saying Union money should go mainly to post-war reconstruction.

A divided bloc

The question of who speaks for Europe remains open. Politico reported that EU members are divided into at least three camps with different views (Pri výbere zástupcov EÚ na mierových rokovaniach o ukončení vojny na Ukrajine panuje nesúlad. Vznikli tri tábory, píše Politico – STVR). The issue arose after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and US envoy Jared Kushner said European representatives would take part in peace negotiations; Kushner had just come from talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Zelensky warned that Russia seeks to reshape European security architecture and said European countries must have a voice.

The bilateral talks in Abu Dhabi earlier this week between Russia, Ukraine and the United States took place without European negotiators at the main table, and Europeans attended only side meetings. The informal EU summit in Dublin on Friday is expected to address the question.