In brief

• EU officials do not expect the Dublin summit to produce agreement on a special envoy for Ukraine talks.
• Leaders could not agree on who should represent Europe, with Kallas and Costa frequently named.
• Some leaders warn Europe risks being sidelined from decisions on Ukraine's future.

No agreement expected in Dublin

A senior EU official told Suspilne that the bloc does not anticipate reaching an agreement on a special representative for the Ukraine peace talks at the informal summit in Dublin on 12-13 November (У ЄС не очікують домовленості у Дубліні про спецпредставника на переговорах щодо України — джерело – Suspilne). The official said the EU is already represented by its institutions, and that clarifications on the state of the negotiations would be provided to member states.

Divisions over who speaks for Europe

Leaders at the European Political Community summit in Dublin, which brought together more than 50 European leaders, failed to agree on who should represent the continent in talks aimed at ending Russia's war against Ukraine (Хто має говорити з Путіним: європейські лідери не змогли дійти згоди – TSN). Candidates floated in the discussions included EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and European Council President Antonio Costa, while some participants suggested several politicians could share the role.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said the question would be discussed informally on the sidelines of the summit and more formally at a lunch the following day, but that the EU did not necessarily need a single person in the role (Прем'єр Ірландії: Європу на переговорах з РФ необов'язково має представляти одна людина – Європейська правда). He said the bloc needed clear leadership, adding that there were obvious candidates he would not speculate about (Прем'єр Ірландії висловився щодо кількості переговорників від Європи на перемовинах з РФ – Українська правда).

Estonia has argued that Costa and Kallas could represent Europe, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has demanded that the EU first decide who should represent it and with what mandate.

Kallas on the EU's role

Asked who should represent the EU in potential talks with Russia, Kallas pointed to a June 2024 decision on the bloc's leadership for the five-year term, arguing that roles were already defined (Каллас розповіла про місце ЄС у переговорах про завершення війни РФ проти України та європейську архітектуру безпеки – Suspilne).

Risk of sidelining

Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev and other leaders have warned that Europe could be excluded from key decisions on Ukraine's future and European security if it cannot agree on a common voice. Irish and German leaders said the question of who sits at the table depends less on individual names than on whether Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to negotiate (В ЄС вважають, що Європу на мирних переговорах може представляти не одна людина – Suspilne).