In brief

• EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says she and European Council President António Costa represent Europe in security talks with Russia under the EU treaties.
• Kallas made the comments on Thursday at the European Political Community summit in Dublin.
• She said Russia should have no say in Europe's choice of representatives and that the existing European security framework is not being respected by Moscow.

Treaty basis for the representation

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the EU treaties set out who speaks for Europe on security: European Council President António Costa together with the High Representative, a post Kallas herself holds («А чому ми маємо питати Росію?» Каллас різко відповіла Москві щодо переговорів про Україну – TSN) (Каллас заявила про готовність представляти Європу на переговорах із Росією щодо України – Espreso). Her remarks came on Thursday in Dublin, where she was attending the European Political Community summit (Каллас вважає, що може представляти Європу на переговорах з Росією – Європейська правда).

Principles agreed in 2024

Kallas said the arrangement was discussed by EU leaders in 2024, when the current heads of the bloc's top institutions were appointed (Каллас вважає, що може представляти Європу на переговорах з Росією щодо війни в Україні – Українська правда). She added that leaders could still choose different negotiators and reopen the question, a process she described as always difficult.

Response to possible Russian objections

Asked whether she feared Moscow might object to her candidacy, Kallas said Russia should have no say in who Europe chooses to represent its interests. She argued that it was not up to the EU to comment on Russia's representatives and that each side should be free to pick its own.

Security architecture

Kallas also said Europe already has a security framework anchored in several agreements, naming the Helsinki Final Act, the Paris Charter and the Budapest Memorandum, which she said Russia had also accepted. The problem, she said, is that Moscow does not abide by them, so the focus should be on that.

Read also

• Kallas: Putin has no veto over European security, EU must be part of any Ukraine deal
• EU Not Expecting Dublin Deal on Special Envoy for Ukraine Talks, Source Says