In a moment that reveals how Europe has been pushed to the margins of a war on its own continent, the continent's leaders are struggling to agree on who should speak for them in Ukraine peace talks. After US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner carried proposals between Abu Dhabi, Moscow and Dublin, the promise of a European seat has been made, yet no single voice has been chosen to fill it. Beneath the question of representation lies an older anxiety: that a settlement could be bought with the security arrangements Europe has relied upon for decades, and that the price of a place at the tab
EU Leaders Struggle to Name a Negotiator as Europe Seeks a Seat at Ukraine Peace Talks
A seat for Europe now looks likely. Who will fill it does not.
Mark
Why did Kallas's laugh matter so much?
Mimi
Because it was an answer without words. Europe is being told it gets one seat while Washington gets two, and the person who might fill it chose to laugh rather than defend the arrangement.
Luke
Careful, though. A laugh is not a statement. The reporting reads it as frustration, which is plausible, but that is interpretation, not something she said.
Mark
So who actually decides who sits there?
Mimi
Nobody has yet. Kallas and Costa are the names tipped, but many national leaders want to attend themselves, and Merz and others cooled on a special envoy.
Luke
And "tipped" is doing work in that sentence. No source here confirms a shortlist.
Mark
What is Europe really afraid of?
Mimi
That a seat gets traded for security concessions. Putin has floated no NATO for Ukraine and possibly rolling NATO back from Finland and Sweden. Estonia's Michal said discussing your defense with the threat is the trap.
Luke
Worth noting those are Putin's stated demands, not agreed terms. Whether Washington would accept any of them is not established in this reporting.
Mark
And the money?
Mimi
A €70 billion gap the Commission flagged in October, Fico opposing support, and Merz threatening to block the seven-year budget.
Luke
Merz's threat is conditional, and whether he'd follow through is unknown.
El Pulso
- Europe's leaders are scrambling for a single negotiator while the US envoys have already promised a European presence at the next round of talks.
- Meloni's sharply worded letter to Costa has turned private frustration into public quarrel over whether Europe appears in disarray.
- Putin's reported demands, including a permanent bar on Ukraine joining NATO and a possible rollback of the alliance, have sent a jolt of alarm through capitals closest to Russia.
- Merz's threat to block the seven-year EU budget unless states fund Ukraine threatens to turn a diplomatic dispute into a financial standoff.
- The question now is whether the EU can name a negotiator before the next round of talks, and whether its unity holds under the weight of money and fear.
In a moment that reveals how Europe has been pushed to the margins of a war on its own continent, the continent's leaders are struggling to agree on who should speak for them in Ukraine peace talks. After US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner carried proposals between Abu Dhabi, Moscow and Dublin, the promise of a European seat has been made, yet no single voice has been chosen to fill it. Beneath the question of representation lies an older anxiety: that a settlement could be bought with the security arrangements Europe has relied upon for decades, and that the price of a place at the table might be paid in the currency of NATO itself.
At the European Political Community summit in Dublin, a reporter asked EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas why Europe should get one seat at the Ukraine peace table when the United States gets two. Her short, wry laugh said much about how Europe's leaders feel after months of watching a war on their own continent from the edges.
The question grew urgent after US envoy Steve Witkoff, travelling with Jared Kushner, held talks in Abu Dhabi, met Vladimir Putin in Moscow and then briefed Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin. Both men said Europeans will be present at the next meetings, and a European seat now looks likely. Who will fill it remains unsettled. Kallas and Council President Antonio Costa are tipped as the most likely candidates, but many national leaders want to sit in the room themselves. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz insisted Europe must be at the table, though he, like many others, downplayed the idea of a special envoy.
The disagreement has spilled into public view. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote to Costa warning that a Europe seen in disarray serves those who want the war to continue. Leaders could not even agree on the mood in the room: Slovenia's Janez Jansa described a "bad mood," while Latvia's Andris Kulbergs said simply, "I don't feel that."
Beneath the procedural quarrel runs a deeper fear that Washington might trade European security, chiefly NATO, for Europe's place at the table. Putin has reportedly demanded that Ukraine never join NATO and even that the alliance roll back its newest members, Finland and Sweden. Leaders near Russia are especially uneasy. Estonia's Kristen Michal said, "Right now, we are in the trap," and many in Dublin pointed to broken agreements, from Helsinki to the 1994 Budapest Memorandum.
The seat dispute also overshadows a funding fight. The European Commission has identified a €70 billion gap in promised support for Ukraine, Slovakia's Robert Fico opposes further aid, and Merz has threatened to block the next seven-year budget unless states contribute. The coming weeks will show whether the EU can name its negotiator, and whether money deepens the divisions seen in Dublin.
At the European Political Community summit in Dublin, DW put a pointed question to Kaja Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief: why should Europe get one seat at the table in Ukraine peace talks when the United States gets two? She answered with a short, wry laugh. It said a good deal about how Europe's leaders feel after months of being kept on the edges of talks about a war on their own continent.
The question has become urgent because of what US envoy Steve Witkoff told reporters after a diplomatic tour with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law. The two held talks in Abu Dhabi and then met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. From there they went straight to Dublin to brief Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Witkoff said Europeans will be present at the next meetings, and Zelenskyy and Kushner both said the same on Thursday. A seat for Europe now looks likely. Who will fill it does not.
Kallas is among those tipped as most likely, alongside EU Council President Antonio Costa. But the EU has not settled on a single figure, partly because many national leaders want to be in the room themselves. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was firm that Europe will be there. "At the table must be sitting Ukraine, must be sitting the Europeans, must be sitting the Americans, and naturally Russia," he told reporters. Like many other leaders, though, he played down the idea of appointing a special envoy.
Zelenskyy told the leaders in Dublin that Europe's role is not yet direct. "Not directly yet, and not yet when the Russians are at the table," he said, adding that Europeans are already involved and that Europe must become a regular part of the negotiations. He also called the US approach "a bit strange."
The disagreement has spilled into public view. Last week Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni sent Costa a sharply worded letter lamenting the lack of unity. "By projecting the image of a Europe that is in disarray, we are merely serving the interests of those who want this war to continue," she wrote. Leaders were not even agreed on how bad the mood is. Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said the situation was creating a "bad mood" among them, while Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs replied, "I don't feel that."
Beneath the procedural fight sits a deeper fear: that Washington could accept Russian demands to reshape European security, chiefly through NATO, in return for Europe's place at the table. Putin has said his demands could include a guarantee that Ukraine never joins NATO and even a rollback of the alliance to remove its newest members, Finland and Sweden. In Moscow he told Kushner and Witkoff that Europeans say they will deploy troops in Ukraine once a peace deal is signed, calling such troops "a legitimate target" and warning the war would resume immediately.
Leaders in Russia's neighborhood are especially wary. Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said, "Right now, we are in the [Russian] trap," and asked whether anyone would discuss their defense with the very threat they face. Trump has said he hopes for a "very big, beautiful agreement" that "might involve all of Europe." Many leaders in Dublin pointed to earlier agreements they say Moscow has broken: the 1975 Helsinki Accords, the 1990 Paris Charter, the 1997 NATO-Russia Founding Act and, most important in their view, the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, which bars Russia from using force against Ukraine except in self-defense.
The row over the seat is also pulling attention from a bigger EU fight over how to pay for Ukraine. In October the European Commission identified a €70 billion hole in the funding the EU had promised for Ukraine's economy. Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico opposes any further financial or military support. Merz has warned he could block the EU's next seven-year budget unless member states agree to contribute to Ukraine's financing. The next things to watch are whether the EU names a negotiator, and whether the money dispute deepens the divisions on display in Dublin.
Citas Notables
At the table must be sitting Ukraine, must be sitting the Europeans, must be sitting the Americans, and naturally Russia.— German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
By projecting the image of a Europe that is in disarray, we are merely serving the interests of those who want this war to continue.— Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, in a letter to Antonio Costa
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