Chancellor Friedrich Merz sees Germany playing a central role in future negotiations about an end to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. “There should be concrete peace talks in which Europe is represented for the first time in the next few weeks,” said Merz at an informal summit meeting of the heads of state and government of the EU countries in Dublin.
This will “probably be among the Europeans” who were present at the talks in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday and Wednesday. There, under US mediation, delegations from Russia and Ukraine negotiated ways to end the fighting in Ukraine for the first time since February. The Europeans did not take part directly, but held separate discussions on the sidelines of the negotiations. “Germany is committed to this, that is completely clear,” the Chancellor continued. “We will of course continue to represent common European interests there.”
After the talks in Abu Dhabi, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin appeared open to European participation. But Russia's chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said Moscow had "not received a single peace initiative or a single concrete peace proposal from European countries." It is unclear what should be discussed with Europe. When asked about statements by Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov that Russia had not yet made a decision about expanding the format of the talks to include the Europeans, Merz said: "This is the usual game that we see again and again, especially from the Kremlin spokesman."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Europeans would take part in the next round of talks. US envoy Jared Kushner also said an agreement between Ukraine and Russia would not be possible "without Europeans being at the table."
Kallas warns of Russian “traps”
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned against acceding to Russian demands for talks on a new European security architecture before a ceasefire in Ukraine. "When we start talking about what Russia is demanding in terms of security architecture, we fall into the traps that Russia sets for us," she said.
They then divert attention from the fact that there is no ceasefire and instead start listening to Russian demands. Instead, one must realize that there is an aggressor and a victim in the conflict. “The aggressor has no security concerns,” she said, referring to Russia. "No one ever attacked him. He attacked others." Russia recently made agreements on a future European security architecture a prerequisite for a possible ceasefire in Ukraine.
Merz gets support
Chancellor Merz received support for his controversial initiative to link the financing of new aid to Ukraine with the EU budget negotiations. Several heads of state and government supported the Chancellor's plan. With the project, Merz wants to ensure greater participation of all EU countries in new aid to Ukraine.
On the sidelines of the meeting in Dublin, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal said he liked the German Chancellor's message "that supporting Ukraine is also part of our central security and our central financing." So anyone who wants a new budget should take part in it, he continued.
His Latvian counterpart Andris Kulbergs said he “completely” agreed with Merz. "We all have to pull together. The whole of Europe has to get involved." Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden said he agreed with the Chancellor's move. “We have to be on Ukraine’s side” – and that also included shared financial commitments.
According to current estimates, Ukraine will be short of 70 billion euros for the coming year - around 45 billion of which should come from the EU according to a proposal from the European Commission. Merz is campaigning for further payments to the country attacked by Russia. At the same time, Germany also pays by far the largest contribution to the common EU budget, which is currently being fought over between the states.
Slovakian head of government accuses Merz of blackmail
Before the summit, Merz emphasized that the question of how the Europeans would finance Ukraine in the next few years, if necessary, belonged in the context of the budget negotiations. Opposition came from countries such as the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The EU budget should not depend on aid to Ukraine. The Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico even spoke of blackmail by the Chancellor.
Last year, the EU approved Ukraine 90 billion euros for the years 2026 and 2027. The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary had ensured that they did not have to participate in the loan. Bulgaria also does not want to participate in new loans. The Austrian Chancellor emphasized that solidarity is a two-way street. If there are countries that benefit from the EU budget, this solidarity should also apply the other way around. Excluding yourself is not a path to the future.
