Putin talks: The EU has decided on a Ukraine team - Germany is there

EU heads of state and government agreed on their representatives in possible peace negotiations between Moscow and Kiev at their informal summit in Dublin on Friday. According to Council President António Costa, Germany, France, Great Britain, Poland and Italy should send representatives, as should the European institutions. The proposal to make EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas an envoy did not receive sufficient support.

This brought a solution to the dispute that had been simmering since Wednesday. US envoy Jared Kushner, son-in-law of US President Donald Trump, mocked the Europeans' disunity. As EU diplomats said on the sidelines of the summit in Dublin, the idea of ​​a single European special envoy during negotiations was unimaginable: all interests of the 27 European states and all EU institutions had to be taken into account.

EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen spoke of “new momentum” in the discussions about the Russian war of aggression. She announced a further package of sanctions against Moscow.

Ukraine also played a role in the EU budget talks in Dublin. “We are still very far from an agreement,” said Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Friday on the sidelines of the EU summit. There were intensive discussions about this. “We are now entering the crucial phase of the negotiations.” The multiannual financial framework (MFF) is scheduled to apply for seven years from 2028.