A diplomatic initiative by its president, Antonio Costa, to it has revealed major disagreements among its leaders over how to manage relations with it, as the war continues with no end in sight.
According to a European official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, a close associate of Costa has had brief contacts with the Kremlin in recent weeks with the aim of opening channels of communication. The move comes at a time when several European capitals are considering direct talks with Moscow on the war in Ukraine and the broader security framework in Europe.
Reactions for lack of coordination
The initiative sparked reactions during the two-day EU summit in Brussels. According to sources involved in the closed-door discussions, several leaders expressed their displeasure at not being informed in advance and felt the EU should focus on increasing pressure on Russia rather than opening new contacts.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron appeared wary of the initiative, while even more negative was the attitude of the Nordic and Baltic countries, which consider Russia the most important threat to their security.
At the same time, several leaders underlined that there are no signs that Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to participate in meaningful negotiations. Consequently, they consider any discussion about who will represent Europe in potential peace talks to be premature.
“Diplomatic channels with Russia are meaningless if Russia itself does not wish to practice diplomacy,” Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs said upon his arrival on the second day of the summit.
A diplomat from a major European country was even more critical, arguing that Costa did not have authorization from member states to open such contacts. “These talks were not coordinated with the governments of the member states,” he said.
Costa’s institutional role
As president of the European Council, Antonio Costa – former prime minister of Portugal – is responsible for convening and coordinating summits of European leaders and for seeking common positions between member states. At the same time, it has the role of representing the European Union in the international field.
However, according to diplomatic sources, several senior EU officials were informed of the contacts’ existence through publications rather than Costa’s own office. The case first became known through a Bloomberg article.
Disputes over who should negotiate with Russia
Another European diplomat said Mertz and Macron argued that any future negotiations would focus mainly on military issues, balance of power and security guarantees for Ukraine. Therefore, in their view, these are issues that directly concern the states and not the institutions of the European Union.
Despite the backlash, some countries supported the initiative. Ireland’s Prime Minister Michal Martin said the creation of a communication channel with Moscow was not a mistake. “In our view, opening a communication channel is not something negative,” he said.
At the same time, other officials argued that Costa is the natural representative of the European Union’s interests and is therefore justified in undertaking such investigative initiatives.
It is in this context that the story told by Politico between the Prime Minister of Belgium and Antonio Costa when they were leaving the Summit yesterday is obviously included.
According to the relevant publication, Bart de Vever said to the president of the European Council as he was leaving the meeting: “Now I was talking about you Antonio.” Costa then asked him what exactly he was saying and the prime minister of Belgium replied: “We said that you are the only one who can represent us and that we should send you to Moscow immediately”. Costa, according to the relevant report, laughed and then replied: “It’s because you don’t want me to be in Brussels.”
Europe is seeking a role in future talks
To date, the United States has played the leading role in diplomatic efforts to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, with the European Union largely on the sidelines, despite repeated calls from both Brussels and Kiev for meaningful European involvement.
At the same time, Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are closely coordinating within the framework of the so-called “E3” scheme (Germany, France and the United Kingdom). This practice has caused discomfort in some EU countries, notably Italy, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressing her displeasure at not taking part in these consultations.
Dutch Prime Minister Rob Goetten said Europe should first clearly define what interests and goals it wants to defend in a future negotiation with Russia and only then decide who will sit at the negotiating table on its behalf.
“Europe must first consider what exactly is at stake in such a negotiation. It is still too early to decide who could be the European negotiator,” he told reporters.
