“In recent weeks, Europeans have made their voices heard, telling the American mediator that no discussion on the future of the continent can ignore our expectations and our demands,” Barrot said on RTL.
European Commission spokeswoman Paula Pinho said Friday that the EU executive did not yet have details to share, but added that “it is obviously up to the European Union to decide on issues that affect its security and issues that fall within its competence.”
The EU has been scrambling to agree on who should represent it at peace talks and who, if anyone, should be in contact with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged European Council President António Costa to address the issue in a letter this week, prompting Costa to put it on the agenda of the November 13 leaders’ summit. Meloni’s letter was partly prompted by a phone call that Finland’s Alexander Stubb and Norway’s Jonas Gahr Støre made to Putin on October 27, which surprised some European leaders.
Meanwhile, the European Commission held discussions on Ukraine’s reconstruction on Wednesday, bringing together representatives from Ukraine, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, NATO and the World Bank.
US President Donald Trump spoke of a “big, beautiful deal” on Thursday evening after meeting with Putin’s envoy Kirill Dmitriev, adding: “It will involve more than just Ukraine, and I might even say it could involve all of Europe.” » This project arouses concern among European officials, who fear that it will sideline the continent and encourage Putin.
“We already have a European security architecture in place – NATO and the European Union each have their respective roles,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Friday in response to the US plan. “We must ensure that Ukraine is integrated into this architecture. The problem remains that Russia continues to violate the treaties that underpin it…Putin does not have a veto on European security.”
Gn world
