EU leaders meet in Dublin on Friday to discuss artificial intelligence for the first time, but tensions over who should represent Europe in Ukraine peace talks are expected to dominate the agenda.
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European Council President António Costa put AI on the leaders’ agenda for the first time at an informal summit in Dublin on Friday. The informal format suits the topic. Without a political declaration to adopt at the end, leaders can speak more openly.
“The president had already thought about including this discussion on the agenda of the European Council. It is not always easy. Sometimes the news is saturated,” said a European official, on condition of anonymity.
This is precisely what happened. The summit was supposed to focus on AI, but the question of who should speak on behalf of the EU in Ukraine negotiations took over.
Envoy of peace
On Thursday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, who landed in Dublin after meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Zelensky confirmed that the Europeans will directly participate in the next round of negotiations, which until now took place in a trilateral format.
“I think we are capable of achieving this with President Putin, and he is willing to try,” Kushner said. Meanwhile, the Kremlin wasted no time in downplaying this prospect.
With Europe closer than ever to securing a seat at the negotiating table, EU leaders will no longer be able to avoid the question of who will represent their interests during the negotiations.
The issue had already been added to the agenda after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wrote to Costa, warning that the multiple formats in which the EU engages in negotiations made it “less credible”. She called for a clear mandate to participate in the negotiations.
Costa agreed to add this point and appeared to run for the position, emphasizing that “the interests of the European Union must be represented by its institutions, in accordance with the treaties.”
He already has support. Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden told reporters on Thursday that Costa would be the natural choice as the EU’s joint representative.
“As heads of government we have a representative. And that is President Costa. We elected him. He is the president of the European Council. I could also live with someone else, but of course we have a president,” Frieden said.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas says EU treaties are clear: When it comes to European security, she and Costa should be in the driver’s seat.
“Leaders, of course, can choose differently and restart these discussions, which is always difficult. Or we should just stick to the agreements we made in 2024,” she said, highlighting the distribution of top jobs in the EU that year.
Upcoming controversy
The issue is urgent because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Europeans to decide by the end of the month who will represent them at the negotiating table.
“It is important to have a discussion about who will represent Europe in these negotiations. That said, for me, the substance is the most important thing. I think we have to stay firm. I think we have to stay united,” said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Frederiksen and his Swedish counterpart, Ulf Kristersson, had previously criticized the Norwegian and Finnish leaders for conducting direct negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin without prior consultation.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, for his part, defended the E3 format, in which Germany, France and the United Kingdom commit to providing the security guarantees necessary to enforce any peace agreement with Russia.
“We will also discuss who, if necessary, will represent the European Union. But that is a matter we will discuss behind closed doors. So, first of all, we have a proven format at E3,” he said, adding that the three were also working with Poland and Italy.
Merz could also increase funding for Ukraine’s war effort. Costa urged him to do so after he openly threatened to veto a European budget deal without a unanimous solution on the issue, provoking a backlash from several leaders.
Ukraine’s financing and the EU budget will take center stage at an extraordinary European Council on November 26-27.
Artificial intelligence
The AI discussion will have two parts. The first, on strengthening Europe’s competitiveness and sovereignty, features Arthur Mensch, CEO of Mistral AI, the French start-up that takes on American technology giants in major linguistic models.
American and Chinese companies have largely monopolized the development of the most advanced AI technologies. To strengthen European players, the EU is proposing rules ensuring that public procurement in sensitive use cases goes only to European companies.
The second part focuses on the impact of AI on society. Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton, one of the most renowned figures in the field, will address the leaders. He has been one of the most prominent voices warning of the existential risks of technology, estimating a 10% to 20% risk that AI could cause the extinction of humanity by escaping human control.
“The guests will help to frame these discussions, in order to allow leaders to have a common understanding of how these challenges will be met,” continued the European official.
Gn world
