Media: EU demands the appointment of its own negotiator for peace talks in Ukraine
Some European governments are pressuring the EU to appoint a negotiator to represent their interests regarding Ukraine, as they are concerned that the US will strike a deal with Russia behind their backs.
Sources told Politico that supporters of this plan, particularly France and Italy, have secured the backing of the European Commission and several other countries.
They argue that Europe will only be able to maintain its "red lines", such as Ukraine's possible future membership in NATO, if the EU has a seat at the negotiating table.
Politico says this unprecedented step will mark a profound change in Europe's approach to a series of bilateral negotiations organised by US President Donald Trump, and comes amid the continent seeking to demonstrate its willingness to play an important role in any settlement that would end the four-year war.
French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni have teamed up in recent weeks to call for the opening of diplomatic channels with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and his inner circle, even as White House peace talks stall.
"Macron has been advocating in the last days that, in view of the bilateral discussions between the Americans and the Russians, it is important to at least play a role in the discussion," a senior French official said. He said Meloni actively supports this.
"They're not naive about what can be reached through these discussions, but on the balance between not engaging and engaging, there's a growing appreciation [of the merits of engaging] in some capitals," he added.
European leaders first discussed the idea of a special envoy at the EU summit in March last year, a senior EU official confirmed. Despite broad support, no decision was taken and the proposals were not included in the joint statement that followed.
The ambassador's role would be narrowly focused on representing Brussels in negotiations alongside Kyiv.
Officials told Politico that key aspects of this role – such as whether it would represent only the EU or the entire Coalition of the Willing, including the UK and other countries – have yet to be decided. The same applies to the diplomatic rank of such an envoy and whether to officially appoint an official or unofficially delegate this role to a current national leader.
Four diplomats noted that Finnish President Alexander Stubb has often been seen as a potential representative of Europe in any negotiations with Washington and Moscow.
Two EU officials stressed that the position of special envoy does not exist and that any talk of candidates is premature. However, a third noted that "none of these jobs exist until they do".
On 12 January, Paula Pinho, spokeswoman for the European Commission, said that talks would be held with Putin in which the EU would also participate at some stage in the process of establishing peace in Ukraine.
Prior to that, Macron said that Europe must find a way to interact directly with the Russian leader. Meloni agreed with this position.
In turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he does not object to direct negotiations between European states and Russia.