EU leaders start Friday’s summit still at odds over who should lead on Ukraine

DUBLIN — EU leaders gathering in Dublin on Friday will continue arguing over who should represent them in talks about Ukraine’s future after a day of ferocious diplomatic activity. As Donald Trump’s administration intensifies its efforts to broker an end to Russia’s war and Europe may have secured a place at the table, bickering over who will speak on behalf of the bloc already looks like overshadowing the summit in the Irish capital — that wasn’t even supposed to be about Ukraine in the first place.

“You could even have a TV show about it,” Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal joked to POLITICO in an interview on Thursday, in a sign of just how stark the divisions have become among leaders. “But we are saving the best part for tomorrow.” Russia’s full-scale invasion started in February 2022 and as Trump’s enthusiasm for brokering peace has ebbed and flowed, the EU has found itself edged out of the picture ― despite increasingly picking up the tab .