Estonia wants Costa and Kallas to speak for Europe in Ukraine peace talks

Estonia called for European Council President António Costa and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas to represent Europe in Russia-Ukraine negotiations, as leaders grapple with who should have a seat at the negotiating table. “Europe has already chosen its representatives: Council President António Costa and [High Representative] Kaja Kallas.

Both are clearly accountable to EU countries,” Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told POLITICO. The matter is set to come up at an informal European Council summit in Dublin on Friday, at the behest of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who said in a letter to Costa that Europe’s approach has been “all over the place” and risked prolonging the war.

Costa subsequently agreed to prioritize the topic at the talks in Ireland. Michal said Costa and Kallas’ “mandate comes directly from the Council,” meaning that “there is no need for an ad hoc plan to be agreed between member states first.” The question of who should speak for Europe has taken on greater urgency as U.S.-led efforts to broker an end to the war gather pace.