Ukraine peace envoy debate set to dominate Dublin summits

The European Political Community (EPC), formed after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, includes Nato allies Iceland, Turkey, Norway and the UK, as well as Ukraine, Moldova and South Caucasus states. Former Irish leader Leo Varadkar described the forum to media this week as “speed dating, if you like, for high-level politicians.”

EU Council president António Costa has agreed to hold an initial discussion on Friday about the structure and mandate of a possible EU envoy for the peace process, an EU source said. The aim is to leave the choice of candidates until the next summit in December. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the EU to complete the process by the end of November so all sides can “speak at the level of leaders.”

Zelensky’s appeal followed talks in Abu Dhabi this week attended by at least seven EU and Nato officials, about half a dozen Ukrainians, 11 Russians and a US delegation. He questioned whether Moscow was serious about peace, saying its negotiators “think and say they have already occupied half of Donbas [a Ukrainian region], which remains under our control” and had allotted fewer than 120 minutes to the final meeting in the UAE.

“However peace talks unfold, Europe will have Ukraine’s back. Sanctions on Moscow stay in place and will be strengthened,” EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said in Paris on Tuesday. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has lamented the “disarray” among European diplomatic formats, while Poland has criticised the “Shell Bay format,” in which France, Germany and the UK spoke for Europe. “The last thing we want is western Europe dealing with Russia over the heads of the east Europeans,” Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said last week.

Costa had also invited two AI experts, including Nobel prize-winning Geoffrey Hinton, known as the “Godfather of AI” for his work with Google, to answer questions from EU leaders. The discussion on Europe’s “AI sovereignty” may compete for attention with the war. Both summits are being held in Dublin’s docklands, home to European headquarters of several US Big Tech firms. EU leaders will also discuss the bloc’s next long-term budget amid a fresh dispute over Ukraine involving Germany, Hungary and Slovakia.