European leaders agreed in Dublin on Friday that their team for negotiations on peace in Ukraine will be the European Union institutions together with the E5 countries of the coalition of the willing, France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom, European Council President António Costa said at the closing press conference. Costa said Europe’s security begins with Ukraine’s security, that only Ukraine has the legitimacy to decide on matters concerning its territory and sovereignty, and that the EU’s role covers Ukraine’s European future, reconstruction and prosperity, with security guarantees handled within the coalition of the willing in close coordination with NATO.
The agreement adopts a team instead of the single European envoy that EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas had argued she was mandated to be, and Costa said the team will act in close coordination and full unity. Leaders will next address Ukraine’s financing needs for 2027 and beyond at the European Council on 26 and 27 November, building on forthcoming European Commission proposals.