In brief: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni wants EU leaders to choose a representative with a clear mandate for Ukraine peace negotiations. In a letter to European Council President António Costa, she warned that overlapping diplomatic initiatives were undermining Europe’s credibility. She said Rome would not accept commitments negotiated without authorization, and she wants a formal decision at the December summit.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni warned on Thursday, Nov. 5, that Europe risks becoming irrelevant in Ukraine peace negotiations unless EU leaders agree on who represents the bloc and with what authority.
In a letter to European Council President António Costa, Meloni argued that competing diplomatic initiatives were weakening Europe’s credibility, Italian news agency ANSA reported.
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“Otherwise, I fear we risk condemning Europe to irrelevance in the negotiation process,” she wrote.
Meloni said the appearance of a divided Europe served those who wanted the war to continue, while human lives and the continent’s future security were at stake.
Meloni demands an agreed EU mandate
Meloni said she was not seeking a place at the negotiating table for herself or Italy.
However, she said Rome would not accept commitments negotiated without an EU mandate that Italy could subsequently be expected to fulfill. She urged leaders to decide who should speak for the bloc and what authority that representative should have.
Meloni said Italy would continue contributing to diplomatic efforts. She emphasized that securing an outcome mattered more than the format of individual meetings, while arguing that European influence required a unified, authoritative position.
She asked Costa to put the issue on the agenda of the informal European Council meeting in Dublin, with a formal decision at the December summit following coordination with Britain, Norway and other European allies.
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Her letter also cited a Coalition of the Willing meeting scheduled for Nov. 19 in Berlin and a separate Nov. 12 gathering of the Berlin format, pointing to their differing memberships as examples of overlapping initiatives.
Nordic leaders contacted Putin on their own behalf
Meloni’s intervention follows a joint call to Putin by Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre on Oct. 27.
Finland’s presidential office said the conversation was initiated in consultation with Ukraine and linked to preparations for negotiations in Abu Dhabi.
The leaders urged an end to Russia’s war and reaffirmed their support for Kyiv. They stressed that the outcome would directly affect their countries and wider European security.
The Norwegian government said Stubb and Støre spoke for their respective countries, not Europe as a whole. The call followed their Oct. 20 meeting in Oslo with President Volodymyr Zelensky and US envoy Steve Witkoff.
Brussels discussions precede Abu Dhabi negotiations
The dispute over representation comes as Ukrainian, US and European officials hold talks in Brussels on postwar reconstruction and security guarantees.
The European Commission is hosting the Nov. 4-5 discussions. Participants include representatives of the US, EU, France, Britain, Germany, NATO, the World Bank and the business community.
Zelensky said his team held a productive reconstruction meeting on Wednesday. Separate discussions on security guarantees were scheduled for Thursday with the US, Britain, France, Germany and NATO.
Zelensky also held a 90-minute telephone conversation with Witkoff and fellow US envoy Jared Kushner on Nov. 4, presenting Ukraine’s negotiating proposals and pressing for urgently needed air defense interceptors.
The diplomatic activity precedes trilateral negotiations between Ukraine, Russia and the US scheduled for Nov. 10-11 in Abu Dhabi. The meeting would be the first in that format since February, with postwar security arrangements, de-escalation and humanitarian issues on the agenda.
Moscow previously rejected European participation
The Kremlin has previously rejected a European role in the trilateral negotiating format.
In remarks reported on Oct. 29, Kremlin foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov said European participation was not being discussed and that no invitations were planned at that stage.
His comments concerned the proposed Ukraine-US-Russia negotiations. European governments have continued separate consultations with Kyiv and Washington on security commitments and reconstruction ahead of the Abu Dhabi meeting.
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