Saturday 14 / November / 2026
Dublin: Five European countries — France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom — along with European Union institutions will represent Europe in negotiations aimed at ending the Ukraine conflict, European Council President António Costa announced on Friday, amid renewed diplomatic efforts involving the United States, Ukraine and Russia.
The announcement was made during an Informal European Council press conference, where European leaders underlined the importance of a unified European position in negotiations and stressed the need to safeguard Ukraine's interests and European security.
"Today the Leaders agreed that the European Team for negotiations on peace in Ukraine is the EU institutions and the E5 of the Coalition of the Willing - France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom. Our principles and our positions in these negotiations remain well known. And our European team will continue to act in full unity and in close coordination with all Member States," Costa said in a post on X.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also welcomed the renewed diplomatic momentum, emphasising that Europe's participation would be important in securing a lasting settlement.
"I welcome the renewed momentum to move things forward to a just and lasting peace. A strong European presence is important. We have agreed on a European team - E5 plus EU Institutions. We will defend both Ukraine’s and Europe's interests," she said.
Von der Leyen further said that as multilateral discussions involving the United States, Ukraine and Russia move forward, the European objective would be to end the conflict while ensuring strong security guarantees and a framework for Ukraine's post-war recovery.
"As we move towards multilateral talks with the US, Ukraine and Russia, our goal is clear: End the war and secure a just and lasting peace for Ukraine. This means strong security guarantees and a plan for Ukraine’s post-war prosperity," she said.
She also stressed that continued support for Kyiv and increased pressure on Moscow would be necessary to bring Russia to the negotiating table.
"This is why we will soon propose our 22nd sanctions package. And a proposal to close Ukraine’s financing gap for 2027," von der Leyen added.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also confirmed the arrangement, describing the negotiations as crucial for the future security of Europe.
"Five European countries—France, Italy, Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom (E5)—and European institutions will represent Europe in negotiations with Russia, Ukraine and the USA. At stake are peace in Ukraine and the security of Poland and all of Europe. This is our time," Tusk said in a post on X.
The development comes amid renewed diplomatic engagement between the two sides facilitated by the United States, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently holding discussions with US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Ireland.
The meeting followed their discussions with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow and focused on humanitarian issues, greater European participation in peace negotiations and further diplomatic engagements.
Zelenskyy said the discussions had produced three key outcomes, including preparations for what could become the largest prisoner exchange since the beginning of the conflict.
"First, a humanitarian outcome – prisoners will be released, and we are counting on the largest prisoner exchange since the start of this war," he said in a post on X.
He also stressed the importance of European involvement in the diplomatic process, saying Kyiv wanted European representatives to have an equal position at the negotiating table.
"The second outcome – we are involving European representatives even more actively in diplomacy so that they can have an equal seat at the negotiating table. Ukraine always defends the interests of all of Europe," Zelenskyy said.
The Ireland meeting followed talks between Witkoff, Kushner and Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow. The discussions came after two days of trilateral negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine and the United States in Abu Dhabi, which concluded without a breakthrough but reportedly made progress on several issues, including preparations for a prisoner exchange.
However, significant differences remain over territorial arrangements and future security guarantees. During the Kremlin discussions, Putin reiterated Moscow's opposition to the deployment of foreign troops on Ukrainian territory following a potential peace agreement.
"The presence of any foreign troops on Ukrainian territory is absolutely unacceptable to us," Putin said.
The inclusion of the E5 countries and EU institutions in Europe's negotiating team marks a coordinated effort by European leaders to ensure the continent has a unified voice in ongoing diplomatic efforts to end the Ukraine conflict.
