Leaders meet in Dublin amid search for lead EU negotiator for peace talks with Russia - Europe live

Estonian prime minister Kristen Michal has warned that Ukraine faces “winter … like hell again,” with Russia “bombing everything” as he urged European leaders to double down on their backing for Kyiv.

“Putin has to change his goals because the war, aggression, and killing of women, children, and civilians would stop right now if he gave an order.”

“The European plan for a while [has been] quite simple: help Ukraine push Russia and so should it be.”

Michal warned that Putin’s attempt to discuss the broader European security architecture before agreeing to end the war is “a mental trap” by Russia’s Putin.

“Does anybody really think that Europe is a threat to Russia? This is not sane talk to be honest.

So, I would say that our red line is quite clear: we should have peace, on Ukraine’s terms, and after that everything can be talked, but not before and not at the same time.”

The Estonian PM also said that if the EU needs to send its negotiators, the European Council president António Costa and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas are “the persons to do it”.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen insisted it is “self-explanatory” that Europe should be included in the peace talks on Ukraine “to safeguard our interests, but also to support Ukraine.”

“We will come forward as a commission with a proposal for the financing of the Ukrainian needs in 2027, and with the 22nd sanctions package before the next European Council,” she said.

von der Leyen also said today’s talks would focus on “the risks … but also the opportunities’ associated with the rise of AI.

EU leaders will continue talks on their diplomatic and financial support for Ukraine today, after Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged them to “pay attention” to Vladimir Putin’s demands on security.

European leaders meeting in Dublin on Thursday rejected calls that there was any need to recreate a European security architecture, while restating that Russia needed to stop attacking Ukraine.

European Council president António Costa summed it up:

“There is no need to reinvent the wheel. Europe had a functioning European security architecture until it was first, gradually undermined, and ultimately destroyed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.”

Speaking to reporters the UK prime minister Andy Burnham said Europe “in the wider sense” i.e not just the EU, would decide on its own arrangements.

“In terms of the wider point, there was a very strong feeling that you know, Russian demands to put the question of European security architecture or European security arrangements into this negotiation – that is not up for negotiation... It is for Europe to decide its own arrangements. Europe and Europe alone. And again, I am talking in the wider sense when I say that.”

Around 40 countries, most of the attendees of the European Political Community summit on Thursday, signed a declaration drafted by France declaring that European states “bear a primary responsibility and are assuming greater responsibility for the security of Europe”.

EU leaders are continuing talks in Dublin on Friday, focusing on AI. But following interventions from Giorgia Meloni and Friedrich Merz, they will also discuss Europe’s role in international peace talks and the question of future financial support for Ukraine.

EU leaders are meeting in Dublin today for discussions on Ukraine and AI, among others, as they continue their search for a lead EU negotiator in any peace talks with Russia.

Their discussions are becoming increasingly urgent, after Ukraine and Russia have agreed to expand the next round of peace negotiations to include European countries, US envoy Jared Kushner said last night after meeting Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Dublin.

“This will allow us to address the broader postwar European security arrangements alongside the territorial issues between Ukraine and Russia,” Kushner ​said ​later on X.

But, as he somewhat mockingly said on Wednesday,

“If Europe could identify one person to speak on their behalf, that would be a bigger achievement than getting the Russians to include them in the negotiations.”

Let’s see what comes out of these discussions, with the leaders also expected to talk about AI.

Elsewhere, I am still keeping an eye on the Dutch government crisis as Rob Jetten works hard to avoid the collapse of his minority cabinet.

It’s Friday, 13 November 2026, it’s Jakub Krupa here, and this is Europe Live.