Von der Leyen: Europe’s team for the Ukraine peace talks will be the E5 together with the EU institutions

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on 13 November 2026 that European leaders have agreed on a team to take part in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine: the E5 group – France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom – together with the EU institutions. She made the statement in a post on X after the informal meeting of EU heads of state and government in Dublin. “A strong European presence is important,” von der Leyen wrote, adding that the team will defend the interests of both Ukraine and Europe.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote on X that the five countries and the European institutions “will take part on Europe’s behalf in the negotiations with Russia, Ukraine and the United States”. “What is at stake is peace in Ukraine and the security of Poland and all of Europe,” he added.

The line-up is agreed, but no representative has been named

European Council President António Costa said the European team will include people from the EU institutions and from the five countries, The Irish Times reports. No single European envoy has been chosen, and who will actually take part in the talks has not been announced. Von der Leyen said Europe will decide for itself who represents it, without naming anyone.

The question remains disputed. The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, said she is “the one who is representing Europe in foreign and security policy”. Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the matter should be resolved “within the next week or two”.

The Kremlin has not publicly confirmed European participation

The statement comes a day after US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, following talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow, met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the evening of 12 November at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel near Dublin, The Kyiv Independent reports. According to Kushner, Putin is “willing to give it a try” on a format that includes Europeans.

Moscow has not publicly confirmed that agreement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia could take part in talks in an expanded format once it understands the Europeans’ “genuine intention and readiness” to contribute to the peace process, The Irish Times reports. No date or venue for the next round of negotiations has been announced.

The EU’s conditions: security guarantees and pressure on Russia

Von der Leyen said any peace deal must include robust and legally binding security guarantees for Ukraine and a package for its post-war recovery, and that pressure on Russia must continue. According to her, a 22nd sanctions package against Russia will be agreed at the next European Council. Costa said Russia “has yet to demonstrate it prioritises peace over dominance” and that the future of European security “cannot be discussed and decided without Europe”.

In Flank’s assessment, the agreed line-up is a political framework, not a ready negotiating mandate. Three questions remain open: who will speak for the EU, whether Russia will accept European participation in practice, and what exactly the wider format will discuss. Poland’s place in the E5 gives NATO’s eastern flank its own seat in the team, while the United Kingdom takes part as a non-EU country.