European Council president António Costa should represent the EU in any future talks to agree a peace deal ending the Ukraine war, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
Leaders of the 27 EU states spent several hours discussing the war in Ukraine during a summit in Brussels on Thursday, where they debated the prospects of Russia sitting down to negotiate a ceasefire, and who would represent European interests in such a scenario.
One EU source briefed on discussions inside the room said several heads of government spoke up to support Costa representing the EU in any ceasefire talks.
However, there was a consensus among leaders that Moscow showed no interest in ending the war, which began when it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
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Costa, a former Portuguese prime minister who has chaired the top EU summits as European Council president since late 2024, is viewed as a wily operator who has earned the trust of European leaders during that time.
“Under the treaties, António Costa as president of the [European] Council will be representing, or would represent the union, in any supportive negotiation role,” Martin said on Friday morning, before joining fellow leaders for the second day of the Brussels summit.
There was still “some distance to go” before any serious peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine took place, Martin said.
“Obviously there was strong support there on the table for Ukraine, and also a desire to see an end to this war, but there is no sense or no sign from Russia that it wants to end the war,” he said.
A number of names had been floating in the media as possible EU envoys on Ukraine, including Finnish president Alexander Stubb and former German chancellor Angela Merkel.
Costa’s top aide recently spoke on the phone with a counterpart in the Kremlin, a move that has drawn some criticism for thawing an effective diplomatic embargo on direct contacts with Russia.
Speaking in a press conference after the summit, Costa said a line of dialogue was necessary so Europe could directly convey messages to Russia. “We cannot depend on others to interpret Russian messages,” he said.
Europe needed a seat at any future negotiating table, alongside Ukraine, he said.
“Only the EU institutions can talk on behalf of the European Union”, Costa said, in a signal he is laying claim to be the one in that seat.
The Taoiseach said the Government did not have a problem with a back channel being tested. “Opening up channels in my view – given our own experience in conflict resolution – is not something that we would criticise or be negative about,” he told reporters.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy joined the EU summit for part of the discussion on the war. It is understood a recent shift in tone from the Ukrainian wartime leader was part of the reason Costa’s officials sought to establish a point of contact in Moscow.
There was no agreement by EU leaders at the summit to give Costa a formal mandate to speak for Europe.
US-brokered talks between Moscow and Kyiv have been on pause for several months, partly because the Trump administration’s focus has been on the war it started in Iran.
Senior officials in the European Commission, the EU’s powerful executive arm, expect Washington’s attention may return to Ukraine in the event of a lasting truce in Iran.
Europe must be “one of the architects of a just and lasting peace”, commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Friday.
Any push for negotiations would be led by Ukraine, she said. “Sooner or later Russia will have to come to the negotiating table ... and when that moment comes, we need a united European message,” the German politician said.
