Meloni calls for a common mandate for European negotiators on Ukraine

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni urged EU countries to agree who should represent them in negotiations on Ukraine. She proposed a common envoy or an officially authorised smaller group of countries.

Speaking in Italy’s Senate on October 14 ahead of an EU summit, Meloni said all twenty-seven member states should choose an authoritative representative with a shared mandate. This was her proposal, rather than an announcement of an appointed European negotiator.

As an alternative, she cited the E3 format of France, Germany and the United Kingdom. If those countries considered themselves more effective acting together, she argued, they should receive formal authority to convey a position agreed by all EU members.

Meloni said peace terms would affect European security and should not be determined without European participation. For Italy, she said, the negotiator’s authority and agreed position mattered more than the particular seating arrangements.

She also warned that disputes over negotiating formats made Europe appear divided. Her speech announced neither the appointment of a single envoy nor a completed delegation of powers to a group of countries.