Who will represent Europe in Ukraine negotiations? Well, that is precisely the question

About 50 world leaders – including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy – gathered in Dublin on Thursday for discussions dominated by the war in his country.

Britain’s Andy Burnham, Mark Carney of Canada and the majority of European Union leaders including Friedrich Merz of Germany and France’s Emmanuel Macron met at the Convention Centre Dublin for the latest gathering of the European Political Community (EPC), a body set up after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

It was, however, a meeting later that evening at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel – involving Zelenskiy and US president Donald Trump’s negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner – that may prove more consequential than the Convention Centre talks.

As Pat Leahy and Jack Power report in our lead today, Witkoff and Kushner flew in from a meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Moscow to brief Zelenskiy.

While there was little sign of a breakthrough in efforts to reach a peace deal, there was something of an olive branch to Europe, with Kushner saying the US side had argued for the Europeans to be included in the negotiations – something Putin has not entertained too much to date but is now open to, the Kremlin has confirmed.

The next question is, who would represent Europe in any negotiations? That is among the hot topics that EU leaders were discussing at their informal meeting in Dublin today.

Top EU foreign policy official Kaja Kallas has suggested that she should be the European voice at negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

The former Estonian prime minister said she believed Russia does not want her at the talks. “I know that the Russians don’t want me, but do we have a say [over] who is representing Russia? No, we don’t, and really we have to have a strong team,” she said.

She also warned against the EU agreeing to Russia’s proposed sequence of talks on Ukraine, saying it would allow Moscow to “divert the attention away” from its actions and ultimately leave Europe “in a worse place”.

Other figures mentioned as possible negotiators include president of the European Council, António Costa.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said European leaders need to resolve the question of who will represent the Continent at the peace talks, telling reporters this morning: “I would hope that today’s discussions would bring clarity around this.”

Martin said the European representation needs to take account not just of the EU, but also of non-EU European countries such as the UK and Norway.

You can stay up to date on all the developments at the EU meetings in Dublin by following our live coverage.

Also, whether by design or luck – perhaps some of both – the Government managed to clear the decks of some major domestic woes in advance of the two days of high diplomacy.

The threatened second day of strike action by public sector workers was called off after the proposed pay deal agreed in the early hours of Wednesday morning; the row with solicitors over legal aid fees was resolved; and a work-to-rule action by rank-and-file gardaí to coincide with the big international meetings was averted.

Renewed chatter over Martin’s future within Fianna Fáil

If you thought the corridors of Leinster House have fallen quiet as a result of the big meetings taking place across the river Liffey, you would be wrong.

As Jack Horgan-Jones relays in this piece today, there is renewed gossip and speculation within Fianna Fáil about Micheál Martin’s future as party leader.

It all stems from an RTÉ Radio interview he did on Thursday morning where he gave something of a hesitant response to the usual question on whether he will be leading Fianna Fáil into the next general election.

“I’ll be leading Fianna Fáil ... in the coming years and so on,” he said. Broadcaster Sarah McInerney pressed him. “It’s a good few years yet ... yeah, that’s my intention.”

As Horgan-Jones reports, one Fianna Fáil TD described doing a double take “when I heard our dear leader stumbling on whether he would be our dear leader in a few years”.

Another declared Martin to be sure-footed throughout the interview, but said that when asked about his leadership, the Taoiseach “seemed to be less sure, and for the first time his language seemed to have a subtle shift”. Some TDs, however, argued too much is being read into it.

Martin himself was quick to dismiss the chatter as “rubbish”, telling reporters: “I sent no signal [in the radio interview]… You’ve heard that talk of fulfilling mandates, and I will be contesting the next general election and will be leading Fianna Fáil into that election.”

As for what has been going on in the Dáil, Marie O’Halloran has been keeping tabs on proceedings.

In terms of actual legislation, the Bill aimed at regulating the short-term letting sector passed on Wednesday evening. During the debate, the Taoiseach accused Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae of “scaremongering” over planning permission requirements for Airbnb-style operations.

There were also sharp exchanges over Tánaiste Simon Harris’s Fine Gael ardfheis comments about the dole “not being a way of life”. The Social Democrats and Labour accused him of demonising the vulnerable and of the “worst kind of divisive dog-whistling”. Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke defended Harris, saying he was very clear that social welfare must always be there for people who need support, but it should be a safety net and “not an employment policy” and, as O’Halloran reports, he took a potshot at Social Democrats TD Eoin Hayes in the process.

There was also a call for the Taoiseach to make a formal State apology to the survivors of the thalidomide drug by November 27th – the 65th anniversary of the drug’s international withdrawal. The issue was raised by Fine Gael TD Barry Ward, who noted there has been a protracted process under way to achieve a “proper heartfelt apology for the failure to act by the State, a medical scheme that deals with [survivors’] significant personal medical issues; and a fair compensation scheme”.

Thalidomide – a drug developed to treat morning sickness during pregnancy – was withdrawn from most markets in 1961 following widespread evidence that it was linked to birth defects, but continued to be sold in Ireland until 1964. The Taoiseach told the Dáil: “We’re committed to a State apology and the conclusion of the resolution process”, although he did not give a date.

Anything else?

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Former US president Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Dublin on Tuesday to see his son Hunter be awarded a gold medal by TCD’s College Historical Society for his “outstanding contribution to the public discourse”. Jack Horgan-Jones interviewed Hunter – a somewhat controversial figure – about the pardon he received from his father, and whether he has any political ambitions himself.

With Christmas looming, our consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope has compiled a list of 100 Irish websites as places to shop online for presents – including, critically, numerous places to buy socks.