The Brussels Summit turned into an unprecedented battlefield, with mobile phones left outside the room and the internal balance of the European Union thrown into chaos. Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz led a fierce attack against European Council President António Costa, "blocking" the secret diplomatic contacts the latter had initiated with the Kremlin. The marathon and tense meeting brought to light three deeply divided "camps" now vying for who will have the final say in future negotiations with Vladimir Putin.
The Macron and Merz "front"
According to information from Politico, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz turned against the EU for opening communication channels with Russian President Vladimir Putin, putting the leaders of Europe's two largest countries on a collision course with a large part of the rest of the bloc. In an unexpectedly tense overnight summit in Brussels—the first since 2010 without the longtime dissenter, former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán—the French President and German Chancellor defied the efforts of European Council President António Costa (acting on behalf of all 27 governments) to reach out to the Kremlin, according to five EU diplomats and officials briefed on the closed-door discussion. Notably, other leaders sided with Costa.
These clashes highlight the underlying tension at the heart of the EU regarding its approach to Russia and who should speak on behalf of Europe. Leaders from some of the most fiercely anti-Russian countries, as well as from Denmark and the Netherlands, rallied behind Macron and Merz, with some expressing unprecedented anger toward Costa, three of the officials said. "The European Union cannot take on the role of mediator in these negotiations," Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal told Politico. "Suggestions that alternative channels or backstage diplomatic routes are needed are misplaced... History offers a clear warning about attempts to pursue alternative negotiating frameworks with dictators."
The EU has been debating for months what kind of communication, if any, it should have with Putin and, if so, who should lead it. The urgency has increased since US President Donald Trump reached a tentative peace deal with Iran and hinted at the G7 summit in France earlier this week that his attention is shifting back to Ukraine. Costa’s chief of staff, Pedro Lourtie, has contacted officials in Moscow twice in recent weeks, five officials said. With US-led efforts to end Russia's war against Ukraine appearing to be at a stalemate, European capitals seem divided over how much priority to give diplomacy versus providing aid for Ukraine to win on the battlefield.
Restoring order
The discussion on Thursday night (June 18, 2026) regarding Russia and Ukraine—held without advisors or mobile phones due to the sensitivity of the matter, and lasting two hours longer than planned—revealed the emergence of two main camps. The position of Macron and Merz is that it is not the right time for talks with Putin, and when that time comes, the "E3" group (France, Germany, and the United Kingdom) should take the lead. "I think the [French] President restored order and put things in the right sequence," a French government official said, implying that Macron presented his arguments to Costa during the Summit.
Other leaders—"a huge number," according to an EU country official—took the opposite stance, stating that this is the role of the EU and supporting Costa. "The first question is whether Putin wants to negotiate. Until then... no one other than Costa can represent the European Union," Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever told Politico as he exited the talks. "If [Putin] shows a willingness to negotiate, then I believe we should decide again how to move forward." All officials and diplomats were granted anonymity to speak about the closed-door discussions.
E3, E5, or EU? - The three camps
The overnight summit revealed several rifts: In addition to the division between Costa and the E3, Italy and Poland (forming an informal "E5") expressed frustration at being excluded from initial talks between the E3 and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy prior to the summit, two of the officials said. Other EU officials questioned why the European Council should take the lead on behalf of the bloc, rather than the European Commission or the European External Action Service (the EU's diplomatic arm).
Merz's message to his fellow leaders was that while Costa represents the EU, he should not act as a mediator, according to a diplomat from a large European country briefed on the discussion. Although Merz wanted to avoid an open confrontation with Costa at the Summit table, he made it clear "in other ways," according to the diplomat. Costa was "highly unprofessional," the diplomat said, because he concealed the extent of his contacts with Russia, which only became clear through media reports on Wednesday. Some countries were "furious" with the approach toward Russia, according to a European diplomat working on the issue. Several leaders only learned of the calls after they appeared in the media and were incensed, three more diplomats added.
Costa's team stated that the contacts "only aimed to create a communication channel so that, when the moment arrives, there is a diplomatic path with Russia to defend the interests of the EU," adding that they were "brief" and contained no substance. Costa's office had informed Germany, France, the UK, and the Commission before the calls took place, one of the diplomats said. However, three other diplomats stated that Berlin had not been warned.
"Taking action"
In order for talks with Moscow to be productive, "we must have a mandate and debriefing system," another EU diplomat said. The Portuguese Lourtie, who has a reputation in Brussels as a dealmaker, addressed the ambassadors of the 27 EU governments on Wednesday when news of the calls became public. While he complained that they were leaked to the media, he justified them by saying they followed a direct request from Zelenskyy for Europe's involvement in peace negotiations, according to another EU diplomat familiar with the meeting.
"We need a setup that is capable of taking action," a senior German official stated, adding that such a setup would derive its "legitimacy" from "the closest and most trusted participation possible of other European partners," as well as from close coordination with Kyiv and Washington. Poland and Italy have also pushed to have a role in the talks. Merz is hosting Macron and the prime ministers of the UK, Poland, and Italy in Berlin on Wednesday, in discussions that, according to diplomats, are likely to include the issue of dialogue with Russia.
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