E3 powers sidestep EU on Ukraine peace

France, Germany, and the United Kingdom meet at Downing Street on Sunday with Volodymyr Zelensky, launching an independent European track for ending the war in Ukraine. The E3 summit bypasses the EU's formal foreign policy process, which requires unanimity among all 27 member states and gives any single country a veto. By working outside that structure, three governments are moving at a speed the EU itself cannot match.

On June 4, Zelensky published an open letter to Putin proposing a face-to-face meeting in a neutral country, a full ceasefire, and an all-for-all prisoner exchange. Putin dismissed it the next day at the St Petersburg Economic Forum, calling the letter "boorish." Within hours, the Élysée announced the London summit.

Why the US Left a Vacuum

The E3 exists because American peace efforts collapsed. The framework Trump and Putin outlined at their Anchorage summit last August required Ukraine to cede Crimea and the Donbas and renounce NATO membership. Kyiv rejected it. After a final trilateral round in Geneva went nowhere, Secretary of State Rubio acknowledged the process had "stagnated". Trump, asked about the Zelensky-Putin exchange on June 5, said: "Let them deal".

Berlin says a window for dialogue with Russia is "slowly opening" but insists coordination with Washington remains a "guiding principle." That phrasing suggests Germany has not yet received an explicit American green light.

The Countries Shut Out

By moving quickly, the E3 has excluded the countries most exposed to the war's outcome. Poland, the EU's largest eastern member with the continent's highest defence spending ratio, watched as reports emerged that Germany's foreign policy adviser might seek direct contact with Putin's envoy without consulting Warsaw. Polish analysts warned of an understanding with Russia "over the heads of countries that lie between Germany and the Russian Federation."

Italy's foreign minister Tajani argued it "doesn't benefit anyone to keep our country outside the leading group." Prime Minister Meloni, though, skipped even the EU-Western Balkans summit on June 5, preferring to present a commemorative stamp.

The Baltic states share Poland's frustration. Estonian President Karis warned against giving Putin "any lifeline or ray of hope that aggression can pay off". Tallinn rejected the "associated membership" for Ukraine that Chancellor Merz proposed in May, which Zelensky himself called "unfair", and demanded full accession negotiations.

What Moscow Prefers

Putin's posture at the St Petersburg forum suggests he wants bilateral talks with Washington that present Europe with a finished deal. He praised the Anchorage framework, demanded Ukraine accept its terms before any meeting, and told Russian soldiers to ignore Zelensky's letter: "do your job, brothers." Russian envoy Dmitriev accused Europe of trying to "derail" the US-Russia channel.

The E3 is designed to prevent that outcome. But Putin has little reason to engage three European governments when he can wait for Trump. The E3's own cohesion is already fraying: Merz's chief of staff publicly walked back the chancellor's negotiation overtures on June 5, hours after Merz promoted them.

Hungary's new government under Péter Magyar has lifted the vetoes that blocked Ukraine's EU accession talks and unlocked frozen European defence funds, reversing years of obstruction under Viktor Orbán. Removing one blocker does not resolve the deeper tension. The E3 can move fast precisely because it sidesteps the unanimity rule that gives Poland, the Baltics, and every other member state a voice. The countries shut out of the room are the ones closest to the front line.