AFP: EU okays consultant team for expert-level talks with Russia

EU leaders at November 10-11 summit in Dublin agreed on a delegation for expert-level talks with Russia that will include representatives of the European Commission, the EU Council, Germany, France, Italy, and Poland, as well as non-EU member United Kingdom, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported, citing a European source.

The negotiating team will be the same one that flew to Abu Dhabi this week.

Kremlin Aide Yury Ushakov said European representatives consulted with the Ukrainian and US sides on the sidelines of the talks. He noted that discussions on whether Russia might meet with the Europeans and what form such a meeting might take would be based on the outcome of the Abu Dhabi talks.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova pointed out that the Europeans had exposed themselves by holding Coalition of the Willing exercises to rehearse the deployment of foreign military contingents to Ukraine just before the Abu Dhabi talks. She stressed that while the Europeans talk about peace, negotiations and their place at the negotiating table, they are doing exactly the opposite by sustaining, funding and arming the terrorist Kiev regime.

De Wever told Parliament that if the financial situation was not stabilised, “I fear the outbreak of a debt crisis, for which we need to prepare”

Paris today
Photo: AFP

France’s long-term borrowing costs have hit 5 per cent, a benchmark last reached in 2002, as investors grow increasingly concerned about the stability of the country’s politics and the state of its public finances, Financial Times writes.

A fresh bout of selling on Wednesday pushed French 10-year bond yields up as much as 0.1 percentage points to 5.02 per cent, taking the jump so far this week to more than 0.2 percentage points. The yield closed at 4.99 per cent on Wednesday afternoon.

The moves come after days of unrest and political recriminations in the country, as peaceful demonstrations over the cost of living and education spiralled into widespread rioting and looting.

France’s borrowing costs have surged from 3.2 per cent in late February, having been the hardest hit in a sweeping sell-off in G7 bond markets, as the Iran war has stoked inflation and put economies with large debt piles and wide budget deficits under particular pressure. Bond yields rise as prices fall.

“The political willingness for any fiscal consolidation ahead of the election is very, very low,” said Jeff Mueller, co-head of fixed income at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, adding there was plenty of room for “the situation to worsen from here”.

De Wever, Prime Minister at Government of Belgium, told Parliament on Wednesday that if the financial situation was not stabilised, “I fear the outbreak of a debt crisis, for which we need to prepare”.

Friedrich Merz: Europe to join Ukraine peace talks 'in coming weeks'

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
Photo: AP

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said at an informal EU summit in Dublin that representatives from several European countries, including Germany, would take part in talks on Ukraine for the first time in the coming weeks.

"Substantive peace talks are expected in the coming weeks, with Europe represented for the first time," Bild quoted Merz as saying. He noted that the talks will likely include representatives of the European countries that held consultations with US and Ukrainian officials in Abu Dhabi. The chancellor believes it is "perfectly clear" that Germany will take part.

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