Newsletter: Ukraine peace talks resume in Abu Dhabi

Good morning. I’m Mared Gwyn writing from Brussels.

US President Donald Trump said overnight that talks with Iran to defuse tensions in the Gulf are ongoing, despite the US military shooting down an Iranian drone that approached its aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. Axios reports today that the talks are due to be held in Oman on Friday after Tehran asked that they be moved from Turkey. More.

Talks on a peace settlement for Ukraine are also set to resume later today in Abu Dhabi, with President Zelenskyy indicating last night that his delegation’s mandate has been adjusted in response to Russia’s pounding of Ukrainian cities in recent days. We have the details in our top story below.

Meanwhile, in EU news, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is expected to fly to Australia later this month to seal a long-stalled trade deal with Australia, Australian media reported overnight.

Sources familiar with the matter told Euronews von der Leyen could potentially travel to Australia after the Munich Security Conference wraps up on February 15, in what would be a winning streak for her executive after signing similar deals with Latin America’s Mercosur bloc and India in recent weeks.

Talks on a free trade deal between both sides had collapsed in 2023 after Canberra accused Brussels of not offering sufficient access to its beef, sheep, dairy and sugar products.

Later today, Von der Leyen is due to huddle with her team of Commissioners in the Belgian city of Leuven for a meeting officially centred on competitiveness, but which is also intended to ease internal tensions within the Commission, several officials toldEuronews’ Maria Tadeo and Maīa de la Baume.

According to the Commission’s official agenda, von der Leyen will chair a “college seminar” on how to boost the EU’s lagging competitiveness. But two officials told Euronews that the meeting will also address the Commission’s “working methods”, with one describing the session as an opportunity to air “frustrations” among Commissioners. A key concern, the official added, is the repeated late submission of legislative files to senior officials.

Our correspondent Vincenzo Genovese also reports this morning that the European Parliament’s committee for international trade is due to decide today whether to reintroduce a pivotal vote on the EU-US trade deal on its agenda.

The deal, struck last summer, was suspended indefinitely by the parliament’s lawmakers last month amid Donald Trump’s threats over Greenland. After the US resorted to diplomacy, calls are growing on the parliament to swiftly unfreeze the deal.

In other news from the parliament, EU lawmaker and former army general Roberto Vannacci has left the Italian far-right party The League and subsequently the Patriots for Europe (PfE) group in the European Parliament, Vincenzo reports.

“I will continue on my own path, together with all those who pursue the dream of leaving their children a country better than the one they received from their parents,” Vannacci wrote on social media. A few days ago, he registered the trademark of National Future (“Futuro Nazionale”), a movement that is set to compete with the League and other far-right parties in Italy.

The League’s leader Matteo Salvini, said he is “disappointed and embittered” by Vannacci’s decision. No other MEPs from the League are expected to follow suit.

Ukraine peace talks resume as Macron signals groundwork for Europe-Russia talks

Ukrainian, Russian and US delegations are set to start the second round of trilateral talks later today in Abu Dhabi, just one day after Russia launched its largest missile attack against Ukraine this winter, our correspondent Sasha Vakulina reports.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that the mandate of Ukraine’s delegation will be “adjusted” in response to the bombardment, which he said confirmed that “attitudes in Moscow have not changed: they continue to bet on war and the destruction of Ukraine, and they do not take diplomacy seriously.”

While all sides described the previous round of talks as “constructive”, the negotiations are still far from reaching a tangible agreement with the main sticking point remaining the future of Ukraine’s territories. Sasha has the details.

Meanwhile, work continues in Brussels to find a compromise on the EU’s €90 billion loan for Ukraine. The European Commission hopes to start paying out the first tranches as early as April, but a “Made In Europe” requirement to ensure the funds primarily boost Ukraine’s and Europe’s domestic defence industries has emerged as a bone of contention among capitals.

EU governments are also waiting on the Commission to send through the proposal for a new package of sanctions against Russia, intended to intensify economic pressure and crack down on circumvention.

My colleague Jorge Liboreiro reports that Finland and Sweden have pushed to ban EU operators from providing maritime services – such as shipping and insurance – to Russian oil tankers, even those that comply with the G7 price cap. Brussels wants the sanctions to be approved by 24 February, when the war reaches a grim milestone of four years. Ursula von der Leyen and António Costa will both visit Ukraine on that date in a show of support and solidarity, their offices have confirmed.

Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron signalled on Tuesday that “technical discussions” are already underway on setting up direct talks between Europe and Russia over the war in Ukraine.

The prospect seems to be dividing EU leaders, with Germany’s Friedrich Merz urging caution earlier this week. But its close neighbour Austria is taking the opposite view.

“While Europe’s security is being discussed, Europe is not at the table. Europe is strongest when it speaks with one voice,” Austrian Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger told Jorge in a statement. “That is why I call for an EU chief negotiator with a strong mandate to represent Europe’s position and red lines. We need a single European line, not 27 national tracks.”

Speaking to our morning show earlier, Moldova’s deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mihai Popșoi suggested talks between Europe and Russia should be conditional on a ceasefire.

“As a diplomat it would be odd for me to be against dialogue, but in this particular instance when the rockets are flying and children are dying and people are freezing every morning, I think a good basis for a dialogue would be for these things to stop,” minister Popșoi told Europe Today.

Exclusive: Digital euro faces political deadlock in Brussels

Lawmakers at the European Parliament are struggling to find a compromise position on the design of the digital euro, putting the project’s legislative path in jeopardy, according to three sources familiar with the matter and documents seen by Euronews’ Eleonora Vasques.

In a meeting on Tuesday, the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) leading the work noted that there is a strong disagreement on the very essence of what the digital euro should look like, making it very challenging to move forward, according to an email exchange seen by Euronews.

“We agreed to disagree,” a person familiar with the matter told Euronews, summarising the essence of the discussion.

According to the agenda from Tuesday’s meeting, the European People’s Party (EPP) rapporteur Fernando Navarrete, who is leading on the file in the European Parliament, made a new proposal on the concept of the digital euro, calling it “e-cash”.

By contrast, the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and Renew Europe support the European Commission’s proposal, with users holding retail accounts on the ECB’s ledger and using the digital euro both online and offline.

“Europe must own and control its critical infrastructure. At a time of unprecedented geopolitical change, as we witness the dissolution of rules-based international order, payment sovereignty must be anchored in common infrastructure”, S&D shadow rapporteur Nikos Papandreou told Euronews.

Read Eleonora’s full story.

EU and UK to ramp up talks on closer ties 10 years after Brexit referendum

As the tenth anniversary of the Brexit referendum nears, and after years of acrimonious rhetoric, a rapprochement between London and Brussels now seems well and truly underway.

Talks on slashing checks and barriers on trade are expected to intensify after a meeting between UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves and the EU’s trade and economy chiefs, Maroš Šefčovič and Valdis Dombrovskis, in Downing Street on Monday.

Dombrovskis told the BBC that the EU is “ready to engage” in negotiations on re-integrating the UK into its customs union – a notion that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer initially ruled out, but which he is now under mounting pressure to reconsider from several cabinet colleagues.

Since his re-election in 2024, Starmer has treaded a fine line between seeking a “reset” with the EU to boost trading and economic opportunities, while avoiding reneging on Brexit. The balancing act is now tougher than ever, with the right-wing populist Reform UK led by arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage leading the polls.

Brussels and London are also hoping that they will find a compromise to deepen defence cooperation and ensure Ukraine can buy the military equipment it needs using the EU’s recently agreed €90 billion loan, two-thirds of which is earmarked for military assistance – including British-made systems.

Talks between the two sides to allow the UK’s full participation in the EU’s €150-billion loan for defence scheme (SAFE) collapsed last November when they failed to find a compromise over how much London would have to contribute financially.

Euronews understands that those talks fell apart over a major gap between the two sides: whereas the final offer on the table from the EU was around €2 billion, the UK estimated it ought to contribute just over €100 million.

Alice Tidey and I have more.

More from our newsrooms

Paraguay’s President tells Euronews ‘Mercosur must be applied without delay’. In an interview with Euronews, Santiago Peña warned that delaying the implementation of the hard-won trade deal would be a “mistake”. More from Maria Tadeo.

Spain to ban social media platforms for children under 16. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced an upcoming ban on social media platforms for children under the age of 16 on Tuesday at the World Government Summit in Dubai, describing social media as a “failed state”. Pascale Davies has the details.

Portugal braces for second major storm as authorities urge residents to prepare emergency kits. Portugal is preparing for a second powerful storm less than a week after Depression Kristin killed six people and left widespread destruction, with authorities urging residents to stockpile supplies for at least 72 hours. Inês dos Santos Cardoso has more.

Seif al-Islam Gadhafi killed in his home in western Libya. The son of the late long-time Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi was killed on Tuesday in his home in the western town of Zintan. Sources close to him say four masked gunmen stormed his home to carry out the “heinous crime”. More.

We’re also keeping an eye on

• European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meets Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
• European Council President António Costa meets the UNRWA High Commissioner Philippe Lazzarini

That’s it for today. Maria Tadeo, Jorge Liboreiro, Sasha Vakulina, Vincenzo Genovese, Eleonora Vasques and Alice Tidey. Remember to sign up to receive Europe Today in your inbox every weekday morning at 08.30.