Overview
- Trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi brought U.S., Russian and Ukrainian delegations back to the table this week and produced reports of a large prisoner exchange but no agreed ceasefire.
- U.S. negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff plan immediate follow-up travel to Moscow to seek direct talks with President Putin which the U.S. says are needed because the Russian delegation lacks an independent mandate.
- European governments and EU institutions were effectively sidelined at the core table, prompting public frustration from leaders including Italy’s Giorgia Meloni and moves to press the issue at upcoming EPC and informal EU meetings in Dublin.
- In Berlin coalition leaders reached a last‑minute budget compromise that postpones the sugar tax to early 2028, shelves the planned 2027 plastics tax, and delays a full household electricity tax cut that would cost about €5.4 billion.
- The government’s plan to plug gaps with one-off transfers of about €1.5 billion each from KfW and BImA has been called legally questionable and fuelled sharp revolt inside the CDU/CSU, raising risks of wider political fallout for the coalition.