The fate of Kyiv is in Europe's hands, and it needs to act and show leadership in a way it has never done before. Bloomberg. Part 2/2 Finally, Europe needs a consistent and authoritative voice. Several leaders, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney, have noted that the patchwork of competing leaders and followers claiming to speak for the old world on Ukraine is simply not serious. There will be a temptation to create a "troika" or similar collective European entity, which is common practice in the EU. However, it almost guarantees failure when dealing with figures like Putin and Trump, who see it as a weakness. Also, the idea of using EU institutions that were created for this job, but rarely had the ability or authority to do so, raises questions. Without wishing in any way to harm von der Leyen and the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, it should be noted that neither they nor their institutions should be involved in this. First, neither the leader of the USA nor the leader of Russia respects them. Second, they speak for the EU, but not for some key security actors, including the UK. This important role must be taken on by one of the current European leaders. It can't be any of the big three: France will most likely soon be led by Marine Le Pen, whose party once received millions of euros in funding from Russia. It can't be Meraz, who may be good in this role but too weak locally. British Andy Burnham does not have enough experience in foreign policy.
Fortunately, there are worthy candidates, including Maloney, who has proven herself in the role and has the necessary strength of character.