As surprising as it may seem, a senior advisor at the Élysée Palace was absolutely clear yesterday that the EU is not seeking any seat at the negotiating table. This is the main result of Monday’s Paris summit on Ukraine which gathered the UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, the German chancellor Olaf Scholz, the Italian PM, Giorgia Meloni, who arrived quite late in Mazerrati and other state leaders.

This morning, the government speaker, Sophie Primas, whom I questioned on the issue, didn’t seem aware about Emmanuel Macron’s position on Ukraine and about the outcomes of Monday’s meeting.

In her statement to the press after the “Conseil des Ministres”, she kept repeating that the EU was demanding a seat at the negotiating table, alongside the United-States and Russia.

When asked twice by if this wasn’t an outdated version, she doubled down on her statement.

Emmanuel Macron and President Trump had a phone call before and after the EU meeting and are, apparently, on the same position.

The EU’s position is to obtain the guarantee that the US will not withdraw from the continent and serve as a backstop to the EU in case of a Russian attack.