Ex-Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa assumes the four chairmanships of the EU Leaders Council at a time when the block is under threat and challenge everywhere.
When proceedings paused before the February meeting of European leaders, the Dutch prime minister walked up to the Portuguese leader and handed him a can of beer and a grin. Mark Rutte gave Antonio Costa the popular Belgian beer with the remark that his government had taken him by surprise, a source said. k in proceedings at February’s European leaders’ summit, the Dutch premier approached his Portuguese counterpart with a can of beer and a smile.
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Mark Rutte handed over a popular Belgian brew to Antonio Costa with an acknowledgment that the government in Lisbon had surprised him, according to a person with knowledge of the exchange. When Portugal’s public debt threatened to rise 134% of GDP during the pandemic, Costa challenged his fiscally conservative colleague that he have it below 100% and, to the Dutchman’s surprise, he did.
When the leaders meet in December, Costa will be presiding over them for the first time in his new capacity as the president of the European Council and he is going to have to continue winning over doubters of skeptical colleagues to endure the storms that are coming his way.
The 63-year-old begins that role as one of the two leaders of the biggest economic entity in the world at the moment riddled with issues: Russia’s military continues to pressure the EU at its eastern border, while EU companies lag behind their American and Chinese counterparts.
For years, attempts to shore up the EU have been hampered by internal dysfunction: Germany’s government fell in November because of a three-party coalition, Macron’s government in France is relying on far-right parties, leaders in Hungary and Slovakia that are friendly with Moscow have been trying to block the measures to help Ukraine. However, Costa, who was once described by the Portuguese president in conversation with fellow journalists as ‘irritatingly optimistic’, certainly is. time for the European Union, with the Russian army threatening its eastern borders, its companies trailing their American and Chinese rivals, and a hostile president-elect about to return to the White House.
For years, attempts to shore up the EU have been hampered by internal dysfunction: Germany’s three-party coalition collapsed in November after months of paralysis, Emmanuel Macron’s government in France only survives thanks to the support of the far right, and pro-Kremlin leaders in Hungary and Slovakia have been obstructing efforts to help Ukraine.
Costa, who the Portuguese president has called “irritatingly optimistic,” is upbeat all the same.
‘Everyone appreciates the difficulties and the fact that there must be one policy,’ he said in an interview in late November conducted in his acting office in Brussels. “Five years ago everybody was in their camp, now people are willing to change.”
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His role too has also of own been a source of problems. His predecessor Charles Michel had a long-standing rivalry with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which was known to the entire city and provided an amusing backdrop to every cold handshake and stony-faced photo opportunity.
At such international gatherings such as the Group of 20, Michel and von der Leyen often operated their own schedules leaving the presidents they approached from whom they sought to get support for the EU’s agenda perplexed and annoyed.
Thus, Costa’s first and main role is to bring order into the company.
Von der Leyen starts her second five-year mandate at the commission at the same time as Costa enters the Council, and, in confidence, they are vowing to synchronize their foreign travels and summit schedules. He and his colleagues had set biweekly meetings before he officially joined the agency as Costa.
Still, some officials commented that Costa will have his work cut out to turn the commission into a proper counterweight and partner to von der Leyen, who has been known to pull the occasional end-run past national leaders to make them rubberstamp her strategy.
It is a post that was established in 2010, and Costa says he has discussed with the three predecessors, Michel, Donald Tusk, and Herman Von Rompuy how they sought to contain the tension that flowed from the bifurcated leadership of the EU.
During Covid-19 and the war in Ukraine, von der Leyen and the commission remained in the driving seat. But that has strained separation with national leaders. One senior official said that the EU appears to function most effectively when the council president has the ability to call on assistance from member countries.
Von der Leyen’s team also understands that they have a problem that they can take to Costa for a solution.
Merely scheduling well-run meetings would be a good beginning, averred one senior officer. Michel had hopelessly endeavored to bring the leaders to order and, under one pretext or another, confined their gatherings to small, private meetings while making the rest wait and sulk.
Since the confirmation of his nomination in June, Costa has been visiting prospection European capitals to learn for himself how willing top officials are willing to go to inject new vigor into the EU’s struggling competitiveness and its long-abandoned defense. The leaders, including Macron, Scholz, and almost all of the other 25, have reaffirmed for Costa what anyone observing EU public policy debates would have guessed the senior official informed him, it’s going to be very, very hard.
The EU currently needs to collectively mobilize an additional €800bn a year to counter-modernize its armed forces, intensify research on advanced technologies, and address the unfolding change in energy mixes, said Mario Draghi, European Central Bank president, and the former Italian premier Giorgia Meloni.25 colleagues have confirmed for Costa what anyone watching EU public policy discussions would have suspected, according to a senior official briefed on those conversations, it’s going to be very, very difficult.
The EU needs to mobilize an extra €800 billion of investment a year to revamp its militaries, develop new technology, and meet its goals for the energy transition, according to Mario Draghi, the former president of the European Central Bank and Giorgia Meloni’s predecessor as Italian premier.
That can be achieved by further combined European bond sales, according to Draghi. But Germany is against any debate on the matter while Macron claims that the EU may fall if it does not address the matter.
‘Our Union has to be more competitive and more autonomous in sectors like energy, security or defense.’ To achieve this member states need to be bold. The challenging issues are to be faced with leadership,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said. “I am sure with his many years in office President Costa will spearhead this in the European Council.”
Costa had experience in such negotiations for eight years when he was governing Portugal and performing unprecedented cooperation with the communists. He resigned suddenly last year after his name was mentioned in a corruption scandal, although he has never been charged, and there have been observations made about errors in the prosecutors’ work. require leadership,” European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said. “I am confident President Costa with his vast experience will lead this effort in the European Council.”
Costa has a track record for managing such negotiations from his eight years governing Portugal, which included an unprecedented alliance with the communists. He quit, abruptly, last year when his name was linked to a corruption investigation, though he’s never been charged and mistakes have been pointed out in the prosecutors’ case.
In his first meetings with leaders, Costa has not elaborated on specifics of how to finance it all, including what officially described as the ‘revenue-raising’ mechanism, the official said about the talks.
He opined that if leaders are clear on what they wish to attain that will make it easier to come to consensus on the formula to attain it, the official added. Some EU diplomats insisted that there is interest in the capitals to adopt just such a realistic approach.
But he’s also going to have plenty of problems thrown at him.
He will begin his new job in Italy with the memory of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will be fresh in his mind, Costa said in his rather austere office. He said his topic of discussion would be how to look for a lasting solution to the conflict. On Sunday, he arrived at Kyiv alongside Kaja Kallas, the EU’s new foreign policy chief, and Marta Kos, the EU’s enlargement commissioner. The three are set to sit down with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other authorities in Kyiv. ”From the very day we started our work, we are today restating our support in black and white to the Ukrainian people,” he said in a post on X upon his arrival in Kyiv.
But diplomats fear he is going to have a battle to keep the EU together if Donald Trump goes through with threats to withdraw funding for Kyiv. In behind-the-scenes debates at the summit in Budapest last November, some leaders were already arguing that the EU must be prepared to fill the lion’s share of the gap in funding, an idea that is sure to put a severe test on the EU’s financial muscle and political desire.
Still, EU envoys and other experienced bureaucrats explain that Costa might be the man to renew confidence and cooperation.
People state that due to his laid-back personality and set ofChangeListener anecdotes, he was able to foster good relations with leadership across the spectrum. That is something neither von der Leyen nor Kaja Kallas, the new EU foreign policy chief, can say, while even the anti-liberal Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban backed him.
Now, it is time for the leaders in Costa to sit in retreats, where they can hash over the largest questions without the constraint of having to reach decisions. The first will take place in February in Belgium with present prime minister Rutte, former, now the NATO secretary general, and UK PM Keir Starmer invited.
Conversely, those, who have spoken to him, highlighted that he had a great ability to speak to leaders and reach a middle ground. He has also been portrayed as cautious — willing to seek assistance whenever he finds himself in need, the people said.
He can also be very to the point, sometimes even rude. After about 30 minutes of mild stretching, he will suddenly one day describe to you in detail what he wants and how you can assist him, a source said.
His attempts to gain leaders’ backing for new investment in competitiveness and defense and the green transition will almost certainly enter the negotiations for the EU’s next seven-year, €1tn budget.
That process is always tense but this cycle looks the most testing yet because the bloc is expected to raise €30 billion annually in repayments on the post-Covid recovery fund that Mr Costa helped negotiate in 2020.
Costa believes that the budget discussions will be about how to increase the size of the budget with more money, using additional revenue sources and/or more co-debt for a few specific, and probably military, projects. To get an agreement he expects concessions on the giant agriculture and infrastructure programs, which account for two-thirds of the EU’s budget.
The link connecting all those discussions will be the Russian threat. And therein lies the rub for the serious new money required to increase the bloc’s defense capability: From that can emerge changes in regulation as well as industrial strategy and financing, insiders have said.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, some countries in Eastern Europe, which have in the past been strongly against the increase in deficits, have relaxed their stances and that can lead to an overall consensus, according to Costa.
“Some of the budget frugals are not so frugal when we are talking about defense,” Costa said.
FAQs
1. Who is the new EU leader?
The new EU leader refers to the President of the European Commission or European Council, depending on the context. This individual is tasked with leading EU initiatives, fostering cooperation among member states, and representing the EU globally.
2. Why is unity in Brussels important?
Brussels, as the EU’s administrative hub, symbolizes the bloc’s collective decision-making. Unity ensures efficient governance, strong negotiation positions, and a cohesive strategy when addressing global challenges like foreign diplomacy or economic policies.
3. What is the connection with Trump?
The focus on Trump highlights preparing for potential diplomatic challenges with the U.S., given past tensions during his presidency. A united EU aims to strengthen its stance in discussions or negotiations with the U.S. or other major powers.