Costa's role and the stakes

António Costa, European Council president, is supposed to broker deals between EU leaders. At Thursday's summit in Brussels, he faced his harshest criticism since taking the role nearly two years ago.

Two debates, no progress

Governments wanted the two-day summit to show progress on curbing energy prices and the EU's next seven-year budget. Instead, talks ended in stalemate after dragging on for fourteen hours.

Why the timing matters

The EU is desperate to ease the cost of living crisis and reach a budget deal before national elections next year make agreement much tougher. Disunity looks worse as Trump moves toward Russia on Ukraine.

The energy standoff

Negotiations over the Emissions Trading System, or ETS2, became so bogged down that Costa cancelled the planned press conference.

What the opposition wanted

Italy and the Visegrád Four wanted the EU to postpone ETS2 because of the burden it would place on energy bills. The showdown pitted them against a larger coalition of member states.

Diplomats criticise Costa's handling

EU diplomats said Costa allowed talks to go off the rails.One said he was not a fan of drafting on the spot and failed to keep track of proposed amendments, leaving leaders debating without them.

“He is not a fan of drafting on the spot.”

Comparisons to predecessors

One diplomat said Costa performed worse than Charles Michel, his immediate predecessor. Another said there was frustration that things were not being dealt with a bit more Tusk-style, referring to Donald Tusk.

“there is frustration that things are not being dealt with a bit more Tusk-style.”

Budget bias concerns

Northern EU countries worry Costa is favoring southern countries in budget negotiations. One diplomat accused him of being two-faced and not acting as an honest broker among the twenty-seven governments.

Costa's determination

Costa is determined to secure a budget agreement by the end of the year. The so-called frugal countries are calling on him to propose further cuts ahead of a special EU summit on the budget…

Some leaders still back Costa

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever defended Costa as capable and shrewd, praising him for avoiding drafting on the day unlike his predecessor.Other diplomats blamed leaders, notably Giorgia Meloni, for trying to unpick energy legislation.

The dealmaker question

One EU official called Costa a superb deal maker despite acknowledging his honeymoon period is over. Many governments still believe he may succeed over the long term, though his path forward remains uncertain.

“He's a superb deal maker.”

What comes next

The next few weeks will test whether Costa can recover from Thursday's stumble. A special EU summit on the budget is scheduled for November twenty-sixth, with pressure mounting to show progress.