António Costa will take over as President of the European Council on 1 December as a part of the brand new institutional cycle of the EU.
The altering of the guard passed off in Brussels. Charles Michel, outgoing president of the European Council, has handed the baton (or, on this case, the bell) to his successor António Costa. Friday’s temporary ceremony was marked by requires political unity within the face of adversity.
“The solely option to be actually patriotic is to ensure sovereignty, to construct a standard Europe. Because solely collectively can we defend safety, stability and peace on our continent. Only collectively can we obtain shared prosperity, financial development and local weather transition,” Costa stated earlier than a crowd of officers and diplomats.
“Unity is the lifeblood of the European Union.”
Costa, the previous Portuguese prime minister, will take workplace on December 1, coinciding with the beginning of Ursula von der Leyen’s mandate. subsequent European Commission management. His mandate will final two and a half years with the potential for a one-off extension.
Von der Leyen and Michel had a notoriously frosty relationship, relationship again to Divanogate episode in Türkiye. Costa intends to shut this chapter and “work carefully” with von der Leyen to “strengthen mutual motion”, a senior EU official stated.
As president of the European Council, he’ll put together and reasonable EU summits, the place leaders set the political agenda for the bloc’s future. The place has no govt powers and is basically geared toward illustration and coordination.
In his speech, the incoming president offered himself as a bridge builder and argued that “variations of opinion” between member states, that are frequent and quite a few, needs to be revered relatively than handled as a “downside”.
“We have 27 completely different histories and cultures and we take a look at the world from completely different geographical positions. This range is completely pure. It enriches us and we will, in truth, exploit it. It is the energy of Europe,” stated the 63-year-old outdated saying.
Janis A. Emmanouilidis, deputy director normal of the European Policy Center (EPC), believes that Costa will specific his views brazenly whereas protecting all leaders on the identical web page.
Costa “will attempt to attain compromises, to search out consensus – hopefully, compromises – to not the bottom widespread denominator, as a result of this isn’t what Europe wants in the mean time,” Emmanouilidis advised Euronews.
Once in workplace, Costa will grow to be probably the most distinguished determine of the socialist household in Brussels, along with Teresa Riberathe primary govt vice-president of the Commission. For Socialists, these two appointments are very important to take care of a level of affect because the bloc continues its shift to the correct.
Antonio Costa’s program
Among Costa’s high priorities will probably be help for Ukraine, protection coverage, competitivenessmigration administration and EU finances reform, themes that von der Leyen additionally highlighted for his second presidency.
“Peace can not imply the peace of a cemetery. Peace can not imply capitulation. Peace should not reward aggression. Peace in Ukraine should be simply. It should be lasting. It should be based mostly on worldwide regulation,” he stated Friday . “This warfare is on European soil however at stake are the common rules enshrined within the United Nations Charter.”
Another focus of specific consideration will probably be enlargement, a fragile space the place unanimity amongst leaders is important to maneuver ahead.
Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine are at the moment candidates to affix the bloc (Turkey’s candidacy has lengthy been frozen, whereas Georgia’s has been blocked). placed on maintain).
ANNOUNCEMENTCosta believes that accession negotiations ought to advance with out “synthetic timescales but in addition with out undue obstacles”. This marks a departure from the method of Charles Michel, who famously established a Expires 2030 of enlargement which the Commission, which evaluates the progress made by every candidate, refused to approve.
“Enlargement to the Western Balkans and our japanese neighbors is a robust device for peace, safety and prosperity and a geopolitical crucial,” he stated.
In one other pause from Michel, Costa needs to make sure that European summits final simply at some point relatively than two, and that drafting of conclusions happens by the point leaders sit down on the desk, though this may occasionally show not possible for essential discussions just like the finances.
The incoming president additionally needs to host “casual retreats” outdoors the grey institutional sphere of Brussels to permit leaders to handle probably the most essential points on the agenda “with out the stress of constructing a choice”, the senior official stated talked about above. The first is scheduled for February 3 and will probably be devoted to protection, additionally within the presence of NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.
ANNOUNCEMENT“These retreats will permit concepts to converge in a sure route,” the official defined.
Costa, whose father was half French-Mozambican and half Indian, is the primary black particular person to occupy a distinguished place within the bloc’s historical past.
