The Art of Herding Cats: Costa Faces Early Backlash from Restless EU Leaders

A gathering of European Union heads of state and government turned sour as deep rifts emerged over domestic energy prices and the bloc's next seven-year budget. The diplomatic deadlock did more than stall policy negotiations; it brought simmering frustration with European Council President António Costa into the open. National leaders voiced sharp dissatisfaction with Costa's handling of the European Council summit, accusing the chair of failing to bridge the divide on two of the union's most sensitive financial files.

Behind the closed doors of an EU summit sit decisions that hit domestic wallets directly. The EU's seven-year budget—known in the institutions as the Multiannual Financial Framework—dictates where hundreds of billions of euros flow, from regional infrastructure and farming subsidies to joint green investments and research programmes. Disagreements over energy prices, meanwhile, shape national electricity and heating bills across the continent. When the leaders in the room cannot agree, funding freezes, common energy relief efforts stall, and national capitals are left to scramble for unilateral solutions that often leave poorer member states behind.

In theory, the European Council president is Brussels' ultimate consensus craftsman: an institutional referee whose job is to sit twenty-seven prime ministers and presidents around a circular table and coax them into an agreement without the power to enforce one. In practice, the role requires equal parts diplomatic hypnosis and meticulous timing. Steering discussions on the multi-year budget is notoriously thankless—every capital fights fiercely to pay in less while taking out more—and energy policy has pitted industrial powerhouses against smaller economies for years. When a summit descends into open bickering, convention usually dictates blaming the inherent difficulty of unanimous decision-making. That leaders directed their irritation at Costa's stewardship indicates that the machinery of consensus broke down well before the late-night coffee arrived.

With deep divisions lingering over both the budgetary framework and energy market interventions, the dispute will head back down to the diplomatic machinery. National ambassadors will spend the coming weeks attempting to paper over the cracks in the draft summit conclusions before leaders return to the table. For Costa, the immediate priority will be rebuilding goodwill among capitals that expect their mediator to deliver compromises rather than public acrimony.