Already Thursday night, when he was elected president of the European Council by the heads of State and Government, António Costa was the only one of those chosen who was not in Brussels for the press conference. He entered at a distance and with difficulty from Lisbon. But this Friday he will be in the European capital for a family photo.
The former prime minister arrives in Brussels in the middle of the afternoon and will meet with Kaja Kallas, the Estonian prime minister appointed as head of European diplomacy, and with Ursula von der Leyen, who has yet to be elected by Parliament European. The quick meeting for a family photo, with the three chosen for the top positions, will take place in the VIP room at Brussels airport, to combine Costa’s arrival flight with the German woman’s departure flight.
António Costa should have arrived on a morning flight, but this was cancelled, forcing the meeting with Kalla and Von der Leyen to be rearranged. As the President of the Commission and candidate for the position also has a flight in the afternoon, the solution was a three-way meeting at the airport.
The European Council meeting, which was expected to last until Friday morning, ended on Thursday night due to the quick agreement on the top positions in the EU, as Charles Michel highlighted in the final press conference.
After the meeting and photo with Kallas and Von der Leyen, António Costa must go to the headquarters of the European Socialist Party (PES) and it will be there that he will make statements.
As far as Expresso knows, Costa is also in contact with the president of the European Council, Charles Michel. Thursday night they spoke on the phone, but the meeting in person should take place later. The two were together at the end of May in Lisbon.
