António Costa became the President of the European Council
António Costa, the former Prime Minister of Portugal, who was previously considered as a candidate for the presidency of the European Council in 2019, finally succeeded Charles Michel from Belgium.
Thus, on Thursday, the fate of two other top jobs in the European Union was determined for a five-year term: Ursula von der Leyen remained at the head of the European Commission, and António Costa took charge of the European Council.
Costa, a 62-year-old socialist, has about 10 years of experience as Prime Minister.
His international experience had even convinced Angela Merkel, the then Chancellor of Germany, back in 2019 to invite him to take on the presidency of the European Council, an offer that Mr. Costa did not accept.