In public, leaders lined up to defend him. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Russia’s contact was “understandable,” while Belgium’s Bart De Wever dismissed it as “absolutely normal” — even joking to Costa on camera that the EU should. take him personally to Moscow. But behind the scenes discontent was visible, according to nine diplomats working for nine different national leaders at the meeting. They spoke to POLITICO on condition of anonymity due to the confidentiality and sensitivity of the matter.
“Costa pulled Michel,” was perhaps the worst assessment from one of those diplomats, the memory of Charles Michel, Costa’s predecessor and former prime minister of Belgium, who many leaders are considered inferior during his tenure from 2019 to 2024. Michel had a reputation for overplaying his hand and trying to set policies without consulting member states ― what Costa was accused of here.
Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal went further publicly on the dispute, calling Costa’s move “wrong” in interview with POLITICOand saying that the European Union cannot be a mediator in the conflict and support Ukraine. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda told Bloomberg: “I don’t think it is right now the right time start talks with Putin.”
Any criticism of the president of the Council of Europe from the government is important, given that his role is to act on behalf of those leaders. While discontent was suppressed in public, privately French President Emmanuel Macron and especially German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said they were not happy. Another leader seemed angry when he spoke to reporters in a private meeting.
“There are issues, of course,” said one of the diplomats. “But we are not at Michel’s level.” Another called Costa’s move an unpleasant surprise.
A spokesperson for Costa declined to comment for this article. Last week, his office stressed that reaching the Kremlin was not an attempt to initiate dialogue or mediation between Russia and Ukraine, but rather to contribute to opening a channel of communication so that the EU is ready if and when Russian President Vladimir Putin gets serious about peace talks.
