After a gruelling two-day summit on the long-term EU budget in February, it took 25 minutes for leaders to shoot down the only new proposal that emerged from a series of overnight bilateral talks with European Council president Charles Michel.
Frustrated by the lack of progress, many pointed the finger at the former Belgian prime minister, whose task is to shepherd the diverging positions to a compromise.
As EU leaders gather in Brussels on Friday (17 July) for the first time in...
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Already a member? Login hereEszter Zalan is a Hungarian journalist who worked for Brussels-based news portal EUobserver specialising in European politics, focusing on populism and Brexit.