Diversity of opinion in EU not hindering collective decision-making - European Council president

Despite the many challenges facing the European Union and the differing opinions among its member states on how to address them, the bloc remains capable of reaching consensus and making collective decisions.

European Council President Antonio Costa said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

When asked about the priority challenges for maintaining EU unity on key issues, Costa said: "We are now facing so many challenges that we have no luxury to define what the priority challenge is. We have Ukraine, competitiveness, security, defense, migration, democracy. A whole lot."

At the same time, the new European Council president does not consider his own role in the new position in coordinating decision-making too difficult, because, in his opinion, the most important thing in the European Union is the "common will to be together, to work together, and to deliver together."

"When you look at the 27 member states, you see 27 different histories, 27 different cultures, people looking at the world from 27 different perspectives, including geographic ones. The news is not about us not agreeing on something, the most important news is about us achieving collective decisions," Costa said.

"We make these decisions in spite of this diversity," Costa said.

According to Western media reports, Costa's strong working relationship with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and his well-honed negotiation skills, developed over nearly 40 years in politics, are expected to facilitate effective decision-making at the EU level. Costa plans to enhance the process by combining informal meetings with EU leaders and official strategic discussions.

European Council President Antonio Costa, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas, and European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos made a surprise visit to Kyiv on December 1. The visit came on the first day of their mandate in these positions.