After the Brussels summit: What next for the EU?
Written by Steven Everts, Heather Grabbe, Daniel Keohane, Alasdair Murray, Charles Grant, Katinka Barysch, 16 December 2003
The manner and speed at which the Brussels European Council collapsed took most observers by surprise. Heads of state and government had arrived on the morning of Friday 12 December 2003, expecting negotiations to last until late on Sunday 14. In the event, the Italian presidency called a halt to proceedings on midday on Saturday, after concluding there was no way of breaking an impasse over voting weights. With the benefit of hindsight, this failure seems less surprising.
