Honeymoon’s over
That’s not to say they didn’t find some common ground. A few voiced optimism about the EU’s chances of finding consensus without the pugnacious Hungarian premier.
“For the first time in years there are no Russians in the room,” Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk posted on social media, alluding to Orbán’s closeness to President Vladimir Putin. “Huge relief.”
Michal, the Estonian prime minister, told POLITICO that without Orbán in the room, leaders were going through a honeymoon period.
“You can feel the positive energy,” he said. “Viktor Orbán was a symbol somewhat — nothing personal — but the symbol was that he was inside the European Union, enjoying everything that is inside the EU … but at the same time, fighting against the European Union.
“And now that legacy is outside the room, I would say yes, you can feel it. Everybody’s talking about what will happen in Europe next.”
What happens next depends on whether leaders can get over their differences on everything from Ukraine’s membership to the bloc’s finances. As an “informal” gathering of leaders, EU jargon for a meeting without a collective statement at the end, the two-day talks in Cyprus were never going to be a summit where big decisions got made.