The smiles, warm hugs and superlatives that punctuated Volodymyr Zelensky’s day in Brussels on Thursday failed to hide it. Hide what? The competition between the three institutions of the EU – European Council (member states), Commission (executive) and Parliament (legislative) – once morest a backdrop of which one will best roll out the red carpet for the Ukrainian president. A curious “game” in which the three presidents, Charles Michel, Ursula von der Leyen and Roberta Metsola, have been indulging in a more or less marked way for months.
Behind the red carpet rolled out in Zelensky, European rivalries and frustrations
