Watch the video: European Council summit — what is behind the curtain?

WorldPolitics
18 Dec 2025 • 5:50 PM MYT
Euronews
Euronews

Trusted news from Europe’s newsroom

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Rumour has it only the sharpest students can tell the difference between the Council of the EU, the Council of Europe and today’s suspect, the European Council.

I am sure you know, but let us recap. Today's summit runs for two days. Inside, they need 30 chairs: 27 for the national leaders, plus three special seats for Antonio Costa, Ursula von Der Leyen and Kaja Kallas.

Officially, there are 24 languages. This creates over 500 possible language combinations.

Though in reality, most negotiations happen in English — even though the English have left the building.

Finally, up to 1,000 journalists attend the summit — including us at Euronews. That makes for roughly 33 reporters chasing every single leader.

This week, the noise is not just inside: a major farmers' protest is waiting outside.

A megaphone hits 110 decibels: about as loud as a chainsaw. So the leaders will definitely hear them. We will see if they listen.

Watch the Euronews video in the player above for the full story.

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