Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever joked the EU is becoming more and more like Belgium because it takes the bloc “forever” to make a decision.
De Wever made the humorous comment behind closed doors at an EU summit on Thursday, according to three European diplomats.
The 27 EU heads of state and government held tense talks in Brussels on Thursday about releasing a €90 billion EU loan, already agreed last December but now held up by Hungary.
Belgium’s own political decision-making process is famously slow due to its multi-layered governing system comprising federal, regional, and language community governments.
This was not the first time the Flemish nationalist prime minister has referred to Belgium’s slow political process when asked about decision-making at the European level.
“It looks a lot like Belgium, which is probably the worst thing you can say about any level of power,” De Wever said in January at an event organised by Flemish financial newspaper De…
