European Council president António Costa stops short of setting a date, but says we ‘cannot lose the momentum.’ What we know on day 1,458 European Council president António Costa stops short of setting a date, but says we ‘cannot lose the momentum.’ What we know on day 1,458 The European Union is eager to begin Ukraine’s EU membership talks “as soon as possible” , European Council president António Costa has said, although he stopped short of setting a date. The US plan for an end to the war in