Source: AFP
Belgian politician Charles Michel has announced that he will step down early as president of the European Council after taking part in the European Parliament elections scheduled for June.
“I have decided to be a candidate for the European elections in June 2024,” he told Belgian media.
The surprise move is likely to heighten speculation over who will be the next leaders of the European Union as negotiations begin for a new round of top posts in November, when Michel’s official term ends.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of Germany, who like Michel was appointed in 2019, has so far been silent on whether she plans to seek a second term.
As president of the Council, one of Michel’s main tasks has been overseeing EU summits that have become critical in seeking common responses to crises, including the Covid pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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EU Council President Michel says he will step down in July
“Four years after starting my term as European leader, it is my responsibility to give an account of my work in these last years and propose a plan for the future of Europe,” Michel, the 48-year-old former prime minister, said in Belgium. of Belgium. media.
He said he would head the list of the liberal Reform Movement (MR), of which he is a former leader, in the European Parliament elections and step down as Council president in July.
“This means that I will continue my work as president of the European Council until I am sworn in as an MEP on July 16,” he said.
A Council meeting is scheduled for shortly after the general election, and “right now it will have to decide when my successor will take the job,” Michel said.
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The move has been heavily criticized, even from his own side of the fence, as it raises questions about who will take over from Michel.
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In accordance with EU procedures, the national leader of the country holding the rotating EU presidency will assume the role until the November elections.
That would be Hungarian nationalist Viktor Orban, the only EU leader to maintain close ties to the Kremlin since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Michel said he believed the formal procedures could be “changed by a simple majority”.
Dutch MEP Sophie in’t Veld, of the centrist Renew Europe party, took to X, formerly of Twitter, and accused him of abandoning ship.
“The captain is abandoning ship in the midst of a storm. If you have so little commitment to the fate of the European Union, then how credible are you as a candidate?” asked.
The parliamentary elections, which are scheduled to take place between June 6 and 9 in the 27 EU member states, are set to elect 720 MPs in total.
They are expected to trigger intense horse-trading for the top jobs in the European institutions, including the European Commission and the European Council.
Source: AFP