The President of the European Union’s Council, Charles Michel, is planning to step down before summer this year, in order to be able to candidate as a Member of the European Parliament.
The Belgian politician plans to place his early retirement from the role before the EU Parliament’s election which are set to be held in June this year, even though his mandate in the current position ends only in November.
I have decided to run in the European elections in 2024. If I get elected, I will take my seat [in the European parliament]. The European Council can anticipate and name a successor by end-June, early-July.
According to the EU rules, if the Council president steps down, then the leader of the country currently holding the EU presidency would succeed, until the next president is elected by a majority of the EU’s 27 leaders.
In this case, if Michel leaves the post, and no successor is found on time, Hungary’s Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, would temporarily hold the presidency, as his country is scheduled to take over the rotating six-month council presidency from July 1, 2024.
The move has been criticised by many, including here Steven Van Hecke, a professor of European politics at the University of Leuven. Van Hecke told the Belgian radio that Michel was clearly signalling that “his personal interests take precedence over the interests of the European institutions”.
According to the Guardian, Dutch MEP, Sophie in’t Veld, has also accused him of “leaving the ship in the middle of a storm.”
However, President Michel has insisted that there are many tools to be put into use, if there is the political will to avoid Viktor Orbán from leading the Council.
I want to be clear that in any case, in June the decision was to be made on my successor and the parliament decision will be in July so it’s easy for the council to decide, to anticipate for my successor to enter into function.
The leaders of the European Union Member States are set to meet on June 17, and June 27-28 this year, following the Parliament elections, which take place on June 6-9.
Charles Michel has led the Council of the EU since 2019. He has served as the Prime Minister of Belgium from 2014 until 2019.
