In 2024, Charles Michel will reach the end of his second term as President of the European Council. In March 2022, he was re-elected for two and a half years. The question agitates many observers: what will the former Prime Minister do? Some see him returning to the Belgian political game, others are convinced that he will continue his dazzling career in international bodies.
At the MR, many are those who scrutinize the evolution of his destiny. The composition of the electoral lists depends in particular on his choices or the possibilities that might be offered to him. As Free had recently revealed, the President of the European Council might, for example, appear on the MR list in the European elections in May or June 2024. Legally, a European source explained to us, it seems that the Treaty of Lisbon does not prohibit him from doing so. : he might remain at the head of the Council while standing for election.
Charles Michel might run on the MR list for the European Parliament in the 2024 elections.
The “Bank of the European Union”
To return to his career prospects, here is information that goes in the direction of an extension of his supranational career. According to a European diplomatic source, the former president of the MR would be a candidate for the presidency of the management committee of the European Investment Bank (EIB), the “bank of the European Union”. The Management Committee is the collegial and permanent executive body of the EIB. It has nine members in total.
The position is currently occupied by Werner Hoyer, a German politician who was notably the chairman of the former European Liberal, Democratic and Reform Party and a member of the FDP, the German Liberal Democratic Party (Freie Demokratische Partei). Werner Hoyer has been at the head of the EIB for twelve years and his mandate will be vacant at the end of this year.
Small problem: the end of the functions of Werner Hoyer is planned several months before the end of the mandate of Charles Michel at the presidency of the European Council. Given the geopolitical context and the involvement of the European Union in the support given to Ukraine in the face of the Russian invader, it would be unthinkable for the Belgian liberal to end his current mission prematurely. However, pragmatic solutions can always be found. One might imagine a small extension of the mandate of Werner Hoyer at the EIB or the designation of a provisional successor.
No comment from the entourage of Charles Michel
Contacted this Wednesday with regard to this information drawn from a good source, the entourage of Charles Michel does not wish to make any comment.
If the former head of the federal government were to become chairman of the EIB’s management committee, he would find there the CD&V Kris Peeters who, during the “Swedish” crisis, had occupied the major role of Deputy Prime Minister. Kris Peeters was appointed to the European Investment Bank in 2021 for a six-year term. In particular, he is responsible for cases relating to mobility, security and defence, as well as operations concerning the countries of Southeast Asia.
Nearly 30,000 euros per month
Finally, note that the salaries of the President and Vice-Presidents of the EIB are modeled on those of the Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the European Commission. Since this year, this corresponds to nearly 30,000 euros gross per month (the precise amount is not found in the EIB governance report).
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