“EU Council President Charles Michel’s Private Jet Hypocrisy: The Shocking Costs and Climate Impact”

2023-04-23 21:17:38

The European Union (EU) has committed itself to the Green Deal and actually wants to protect the climate.

But EU Council President Charles Michel (47) does not seem to take the whole thing seriously, squandering hundreds of thousands of euros on private jet flights in 2022!

What climate hypocrisy!

► A list of the French “Le Monde” shows: Last year Michel spent at least (!) 700,000 euros on flights with private jets from the company “Luxaviation” alone.

Explosive: Even on flight routes within Europe that are very well served by commercial providers, the EU Council President prefers to board a private jet.

• 26.1.2022 – Vienna, meeting with Chancellor Karl Nehammer
  Round trip: 20 533 euros
• 9.2.2022 – Berlin, meeting with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz
  Round trip: 37 500 euros
• 16.2.2022 – Paris, Dinner (Theme: Terror in the Sahel)
  Round trip: 35 750 euros
• 2022 – 5 flights to Strasbourg to the European Parliament (is 12,250 to 35,000 Euro)
• November 2022 – Climate summit (!) “COP27”, Egypt:
  Outward flight together with Ursula von der Leyen: 103,632 euros Return flight: 50,550 euros
• 1.12.2022 – Peking, Treffen mit Xi Jinping
  Round trip: 460 000 euros

► By far the most expensive trip to China was justified by Michel with the corona measures still in force in the People’s Republic. “It was not possible to book a commercial flight as the President and his delegation had to quarantine for two weeks upon arrival due to Covid regulations in China,” the council said.

The visit displeased several European capitals, including Paris and Berlin, who did not consider it necessary at the time.

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Better by private jet than by train

Michel also traveled to Brest, France, for the One Ocean Summit, a meeting to protect the oceans. However, the EU Council President preferred to fly by jet rather than take the train.

► In addition to his numerous private jet trips, Michel only took the train three times in 2022. Even for trips to Paris – an hour and twenty minutes by rail – the EU Council President prefers to take a car with a driver.

A fact that is difficult to justify even within our own ranks in view of the EU’s claim to be climate-neutral by 2050.

In addition, Michel rarely travels alone and almost always brings large delegations to international meetings and summits. For the Versailles summit alone on March 10 and 11, 2022, he traveled with 22 employees and his wife.

Charles Michel wants more money for his trips

And: Charles Michel wants more money for his trips, reports “Politico” with reference to an EU document from March 1 of this year.

► Accordingly, the 2024 budget for the EU Council Presidency is to increase by 27.5 percent to a whopping 2.6 million euros. Reason: the war in Ukraine and the resulting “intensive international activity”.

Because: “We have to explain our sanctions once morest Moscow to third countries and fight once morest Putin’s claim that they are responsible for inflation,” Politico quotes the document as saying.

Around 1.985 million euros are estimated for the trips by Michel and his delegations alone – an increase of more than a third compared to this year’s budget.

For comparison: his predecessors Herman Van Rompuy (2010-2014) and Donald Tusk (2014-2019) did not exceed the sum of 500,000 euros in their position as EU Council President, while the budget was less than one million euros.

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EU Council President suspects campaign once morest him

According to the Le Monde report, Charles Michel suspects a campaign once morest him.

“There is probably an attempt at destabilization or intimidation directed at me on the one hand and the Council on the other. I believe that the increased role of the Council and the EU on the international stage might worry a number of actors,” Michel told French newspaper La Libre.

And further: “I cannot rule out (…) that some are already trying to get the top positions.”

Charles Michel cannot stand for re-election in the 2024 European Council elections, his term as President is limited to 5 years.

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