The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, will run in June. in the upcoming European Parliament elections, as many as three Belgian media outlets announce. A spokesman for the council leader also confirmed the plans to Politico reporters.
If elected, Michel plans to take his seat in the European Parliament in mid-July, which means that EU leaders will have to quickly agree on his successor for the vacant post of European Council president.
If they don’t, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose country in July will take over the presidency of the EU Council according to the principle of rotation, – will take his place.
Such a scenario, when the uncontrolled V. Orban would rule the Council even for half a year immediately following 2024. European Parliament elections, which most of the leaders of the countries belonging to the bloc would desperately like to avoid, because the tension between them and V. Orban is only growing.
Michel did not specify whether his decision to run for parliament means he is interested in other top positions, such as becoming the main candidate for European Commission president of the European Liberals, the bloc’s third-largest political camp, or whether he would like to replace Belgium’s Didier Reynders. in the post of EU Justice Commissioner.
Paulius Peleckis/BNS photo/Ursula von der Leyen
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has not yet announced whether she intends to seek a second term in the post. These top EU positions, like Ch. Michel, it has been going since 2019.
One of Mr. Michel’s main tasks was to take care of EU summits. These meetings have become crucial in the search for a unified Community response to crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s February 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“Four years have passed since I, as Europe [Sąjungos] head, the beginning of the term, I have the duty to account for the work of the past years and propose a project for the future of Europe”, said the 48-year-old former Prime Minister of Belgium Ch. Michelis to the Belgian media.
Politico noted that this is the first time that an incumbent president of the European Council will run for the European Parliament, and the first time that he will leave his post early.
Mr. Michelis was supposed to hold office until November. But his decision to leave early puts additional pressure on Europe’s leaders, who will now have to decide who will lead Europe’s key institutions in less time.
After the European Parliament elections, which will be held on June 6-9. in all 27 EU countries, EU leaders will meet on June 17 and then on June 27-28. It is likely that then they will discuss the candidacy of Mr. Michel’s successor.
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2024-07-06 14:42:14