European elections
EU Council President Michel withdraws candidacy for European elections
EU Council President Charles Michel’s withdrawal from the European elections caused a stir in Brussels. photo
© Virginia Mayo/AP/dpa
At the beginning of the month, Charles Michel announced his candidacy for the European elections in June. Now he pulls it back again.
EU Council President Charles Michel has announced his candidacy for the upcoming European elections withdrawn. The top politician wrote on Facebook that he did not want his candidacy to undermine the European project or be misused in any way to divide the European Council. He welcomes political criticism and every legitimate argument. But personal attacks increasingly overshadowed factual arguments.
At the beginning of the month, Michel announced that he would run in the European elections and enter the European Parliament. If elected, he would relinquish his position as Council President, it was said. After the elections, the EU heads of state and government could then discuss a successor to the post of Council President, the Belgian said at the time.
Sufficient time to find a successor
The announcement caused a stir in Brussels – especially because Hungary will take over the rotating presidency of the EU Council of Ministers in July. If there had been no successor to Michel as President of the European Council, the body of heads of state and government, the meeting would initially have been chaired by its head of government, Viktor Orban. Orban has been known for his Euro-critical course for years. Critics had accused former Belgian Prime Minister Michel of prioritizing personal interests.
The early announcement gave the European Council enough time to prepare a smooth transition in the European interest after the European elections, wrote Michel on Facebook. He will devote all his strength and determination to his current tasks until they are over.
The task of the EU Council President is to coordinate cooperation and summit meetings between EU countries. Michel took over the position in December 2019. After his re-election in 2022, his second term will end on November 30th of this year. The European elections will take place at the beginning of June.
The FDP’s designated top candidate for the European elections, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, criticized Michel’s withdrawal as “another U-turn” that was causing confusion. “His role is not self-promotion, but rather representation of member states and coordination,” she wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter). “It is time for a new, worthy EU Council President.”