European Council President Charles Michel will run as a candidate for the European parliamentary election in June, he advised three Belgian media retailers. A spokesperson for Michel confirmed the announcement to POLITICO.
Michel plans to take up his seat within the European Parliament mid-July if he’s elected, that means EU leaders must agree rapidly on a successor for his vacated Council put up. In the event that they don’t, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose nation will take over the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in July, would lead the conferences — a broker-role usually undertaken by the European Council president.
That situation — an unchecked Orbán ruling the Council roost for the six months straight after the 2024 European election — is one a lot of the different 26 leaders of EU international locations can be determined to keep away from, given escalating tensions between them and Orbán, for instance over the Union’s help for Ukraine and Hungary’s rule of legislation infractions.
It’s the primary time a sitting Council president can be a candidate in a European parliamentary election. Michel would usually have stayed on within the job till the top of November, when the brand new Faculty of Commissioners can be put in. Whereas Michel’s transfer is legally kosher, it piles further stress on European leaders, as they often have extra time for wheeling and dealing in the course of the nice top-job carve up that at all times comes after the five-yearly EU ballots.
After the parliamentary election is held June 6-9 in all 27 of the EUs international locations, European leaders are scheduled to satisfy on June 17 and once more on June 27-28. It is going to be at these conferences that they’re more likely to search to return to an settlement on a substitute for Michel — although the function of Council chief would usually be one which’s a part of the protracted horse-trading amongst political groupings after the election outcomes turn into clear, and as they search to divide amongst themselves the assorted prime EU jobs.
Michel’s announcement comes simply forward of the primary congress and New Yr’s reception of his celebration, the Belgian liberals of the Reformist Motion (MR). At that congress on Sunday, celebration President Georges-Louis Bouchez is anticipated to provide extra readability on who will lead the cost forward of June 9, when Belgians go to the polls not just for the EU poll, but additionally for regional and nationwide elections, as POLITICO reported on Friday.
Michel wouldn’t specify whether or not his resolution to run for a seat within the Parliament means he can be eager about different prime jobs, similar to changing into the lead candidate for the European liberals, the bloc’s third-largest political camp, for the European Fee presidency, or whether or not he desires to succeed Didier Reynders — who can be from MR — as Belgium’s EU commissioner.