2024-01-15 13:01:50
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, continues to be under fire from criticism. Behind the scenes, more and more diplomats are expressing concern about his decision to combine his post with an election campaign. According to the Politico news site, pressure is mounting on him to resign from his post. “With any luck, his ‘egotrip’ will ensure that we never see him at the head of the European Council again,” it reads.
Let’s go back for a moment, three weeks ago: Charles Michel announces his candidacy for the elections to the European Parliament on the MR list and intends to exercise his current position until his swearing in as a European deputy, which will take place on July 16 . He will have to leave his post as President of the European Council six months earlier than planned because he cannot combine it with that of MEP. He can certainly campaign as “European president”, but some EU diplomats question this point and warn of a “conflict of interest”, reports “Politico”.
“Provisional solution”
“It’s completely unfair and disrespectful,” said an EU diplomat anonymously. In Brussels, there are also fears that Charles Michel will abuse his current position to campaign, for example by using staff and budget for his election campaign. In this regard, an official highlights the outcry surrounding the Belgian’s “excessive travel expenses” a year ago.
Politico was able to view an internal document showing that the budget or staff “cannot be used for activities related to the election campaign.” However, Charles Michel could visibly benefit from security protection even during campaign events.
WATCH: Charles Michel’s “abandonment of post” heavily criticized
“Whether his candidacy is correct in light of this responsibility must be judged by Charles Michel himself,” Karoline Edtstadler, Austria’s federal minister for European Policy, told local press last week. Luxembourg Prime Minister Luc Frieden wants to find a “provisional solution”. According to him, it would be better for our Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, since our country is president of the EU until June, or an interim candidate to take over the role from Charles Michel.
Egotrip
Pressure is also growing within the European Parliament for Michel to resign now. Jens Geier, leader of the German Social Democrats in the European Parliament, described Mr Michel’s approach as “an egotrip which makes his resignation necessary”. Belgian MEP Kathleen Van Brempt (Vooruit) believes that Mr. Michel should “resign now or in a month”.
Charles Michel’s decision to resign prematurely has been under fire for weeks, with some calling it a “dereliction of duty”. “It’s not only selfish, it’s also irresponsible,” we judge. However, Michel has no intention of resigning now. “He will follow the rules to the letter and there is no reason for him to resign,” said an official close to him.
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