EU Council President Michel withdraws candidacy for European elections
Published: Friday, Jan 26th 2024, 20:40
Zurück zu Live Feed
EU Council President Charles Michel has withdrawn his candidacy for the upcoming European elections. He did not want his candidacy to undermine the European project or be misused in any way to divide the European Council, the top politician wrote on Facebook on Friday evening to explain his decision. He welcomed political criticism and every legitimate argument. But personal attacks were increasingly overshadowing factual arguments.
At the beginning of the month, Michel announced his intention to run in the European elections and enter the European Parliament. If elected, he would relinquish his position as President of the Council, it was said. After the elections, the EU heads of state and government could then discuss a successor for the post of Council President, the Belgian said at the time.
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, by then, the meeting would have initially been chaired by its head of government, Viktor Orban. Orban has been known for years for his anti-European stance. Critics had accused the former Belgian Prime Minister Michel of prioritizing personal interests.
The early announcement has given the European Council sufficient time to prepare a smooth transition in the European interest after the European elections, Michel wrote on Facebook. He will devote all his energy and determination to his current tasks until they are completed.
The task of the EU Council President is to coordinate cooperation and summit meetings between the EU countries. Michel took up the post in December 2019. Following his re-election in 2022, his second term of office will regularly end on November 30 this year. The European elections will take place at the beginning of June.
The FDP's designated lead candidate for the European elections, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, criticized Michel's withdrawal as a "new U-turn" that would cause confusion. "His role is not self-profiling, but representing the member states and coordination," she wrote on the X platform (formerly Twitter). "It's time for a new, worthy EU Council President."
©Keystone/SDA
German 
English 
French 
Spanish 
Arabic