Charles Michel changed his mind about leaving the post of head of the European Council

DW:  The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, has withdrawn his candidacy from the upcoming June 2024 elections to the European Parliament. The politician announced his decision on his Facebook page on Friday, January 26.

"My choice led to intense media attention and speculation. Something I had foreseen given the unprecedented nature of my approach. But it also led to a strong reaction - not within the European Council, but beyond it," Michel wrote, commenting on his previous decision to run for the European Parliament from Belgium.

According to him, the decision to remain as President of the European Council was due precisely to the sharp reaction that the prospect of his early resignation caused, and he does not want to allow his departure to be used to split the European Council, Michel specified in the published text.

Charles Michel replaced Polish politician Donald Tusk as chairman of the European Council in 2019. The post of President of the European Council itself was created about 15 years ago in accordance with the Lisbon Treaty. Michel's term as President of the European Council expires in November 2024.

The EU no longer needs to find an urgent replacement for Michel

On January 7, in an interview with Belgian newspapers, Charles Michel said that he intended to take part in the summer European elections, representing the Belgian liberals. If Michel is elected, he would not be able to combine the post of head of the European Council and the seat of a European parliamentarian. To avoid such a conflict, the leaders of the EU member states would have to agree in advance on the candidacy of a successor to replace Michel.

This would open up the potential for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán to take over the EU Council presidency temporarily, as Hungary is due to hold the EU Council Presidency from July to December 2024. Orbán often opposes common EU policies. Thus, in December, Hungary managed to block the allocation of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 50 billion euros until 2027, vetoing this decision.