President of the European Council Charles Michel has announced that he will not be seeking election to the European Parliament and will instead remain in his current position until the end of his term on November 30, 2024. This decision comes just three weeks after Michel initially announced his intention to step down and run for office.
The reason behind Michel’s abrupt change of heart appears to be the intense pressure he faced from Belgian political circles. As the most prominent Belgian figure in European Union politics, many in his home country felt that his early departure from the presidency of the European Council would undermine the institution and damage Belgium’s reputation.
Speculation has also been raised that Michel’s decision was influenced by a desire to avoid having Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán take over as President of the European Council. Hungary will hold the rotating presidency of the EU from July 1, 2024, and if there is no president of the European Council in place, Orbán would automatically assume the role.
However, it is unlikely that this was the primary factor behind Michel’s decision. The EU bureaucracy is well-equipped to elect a new president of the European Council by November 30, and the head of the council is elected by qualified majority vote, not by unanimous agreement. Moreover, the European Union has a well-established mechanism for dealing with such situations.
Therefore, the most plausible explanation for Michel’s reversal is the pressure he faced from Belgian political leaders. They were concerned that his decision to leave the presidency prematurely would be seen as a sign of disrespect for the institution and would damage Belgium’s image in the EU.
In addition, there were concerns about a potential leadership conflict within the Belgian liberal party “Reform Movement” from which Michel was planning to run for the European Parliament election. There were also questions about a potential conflict of interest, as Michel would have continued to be the President of the European Council while campaigning for the European Parliament election.
