European Council President Charles Michel is set to step down from the EU's top post to run for the European Parliament in the next election, a move that could have a significant impact on the direction of the bloc.
Charles Michel, who has served as one of the European Union's three presidents and led the European Council since 2019 after being ousted from his post as prime minister of Belgium, told Flemish media on Saturday that he supported He said he would resign from his position. He is running as a candidate for the liberal Belgian Reform Movement (MR) party in June's EU parliamentary elections.
Normally, outgoing council presidents remain in office until November when a new committee is formed, but Michel said he intended to step down as early as July to take a seat in parliament if elected. Ta.
“If I am elected, I will take the oath. I will then carry out my duties as President of the European Council until I am sworn in as a member of the European Parliament in mid-July. We may anticipate this and decide on a successor,” Michel said. Said based in brussels de standard newspaper.
Michel's decision to step down earlier than usual will leave Europe's neoliberal leaders scrambling to appoint a replacement when they meet in the week after parliamentary elections. If no agreement is reached on a replacement, Hungary, led by populist Viktor Orbán, will take over the rotating presidency of the EU Council in July, giving him powers as president until a successor is found, Politico reported. report.
For Mr. Orbán, who has long been at odds with the globalist leadership in Brussels, being given the power to broadly set the council's agenda is likely an outcome that powers in Belgium, France, Germany and other countries would seek to avoid. Dew. But his deadline for leaving office is limited, and it is unclear whether national leaders will have enough time to engage in the typical maneuvering that accompanies top appointments.
EU Council President Charles Michel has opposed extending an “olive branch” to Russia, but in order to achieve the goals of the EU's Green Agenda, communist China, despite its long list of atrocities, must He declared that Japan should pursue deeper economic ties with the United States. https://t.co/c2CYNXbjkU
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 21, 2022
Michel's departure could have broader geopolitical implications for the European Union, including on central issues such as Ukraine's accession and the EU's relationship with Communist China.
Mr. Michel's counterparts, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Parliament President Roberta Mezzola, have both strongly called for accelerating the timeframe for Ukraine's accession, and Ms. von der Leyen said: The admission of former Soviet states to the European Union has been labeled as “accession to the European Union.'' “The call of history.”
Prime Minister Michel has also expressed a desire for Ukraine to join the EU, but he has been more modest in public comments about bringing forward the deadline advocated by von der Leyen and Metsola, rather than allowing Eastern European countries to join the EU instead. I predict that. End of the decade.
If his post remains vacant and Hungary is given the responsibility of setting the agenda at Council level, Prime Minister Orbán will become the EU's biggest opponent of this prospect, raising hopes for a speedy process for recognizing Ukraine. may be hindered.
Michel is also one of the biggest supporters in Brussels of repairing relations with China, which soured after Beijing imposed sanctions on European politicians who spoke out against the genocide against Uyghur Muslims. Given that, there is a possibility that relations between communist China and the EU will be affected. and other ethnic minorities in Xinjiang. Michel also took a leading role in pushing for a major trade deal between the EU and China, arguing that such a deal would help advance the cause of the green agenda.
It is unclear whether Michel will seek a new top role in Brussels, but there is the possibility that he will represent Belgium in the EU as European Commissioner or replace Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission President. There is also a possibility that we aim to do so.
