- The European Council can anticipate appointing a successor by the end of June or the beginning of July.
- The former prime minister of Belgium Michel intends to join the European Parliament in mid-July if elected.
- Ukraine is also awaiting the delivery of a €50 billion package from the EU.
The European Council president Charles Michel has announced his intention to participate in the June European parliamentary election, which means a quick decision must be made on who would take over as council president.
After Michel declared his intention to run in 2024, the European Council can anticipate appointing a successor by the end of June or the beginning of July.
European Council
The former prime minister of Belgium Michel intends to join the European Parliament in mid-July if elected, thus EU leaders will need to move swiftly to select a replacement for his vacant council position.
If not, the sessions will be presided over by Viktor Orbán, the prime minister of Hungary, who serves as a mediator in place of the president of the European Council.
Amidst growing tensions between them and Orbán on issues like Hungary’s rule-of-law violations and the union’s support for Ukraine, most other EU leaders would be keen to avoid this scenario.
As the front-runner for his center-right Movement Reformateur party in Belgium, Michel will run. The declaration was made in response to the US Congress’s failure to approve $50 billion in security aid for Ukraine.
Ukraine is also awaiting the delivery of a €50 billion package from the EU, the delivery of which has become unclear due to Hungary’s obstruction of the EU’s approval process.
