European Council president, the Belgian Charles Michel, is coming under increased fire. At the weekend the French daily Le Monde criticised Mr Michel’s many expensive and polluting trips. Earlier questions were raised about the Francophone liberal’s leadership qualities.
Politico.eu’s Barbara Moens tells VRT nobody intends to remove him, but criticism is getting louder: “At first the criticism was muted and stayed indoors, but now it is getting louder: not only among diplomats in Brussels but also in European capitals”.
Critics say the European president is concentrating too much on international diplomatic duties and is abroad too often. He is also slated for using too many expensive private jets.
Le Monde speaks of travel costs that have “exploded”. The president’s budget for next year stands at 2.6 million euros – up 27.5% on the year. Mr Michel reportedly spends four times as much as his predecessor.
Barbara Moens: “We too requested the figures. Expensive private flights, beautiful hotels, it’s partly required by the job, but Mr Michel goes pretty far”.
Ms Moens stresses the president’s job is not clearly defined and has often been defined by the person doing the job itself: “Mr Michel is stressing international diplomacy but that’s linked to the war in Ukraine. He believes it’s his core activity but more and more member states are raising eyebrows”.
By concentrating on international diplomacy Mr Michel is also attracting criticism for failing to prepare European council meetings properly and that should be a core activity.
European greens and socialists are eager to grill Mr Michel over his many polluting trips. Still, Barbara Moens doesn’t believe the Belgian should fear for his job. His term only has one year to run and can’t be extended. Nobody plans to defenestrate him but: “What’s happening now is damaging him and his future prospects” says Barbara Moens.