The Diplomat
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, has announced that he will stand for election to the European Parliament in June and will step down from his current post if elected, as required by the compatibility regime.
“I have decided to stand as a candidate for the European elections in 2024,” the former Belgian prime minister announced yesterday in an interview with the dailies De Standaard, Le Soir and La Libre.
“If elected, I would be sworn in around mid-July. Until then I will carry out my work as President of the European Council, which can anticipate this situation around the end of June or the beginning of July to decide on a successor,” he said.
Michel will campaign at the head of the list of the liberal Belgian Reformist Movement (MR) for the elections on 9 June, a decision he has taken given the crucial importance that, in his opinion, these elections have for the future of the European Union.
“The European project is at a crossroads and the legitimacy of European democracy needs to be boosted,” he said. “I want to be part of the team that is building this European project and I am standing here to continue to serve it,” he said.
Michel, who took office in 2019, said he would campaign “according to the codes of conduct” of his position, which specialises in coordinating summits of EU heads of state and government.
