Yuri Kobzar22:54, 01/07/24

The President of the European Council may resign in the summer, but a successor has not yet been elected.

The pro-Russian leader of Hungary, Viktor Orban, will not be able to lead the European Council if its current president, Charles Michel, resigns. The EU has enough time to choose another successor. Michel himself told reporters about this on Sunday, writes Reuters .

“I want to make it clear that in any case a decision on my successor must be made in June, and a decision on [my transition to the European] Parliament will be in July, so it is easy for the [European] Council to decide whether to appoint my successor to the position,” – assured Charles Michel.

He noted that the European Council “has many tools” to avoid Viktor Orban as president of this structure.

Possible resignation of Charles Michel and “promotion” of Viktor Orban 

The European Council is the highest political governing body of the European Union, which consists of the leaders (presidents or prime ministers) of all EU member states. It is the European Council that makes strategic decisions about what the policy of the European Union as a whole will be and in what direction the bloc will move.

In addition to the leaders of the EU member states, the European Council also includes a “neutral” person – the President of the European Council, who does not directly represent any of the countries. He acts as a moderator at meetings of the European Council, and is also responsible for all organizational issues related to the work of the European Council.

On January 6, the current president of the European Council, known for his tough pro-Ukrainian position, announced his intention to run for the European Parliament , another EU structure responsible for creating EU “laws.” If Michel gets into the European Parliament, he will have to leave the post of President of the European Council early. This will happen precisely at a time when Hungary will hold a rotating EU presidency. According to the rules, the head of the state presiding over the EU also performs the duties of the President of the European Council if he is unable to do so. That is, in this case, this structure can be headed by Viktor Orban.

(C)UNIAN 2024