Who Will Lead the European Council if Michel Resigns?

The Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, could temporarily lead the European Council if the current president of the organization, Charles Michel, resigns. This was reported by Politico.

Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, has stated to three Belgian media outlets that he will run as a candidate in the European Parliament elections scheduled for June. Michel's representative confirmed this information to Politico.

If elected, Michel plans to be in the European Parliament by mid-July, which means that EU leaders will need to reach a swift agreement on his successor at the European Council. If this does not succeed, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose country will assume the presidency of the EU Council in July, will lead the meetings, playing the mediator's role typically taken on by the head of the European Council.

The report notes, “This is the scenario of Orbán's unchecked power in the European Parliament immediately after the 2024 European elections, which many of the other 26 leaders in the EU would like to avoid, given the rising tensions between them and Orbán, particularly regarding support for Ukraine and Hungary's violations in the rule of law.”

It is worth reminding that it was previously reported that Charles Michel would leave the position of President of the European Council.