Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, has thrown Brussels a curveball.
The 48-year-old former Belgian prime minister has announced that he will stand as a candidate in the European parliamentary election in June, meaning he will be quitting his current job early. If he’s elected in June, he will take up his seat in July and step down six months before the end of his term. And Michel getting a seat in the European Parliament is almost guaranteed.
For his long-time critics, the move is evidence that he was never truly committed to his role at the Council. For other EU players, the main concern will be timing: unless Michel is replaced quickly, his premature departure will hand extra power to Hungary’s eurosceptic leader, Viktor Orbán.
