Belgian Charles Michel was reappointed as President of the European Council on Thursday March 24 for a second term of two and a half years, the Council announced. The 46-year-old former Belgian Prime Minister was unanimously re-elected by the EU Heads of State and Government forming the European Council, meeting for a summit devoted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This renewal was expected, no other candidate having presented itself. This French-speaking liberal, experienced in the exercise of compromise and who took office on December 1, 2019, has his term extended until November 30, 2024.
This function, which became permanent following the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, was occupied before him by another Belgian, Herman Van Rompuy, and by the Pole Donald Tusk. Both had also been reappointed for a second term. The role of the President of the European Council is to prepare and lead the summits of EU Heads of State and Government. It also ensures the external representation of the EU at the level of Heads of State and Government.
To his credit, Charles Michel can point to the agreement reached in the summer of 2020 at the end of a four-day, four-night marathon summit on a massive European recovery plan to deal with the Covid-19 crisis, financed for the first time by common borrowing.