(by enr) Charles Michel, the outgoing president of the European Council, spoke to the European Newsroom (enr) on his two-term mandate, sharing his vision of the EU's future and stressing the need for unity within the bloc.
Ambitious targets.
The President of the European Council Charles Michel is ending his five-year mandate as head of the EU body. In an interview with the European Newsroom (enr) on Thursday, the 48-year-old former Belgian prime minister emphasised the need for innovation, setting ambitious targets and preserving the EU's internal unity.
Investment in technical development and research, cooperation with key regions in the world, as well as nurturing awareness of the EU's potential and values, should play a significant part in strengthening the EU's role on the global stage.
"We have to do everything not to become the museum of the world," said Michel, drawing attention to the need for the EU to become more innovative.
"We have demonstrated with this particular project - the European Union - that we have been able to promote economic development, growth, social cohesion within the EU." More power, more sovereignty and more influence in the world - that's Michel's vision of the EU in the world.
Michel sees the greatest challenges for the future of the EU in economic development and the expansion of European defence capabilities. However, migration is also a collective challenge, according to the Belgian politician.
"Don't lose the support of our people".
Michel believes that the key point in managing and facing the crises and challenges of today is to focus all efforts on keeping the support of the EU citizens - citing matters such as the EU enlargement and the Russian war in Ukraine as examples. He drew attention to the need for good communication with citizens, saying: "We need to explain what we do, and why we are acting that way. We need to explain why we are supporting Ukraine, (…) why we should speed up the efforts to include new member states, why we need to build a new paradigm in terms of defence." "Let's make Ukraine stronger, because that makes us stronger as well".
The EU should continue to support Ukraine militarily and politically in its fight against Russian aggression, Michel said, highlighting the Union's support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's peace plan, which must be based on the founding charter of the United Nations.
He sees the upcoming G20 summit in Brazil as an opportunity for this. In addition, there was a need to continue to support Kyiv militarily, while the EU also needed to increase the capabilities of its defence industry.
According to Michel, a recent survey showed that the EU bought 80 percent of the military equipment it supplied to Ukraine in the United States of America. While he doesn't think the EU should stop buying weapons from the US, he stated that there is a lot of room to strengthen the industrial base in Europe.
The outgoing president of the European Council also emphasised the importance of strengthening European defence capabilities in the light of the presidential elections in the USA, in which current Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and former Republican President Donald Trump will compete on November 5.
"Donald Trump and, before him, Barack Obama, were right when they called on the European NATO allies to allocate two percent of their gross domestic product to defence capabilities," he said.
"It's time to enlarge the European Union's project".
The former Belgian prime minister called for an acceleration of the European Union enlargement process, emphasising the strategic need to integrate countries of the Western Balkans, Ukraine, and other candidate countries into the European family.
The European Council president stressed that the EU must prepare for future enlargement through internal reforms, while maintaining momentum for the accession of candidate countries, which also have significant work ahead of them.
He highlighted that recent geopolitical events, including the war in Ukraine and challenges in the Western Balkans, make the EU's quick response even more critical.
"It is absurd for the EU not to speed up," said Michel, citing the need for greater stability, security, and prosperity in Europe.
According to Michel, the EU is working on a strategic agenda to better prepare for enlargement. This includes addressing financial implications and adjusting decision-making processes to keep the Union effective with a larger number of members.
The longer the EU delays enlargement, Michel warned, the longer the doors are kept open for others to exploit this indecision.
To achieve the goal of integrating new members into the European Union by 2030, the EU must balance internal reforms with the need to support the progress of candidate countries, Michel stated.
"We need to fight against illegal migration and smugglers but also open new possibilities for legal migration". According to Michel, there is greater unity in the European Union on the subject of migration today than there was a few years ago.
"If we [the EU heads of state and government] (…) are not in a position to manage this political challenge, why should people trust us with the other challenges," said the Belgian, who has chaired 46 meetings of EU heads of government for the past five years.
During the 2016 so-called migration crisis, trust among EU leaders on this issue was destroyed, said Michel. "It was total chaos and it took several years to restore trust." It has now been possible to agree on an EU migration and asylum law that will be implemented in the coming months. Michel conceded that not all countries were satisfied with the decision, which was reached by a qualified majority..
"I don't want that my children will depend on who will be the next president of the United States, who will be the president of China, of Russia". Regarding the consequences of the US elections for relations with the EU, he said that there are definitely differences between the two presidential candidates, but at the same time he asked whether the general direction of American foreign policy under the leadership of one or the other would really be as different as some expect.
"We shouldn't think about being afraid because we don't know who will be the next president of the United States" Michel said. "I don't want that my children will depend on who will be the next president of the United States, who will be the president of China, of Russia. I want the fate of my children and great-grandchildren to be in their hands, because in Europe we decide what our future will be," he emphasised.
Charles Michel started his first term as the European Council President on December 1, 2019. In March 2022, he was re-elected for a second term of another 2.5 years. However, this was not the first time he worked with the European Council. In 2014, Michel entered the institution for the first time as a Member of the Council, holding the position of Belgium's Prime Minister.
Having ten years of experience within the institution, he is describing himself as a veteran of the Council.
The European Council unites EU leaders to establish the political direction of the EU. It serves as the highest form of political collaboration among EU nations
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