Name? Charles Michel
Westphalian identity? Belgian
Age? 44
Why is he in the news? We know this is the third Daily about the EU in a row and we promise it will be the last one on this summit. European leaders finally reached an agreement this morning about the 1,8 trillion euro budget of which 1,054 trillion euros are for the next 6 years and 750 billion are designated for the Corona relief package.
Why do we care? Throughout July we have been highlighting the work of von der Leyen, Merkel and Macron. While they all had a huge impact on this summit content wise; pushing for this 1,8 trillion euro budget, President of the European Council Michel has been the key figure in finding common ground between European nations.
Why should you care? Because it is finally over! The world may now move on to real (armed) conflicts and not this boring diplomacy which determines the next 6 years in Europe and the entire fate of the overall project.
Who else cares? Ursula von der Leyen! With this budget, her Commission wins a lot more influence in Europe. She will be able to take out money from the markets and control its allocation in the EU. The only institution able to monitor this will be an expert commission instituted by Charles Michel.
Any further comments? Lucky us, all European parliaments and the European Parliament itself are on break right now and will not return for a while. Because this agreement today is not final yet, all national parliaments, as well as the European Parliament, still need to agree to it. While the budget itself does not face any serious opposition from any parliament, the clause about the rule of law Michel emphasised still needs to pass through the Polish and the Hungarian Parliaments; countries without any problems when it comes to the rule of law…
