BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Charles Michel, the president of the council of European Union leaders, said on Friday he was abandoning his plan to run for a seat in the European Parliament, saying he did not want attacks on his decision to distract from his current mission.
“I will not be a candidate in the European elections. I will devote all my efforts to my current responsibilities with steadfast determination until they come to an end,” Michel said in a lengthy statement posted on his Facebook page.
Michel’s decision earlier this month to run in June’s European Parliament election as a candidate of his Belgian liberal party sparked criticism partly because it meant he would have to leave his current post earlier than planned.
It also raised questions about potential conflicts of interest as he would be running as a party politician in an election campaign at the same time as acting of chairman of a council made up of leaders from different political groups.
“I will always be a fervent advocate of a Europe that is democratic, strong, united and master of its own destiny,” Michel said. “At the end of this mandate, I will reflect on the nature and direction of my future commitments.”
(Reporting by Andrew Gray in Brussels and Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Sabine Siebold and Alex Richardson)
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