Former president of the European Council, Charles Michel, has derided European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s Rearm Europe plan, saying it was “insufficient” and “late”.
According to Michel, von der Leyen had merely engaged in “announcement politics” when revealing the proposal on March 4.
Speaking to Belgian newspapers Le Soir and De Standaard ahead of the Special European Council defence summit on March 6, he also said the financial instrument was worth only a fraction of what was declared.
“It is late, insufficient, and announcement politics – two days before the European summit. What seems impressive at first glance is in reality too lightweight. It concerns a new financial instrument of €150 billion, not €800 billion,” Michel said.
“Given the massive investments required, this is insufficient. Moreover, it comes too late — we have been urging the Commission for two years to present financing options and facilitate a democratic debate among member states.
“The Commission has done nothing for the wrong reasons, which probably relate to the extension of a mandate [von der Leyen’s as EC president] and elections in another European country,” he said.
“This letter from the Commission is a marginal epiphenomenon. It should be about the recapitalisation of the European Investment Bank and the development of a capital market. And in that respect, the letter remains vague, while now is the time when it must happen.”
Michel, who had a strained relationship with von der Leyen when serving as European Council chief, noted: “Politicians and political observers laughed at me when, five years ago in my first speech as President of the European Council, I spoke about the EU’s strategic autonomy. We have made progress. But in the coming months, it’s time for decisive steps.”
Council President Charles Michel and EC President Ursula von der Leyen enjoy tearing strips off each other in the public sphere.
Read more at https://t.co/AURfGtBCsK pic.twitter.com/1BnX9AIg5C
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) October 6, 2023
He said he was surprised that US President Donald Trump’s policies have only recently caused widespread concern.
“In recent years, there have been enough warning signs, starting with president Barack Obama saying that the US priority lay with the Indo-Pacific and competition with China.
“At the NATO summit in Brussels in 2018, Donald Trump endangered the very existence of NATO. And there was the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan, without much consultation with the Europeans,” he said.
Michel said the European Union should now take its fate into its own hands in two areas – economic development and defence.
“We must now face reality and not see it as we would like it to be,” he said.
“We are experiencing a moment of truth without precedent for the European continent since the launch of the European project.
“This is not the moment for shortsighted accountants – with all due respect to accountants. This is the moment for European leaders, especially for the members of the G7. Their unity will be important for the future of Europe,” Michel stated.
He added that Trump appeared determined to make peace with Russian President Vladimir Putin, referring to the public spat the US President had with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently in the Oval Office.
He said that incident, in his eyes, seemed “orchestrated to prepare the American public for the idea that there is one person who wants peace at all costs, and another person who does not want peace, via the simplistic formula of reality TV”.
Michel stressed, though: “It should be about the question of what peace is acceptable. Because that peace must guarantee the security of the coming decades and be based on robust security guarantees.”
He described Trump as “an opportunity for Europe”.
“There are two types of Europeans: Those who know there is a problem but don’t want to address it and those who have long been saying there is a problem and advocate for more European sovereignty, like myself and French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Over the past five years, that group has grown larger. Now, denial is no longer possible. And we know what we need to do. I have some advice ready,” Michel said.
According to him, there was an urgent need to reduce regulation to strengthen the EU’s economic base, noting that “the principle of precaution in Europe has become a principle of general suspicion”.
He also said encouraging investments on the European capital market so that European companies could grow and become major international players was now crucial.
“Today, the American economy is financed with billions of European savings, at the expense of our economy,” Michel said.
He added that EU member states must recapitalise the already powerful European Investment Bank.
“I am pragmatic: Let it happen voluntarily – those who participate will have more influence. That will encourage hesitant countries to join as well. And it is politically easier to achieve than issuing euro bonds again, even though I am in favour of that,” he said.
Regarding security and defence, Michel advocated for an expanded European defence union, beyond the institutional frameworks of the EU.
He praised Macron’s idea of a European Political Community made up of the 27 EU members and other countries such as the UK, Norway and Turkey, calling it “visionary”.
Michel also pointed out that, by the end of 2023, less than 30 per cent of the €730 billion from the Covid recovery fund had been spent.
He said what he called big bureaucracy should not be making decisions on military-spending minutia. He pleaded for some countries to take charge of defence sectors and organise grouped markets, “so that our European companies can enter into long-term contracts.
“That’s what they’re asking for to invest in production.”
A “politically weak” European Council President Charles Michel has left the “fanatic” and “ambitious” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to run Brussels, Dutch Euro MP @MPHoogeveen told our studio. https://t.co/9G9v9Ktbcy
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 2, 2024
