The former head of the European Council criticizes von der Leyen for the “super-authoritarian management style” of the EC

Former head of the European Council, Charles Michel, in an interview for the Brussels website Brussels Times, criticized the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, for her “super-authoritarian management style”. In his opinion, under her rule, the EC is acting inconsistently with EU treaties.

As the Brussels Times recalled, the relationship between Michel and von der Leyen was one of the most discussed topics in Brussels political life. They were both appointed to their positions at the EU summit in July 2019 and seemed friendly towards each other during their first meetings.

They appeared together at press conferences as the EU grappled with the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. However, relations quickly deteriorated, especially during the July 2020 summit, when EU leaders agreed a €750 billion pandemic aid package.

The symbolic moment of their bad relationship was the “Sofagate” scandal, which happened in April 2021when the two were in Ankara for a summit with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Video footage of the event shows them being led into a room with only two large armchairs, one of which is clearly intended for Erdogan.

Michel quickly took the second seat, leaving von der Leyen stunned and sitting on the sofa. The confusion surrounding the incident became a symbol of their bad relationship, which went much deeper than a matter of seating protocol.

Michel in an interview with the Brussels Times published on Monday accused the Commission of using this event politically.

“Everyone knows and has seen how the Commission decided to use this incident to try to gain more power, more institutional power and get involved in matters that are not its responsibility,” he said. As he assessed, the Commission is trying to expand its influence into areas reserved for the European Council – defense and external policy.

“Today the Commission is trying to take control over this. It is inconsistent with the treaty,” he emphasized.

He noted that his proposal for regular coordination meetings on international affairs to ensure the EU spoke with one voice was “systematically rejected by von der Leyen.”

“I have my own opinion about her personality,” he said, adding that he did not intend to “comment on her personality.” After a while, however, he said that he had “never encountered such great difficulties in cooperation before.”

The former head of the European Council also criticized von der Leyen for her “super-authoritarian management style.” “Commissioners no longer have absolutely no role (in the PAP European Commission),” he added.

According to him, the basic problem is that the head of the European Commission misunderstands her role. In Michel's opinion, it should be responsible for protecting the common market and financial markets, but it has not done anything specific in these matters.

From Brussels Łukasz Osiński (PAP)

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