President of the European Council denies excessive spending on his trips

The President of the European Council, Charles-Michelhas denied to the Belgian newspaper “Le Soir” that he incurs “excessive expenses” for his work trips, something that the French newspaper “Le Monde” recently claimed.

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According to “Le Soir”, a spokesperson for Michel has “denied” and put into context the information from the French outlet, which accused the president of the European Council of having significantly increased his budget since he took office and of incurring significant expenses in his transfers.

The Belgian newspaper points out that Michel’s budget in 2024, in the approval process, amounts to 2.6 million euros, 27.5% more than in 2023.

The increase is mainly due to its “intense international activity”, as explained to “Le Monde” by the General Secretariat of the Council, particularly due to the impact of the war on Ukraine.

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The item of travel expenses Charles-Michel and of the delegations that he leads, which include members of the cabinet, protocol personnel, security services and others, it would be around 1.9 million euros, while his predecessors at the head of the Council of the Union spent on average about 500,000 euros.

“Le Monde” indicated in a recent article that Michel wants to have a leading role above all at the international level and that for this he has multiplied the trips he makes, many in private planes.

As for travel expenses for 2024, as explained by “Le Soir” it would be an “estimate” by the administration, which would have operated without consulting Charles-Michel.

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The same medium specifies that, being an electoral year, 2024 will see reduced political and diplomatic activity, which should limit costs.

Lastly, Charles Michel’s spokesman claimed his leading role on the diplomatic scene, “because he is called to preside over the European Council but also to represent the European Union abroad, as provided for in the Treaty of Lisbon”.

An especially relevant role in the context of “the international situation we are experiencing, marked by the war in Ukraine,” added his spokesman.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.