The head of the European Council, Charles Michel, has an excessive addiction to private jet flights, including for short trips, writes Le Monde. As a result, his trips are too expensive and harm the environment.
After the end of the restrictions due to Covid-19, the President of the European Council has become a real traveler, writes the newspaper. He visited New York, Beijing, Phnom Penh, Johannesburg, Doha, Tokyo and, of course, European capitals.
Diplomats and civil servants of the European institutions are irritated by the expensive trips of the former Belgian Prime Minister. The specialized press on European affairs, which Michel and his entourage anxiously read every morning, regularly repeats this criticism. The Le Monde survey confirms the leader’s massive increase in spending and its massive use of private jets, which are also very costly in terms of carbon footprint.
The 2024 budget of the President of the European Council will be 2.6 million euros. This is 27.5% more than in 2023. This growth is mainly due to Michel’s “intense international activity”, according to a March 1 document from the General Secretariat of the Council, which specifically refers to the aftermath of the war in Ukraine.
“We must explain to third countries our sanctions against Moscow and fight Putin’s propaganda,” commented the entourage of the European official on the situation.
At a meeting on March 9, nine countries, including Germany, Italy and Poland, nevertheless asked for clarification on this increase.
Michel and the delegations he will take with him are expected to travel 1.985 million euros next year. The official is accompanied by staff, protocol, security, public relations and a photographer. Travel costs are more than a third higher than in the 2023 budget. In the time of his predecessors, Herman Van Rompuy (2010-2014) and Donald Tusk (2014-2019), these expenses did not exceed 500 thousand euros with a total budget of less than one million. Inflation alone cannot explain this surge, the publication concludes.
Earlier, Charles Michel said that the leaders of EU countries have agreed on measures to tackle the energy crisis. Officials agreed to work together on measures to curb rising energy prices for households and businesses.
Le Monde: Council chief spends too much money on air travel
