Charles Michel has become the latest EU figure to criticize the Commission president\u2019s leadership style<\/p>\n
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has turned EU governance into a \u201csuper authoritarian\u201d system, former European Council President Charles Michel has said, accusing her of overstepping her mandate.
\nMichel, who worked alongside von der Leyen for five years from 2019 until 2024, has become the latest figure to criticize her leadership style.
\n\u201cThere is a super authoritarian governance,\u201d he said in an interview with The Brussels Times on Monday. \u201c[The European] commissioners have absolutely no role anymore.\u201d\u00a0
\nUnder EU treaties, the 27 commissioners collectively propose laws, enforce treaties, and manage the EU budget, while the president sets political guidelines and allocates portfolios. Von der Leyen has been accused of concentrating power in her own office, reducing commissioners to little more than administrators.<\/p>\n
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Michel, a former Belgian prime minister, said his inability to work with von der Leyen was unprecedented. \u201cNever in the past had I faced this level of difficulty in terms of collaboration with a colleague. Never,\u201d he said.
\nTensions between the bloc\u2019s top officials spilled into the public during the so-called \u201cSofagate\u201d incident in Ankara in April 2021, when Michel took the only available chair next to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leaving von der Leyen without a seat and forcing her onto a sofa. At the time, von der Leyen suggested sexism was at play.
\n\u201cThe protocol was perfectly respected,\u201d Michel insisted. \u201cThe Commission decided to instrumentalize this incident to try to grab more power\u2026 and to get involved in things that are not [its] responsibility.\u201d\u00a0
\nVon der Leyen has also reportedly proposed creating a new intelligence cell that would bypass the EU\u2019s existing intelligence center, while seeking to concentrate authority at the expense of the bloc\u2019s diplomatic service.<\/p>\n
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Former and current EU officials have levelled similar complaints against von der Leyen. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas reportedly described her as a \u201cdictator.\u201d Kallas\u2019 predecessor Josep Borrell said she \u201csystematically exceeded\u201d her powers in shaping foreign policy. Former Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton accused her of \u201cquestionable governance\u201d and of going behind his back to force him out.
\nVon der Leyen\u2019s presidency has been shadowed by controversy. The so-called \u201cPfizergate\u201d affair, involving undisclosed text messages between her and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla raised questions about transparency. In January, she survived a fourth no-confidence vote in the European Parliament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Charles Michel has become the latest EU figure to criticize the Commission president\u2019s leadership style European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has turned EU governance into a \u201csuper authoritarian\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33623,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t