The mystery of the most important professions is not easy to solve, warns Charles Michel

Before making way for his successor, Charles Michel will need to negotiate an agreement on the next leadership team of the Commission, the European Council and the European Parliament, as well as the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs.

“I have the humble feeling that I’m not the only one who thinks it won’t be easy,” he said in a media interview attended by Euronews.

Michel does not believe that Ursula von der Leyen’s return as the head of the Commission will be easy due to the uncertainty about the composition of Parliament after the European Parliament elections scheduled for June 6-9.

“I am very cautious about the polls, but the most likely (scenario) is that no party will gain an absolute majority in the European Parliament,” he said.

Finding the political, geographic and gender balance among top job candidates is another tough nut to crack for EU leaders, although Michel warns that “the principle of balance is not in itself an exact science.”

He stated that it was preferable to agree on the names of leaders by consensus, but the President of the European Council did not rule out the use of qualified majority voting, in line with the provisions of the treaties.

The next steps in this process will be an informal dinner on 17 June, during which EU leaders will consider jobs in the light of the EU election results, setting the stage for the official European Council meeting on 27-28 June.

According to Michel, the leaders consulted so far agreed that it was crucial to reach a final decision on key EU positions by the end of June, so that Parliament could vote on the matter as soon as possible at its meeting in July.

Michel did not name any names, but said he would prefer the future president of the Commission to be “more impartial”, citing Art. 17 of the Treaty on EU (TEU), which defines the role of the executive as guardian of the treaties.

He mentioned infringement proceedings and the Commission’s position on the conflict in Gaza as examples of the potential politicization of the EU executive.

“What is the risk? That those who fight integration with the EU take advantage of this to create the impression that there are double standards,” he added

“The more the Commission is impartial and (acts as) guardian of the treaties, the more we can exert a serious influence and defend our interests,” he said.

Elsewhere in the interview, the Council President warned against proposals to reform the EU Treaty in the short or medium term, arguing that it would be a “silly mistake” to divert attention from Europe’s competitiveness to transforming institutional powers.

“The potential of the Lisbon Treaty is not being fully exploited,” he said, adding that not using the existing potential could result in greater efficiency at the EU level.