nl flag go to the original language article
This article has been translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). The news agency is not responsible for the content of the translated article. The original was published by Belga.

Europe “must not become the museum of the world,” warns Charles Michel

by AI | 25.Oct 2024 | Europe in brief AI

Europe is at “a turning point” and “must do everything to avoid becoming the museum of the world,” but “remain master of its own destiny.” This is argued by Charles Michel in the final straight line of his presidency of the European Council. “I do not want my children or grandchildren to become dependent on whoever becomes the next president of the United States, China, or Russia.”

European Council President Charles Michel (Photo: Virginia Mayo/AP/dpa)

When Michel took up the chairmanship of the European Council in 2019, the idea had gained ground that Europe needed to become less dependent on other continents and pursue “strategic autonomy.” “I know there are still challenges, but in that area, we have made more progress over the past five years due to the sequence of crises than in the last thirty years,” Michel confidently states in an interview with The European Newsroom, the partnership of news agencies to which Belga also belongs.

Michel refers, among other things, to the European response to the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, there is still a feeling that European security is in the hands of American voters in swing states, but according to Michel, the European Union should not be afraid to wait and see who becomes the next resident of the White House. “I don’t want my children or grandchildren to become dependent on who the next president of the US or China or Russia will be. I want them to retain control over their destiny because we in Europe decide our own future.”

Michel is also not so sure that a victory of either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris will make a big difference for certain Washington policies in the longer term. He refers, among other things, to protectionism on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and the focus on China. “Of course, there are differences between Trump and Harris, especially in the short term, but are we sure that the orientation in the long term will be so different for relations between the European Union and the United States?”

Charles Michel’s mandate expires at the end of November. From December, the Portuguese former Prime Minister Antonio Costa will take over the chairmanship of the European Council.