Charles Michel je sicer v intervjuju za The Brussels Times zelo diplomatski, je pa nanizal nekaj direktov. Spodaj je kratek povzetek direktov, celoten pogovor je dostopen tukaj.

Former European Council President and former Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel has attacked Ursula Von der Leyen and accused the European Commission of a power grab in a new interview with The Brussels Times.

Indeed, Michel sharply criticises the European Commission, accusing it of overreaching its powers while sidelining certain commissioners, accusing von der Leyen of “authoritarian governance”.

“Today, the Commission is trying to take control. That’s not in line with the treaty.”

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On the broader breakdown of cooperation with von der Leyen, he is more measured. From early in their joint term, he says, he found it almost impossible to establish a functional working relationship. His proposal for regular, in-person coordination meetings on international affairs – designed to ensure the EU spoke with a unified voice – was, he says, “systematically refused” by von der Leyen.

“I have my own opinion about her personality,” he says carefully, “and it’s not my intention to make a comment today about personalities.” A beat. “But I can tell you: never in the past had I faced this level of difficulty in terms of collaboration with a colleague. Never. It’s not about personality. It’s about the substance of the European project.”

As for her leadership, Michel is scathing. “There is a super authoritarian governance,” he says. “Commissioners have absolutely no role anymore.” The fundamental error, in his view, is misunderstanding the job. “She is supposed to work on the defence of the single market. Nothing has been done. She is supposed to work on the financial markets. Nothing has been done,” he says. “In this field, the result is zero, and that is a tragedy.”

He pauses. “I’m severe. I’m cruel. Because I saw it from the inside.”

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“Everyone knows and has seen how the Commission decided to instrumentalise this incident to try to grab more power, more institutional power, and to get involved in things that are not the responsibility of the Commission,” he says.

He sees it as part of a broader pattern: the Commission attempting to extend its reach into areas reserved for the Council. Defence, external representation, the External Action Service (EEAS). “Today, the Commission is trying to take control. That’s not in line with the treaty.”

As relations frayed, it led to chaotic splits. When the EU leadership was negotiating with the UK on post-Brexit ties, both Michel’s office and the Commission sent separate invitations to a meeting with then-British Prime Minister Boris Johnson – prompting Michel’s chief of staff to quit his post.

At the time, German media, like Der Spiegel, said he was engaged in “a grotesque power struggle” with von der Leyen. Michel singles out Politico (owned by Germany’s Axel Springer) for its trenchant criticism. “Unfortunately, there is a powerful media in this bubble called Politico. systematically acting as an agent to destabilise, to use gossip to try to put me on the defensive,” he says.