23/03/2022 (Agence Europe) – The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, has been in office since December 2019 and is coming to the end of his two and a half year term. He expressed his willingness to continue his mission. On Thursday 24 March, French President Emmanuel Macron, as the representative of the country holding the rotating EU Council Presidency, is expected to ask the other 26 EU leaders about possible alternative candidates and, in the absence of competition, to propose the reappointment of Mr Michel for a mandate that will run until the end of November 2024. The European Council decides on this issue by a qualified majority of Member States. The two previous presidents of the European Council, Belgium’s Herman Van Rompuy (2009-2014) and Poland’s Donald Tusk (2014-2019) each served a five-year term. (MB)