Following the announcement by the current President of the European Council, Charles Michel, that he will head the list of candidates for the Belgian liberal party Reformist Movement at the European elections in June (see other news), the European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, who had at one time mentioned this same ambition, spoke to the Belgian news channel La Première on Monday 8 January.
He explained that he had no regrets about his choice of political party and indicated that he was a “candidate to work at European level”, which is “possible on a list in the European Parliament, but also in other contexts”.
“I said I was available. (European work) can obviously be done in Parliament. It was a possibility. Obviously the choice is different and legitimate. We had several possible candidates: President of the EU Council, Commissioner or MEP”, he explained. “We can continue (to carry out this European work) within the Commission. There are other possible ambitions within the European framework.”
Mr Reynders is therefore also a candidate for the post of Secretary General of the Council of Europe, which is due to be filled in June.
He spoke of his contacts with the representatives of the Member States of the Council of Europe, the Presidency of the Commission and the Belgian Prime Minister. It is now up to the Belgian government to support this candidacy. Mr Reynders was also a candidate in 2019 (see EUROPE 12223/33). (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)