Declaration following up on the revelation regarding Charles Michel’s journeys by private jets

Brussels 14 April 2023

It is with astonishment and incomprehension that we learned that the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, was accustomed, to the point of abuse, to travel by private jet. Certainly, there has been no shortage of news over the past 24 months that could justify exceptional emergency travels, particularly with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. But from the exceptional to the abusive, there is only one step that the President of the Council has largely crossed. The figures speak for themselves. Where the travel budget of his predecessors hovered around 500,000 euros per year … The envelope allocated to Charles Michel might reach 2 million euros in 2024.

This budget explosion deserves clarification, by using private jets, the President favors the most polluting and CO2-emitting means of transportation. According to the press, Charles Michel will have taken the train only three times in 2022. Even to go to Paris, which is 1h20 from Brussels by Thalys train, Mr. Michel prefers to go there with an official car.

At a time when the European Union is fully and firmly committed to carbon neutrality by 2050, Charles Michel’s habits are not in line with history. To achieve a massive and sustainable reduction of our environmental impact, in addition to regulate, we will also have to change our habits. The duty of European leaders is therefore to be exemplary.

We therefore demand for an independent audit to be conducted on the travels of all European leaders who use private jets, especially on their emergency nature and the absence of green alternatives. Rail must now be the rule in terms of transport because of its low carbon footprint.

It is time to put into practice the words and actions of our institutions and their leaders to make the environmental transition a reality for all.

Karima Delli, Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA
Jakop Dalunde , Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA
Pär Holmgren, Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA
Alice Kuhnke, Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA
Alviina Alametsä, Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA
Tilly Metz, Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA
Anna Deparnay-Grunenberg, Member of the European Parliament, Greens/
EFA
Jutta Paulus, Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA
Ignazio Corrao, Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA
Ciaran Cuffe, Member of the European Parliament, Greens/EFA