Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
Members of the European Parliament will discuss spending on the travels of the President of the Council of the Union, the Belgian Charles Michel, and that, based on a request for clarification, will be submitted by both the Green Party and the Socialist Party
  According to European media reports on Tuesday and carried by the Belgian news agency, which added, "The French newspaper Le Monde reported that the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, is being criticized for "exorbitant travel expenses." The European Parliament is calling for an explanation of the exorbitant costs.
The total budget of the President of the European Council is estimated at 2.6 million euros for 2024, an increase of 27.5 percent compared to 2023. The travel expenses of the former Belgian Prime Minister and his entourage (including members of his office and security services) are already 1.985 million euros.
  Those numbers are more than a third higher than in 2023 and almost four times what his predecessors Donald Tusk and Herman Van Rompuy previously spent.
According to Le Monde, the significant increase in costs is due in part to Michel's travel on a private jet.
Michel's spokesman denied "any extravagant spending" and said the rules were being followed "transparently". He attributed the use of private planes to the fact that while member states have their own planes, the European Union does not.
Michel's spending is likely to be discussed in the European Parliament, where the Socialist and Green parties will demand "clarification".