Michel Again Slams von der Leyen: ‘Not Up to the Task’
Former European Council President Charles Michel has renewed his sharp public criticism of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, saying she is “not up to the challenges” facing the European Union and accusing her of focusing too much on “superficial communication.” The remarks, made in an interview with the broadcaster RTL and reported by the Belgian outlet Het Laatste Nieuws, were published on Tuesday, the eve of von der Leyen’s annual State of the Union address to the European Parliament.
Michel, who was succeeded as Council president by António Costa at the end of 2024, insisted that his criticism does not stem from the difficult personal relationship he and von der Leyen shared at the top of the EU between 2019 and 2024. He argued instead that his assessment is now shared more widely.
“That shows there is no question of personal animosity,” he said.
Criticism of the US trade response
Michel also took aim at the way the EU responded to the trade deal imposed by US President Donald Trump, saying Europe had failed to stand firm.
“I find it sad that the Europeans have shown so much weakness,” he said. “The European Commission bears a particularly large responsibility in this.”
That criticism echoes long-running European discontent over the EU-US trade arrangement announced by Trump and von der Leyen in July 2025, which was widely contested in countries such as France.
A relationship marked by conflict
The latest broadside adds to a pattern of public attacks by Michel on the Commission president throughout 2026. In a magazine interview with The Brussels Times in April, he accused von der Leyen and the Commission of an “authoritarian governance” style and of a “power grab,” warning that “today, the Commission is trying to take control. That’s not in line with the treaty.”
Days later, Michel publicly criticized von der Leyen for grouping Turkey with Russia and China as a geostrategic threat, prompting a fresh clash between the two old rivals. He defended Ankara as “a core NATO ally, a key migration partner, an energy corridor, a major defense actor on Europe’s flank, and a serious regional power.”
The bad blood between the pair is long documented. Their relationship never recovered from the April 2021 “Sofagate” incident in Ankara, when only two chairs were set out for a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Michel took a seat beside his host, leaving von der Leyen to sit on a nearby sofa. The episode caused international outcry; von der Leyen later said she believed she was treated that way because she is a woman, while Michel said protocol had been followed.
An institutional tug-of-war
Michel’s critiques touch on a deeper, structural debate over the balance of power between the European Council, which represents member states, and the European Commission, the EU executive. By accusing the Commission of encroaching on prerogatives that belong to the Council and member states, Michel positions his attacks as an institutional argument rather than a personal one.
The timing intensifies the political impact. Von der Leyen is due to deliver her State of the Union speech on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, between 09:00 and 11:50 CEST at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, according to the European Commission. The annual address is the Commission president’s main opportunity to set out the Union’s priorities for the year ahead.
What to watch
Michel’s intervention lands as the Commission president prepares to make her case for the year ahead in the face of sustained scrutiny over transparency and her grip on the EU agenda. Whether the criticism resonates beyond Brussels remains an open question: Michel asserts that his analysis is now shared by more people, a claim that has not been independently verified.
What is clear is that the feud between two of the EU’s most senior figures shows little sign of fading, and it will hang in the air as von der Leyen steps up to deliver the bloc’s most closely watched speech of the year.