President
Charles Michel (2019-2024)
2023 in images

Scroll down to see the key moments from President
Charles Michel's fourth year in office

Charles Michel (President of the European Council) and Volodymyr Zelenskyy (President of Ukraine) walking towards the family photo during the special European Council

Enlargement

28 August 2023

Enlargement is no longer a dream. It is time to move forward. I believe we must be ready – on both sides – to enlarge by 2030.
Bled Strategic Forum

14 December 2023

Historic. We have agreed to open accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova. This is a powerful political message to our European citizens, to the citizens of the candidate countries and to the rest of the world.
President Michel after the December European Council

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Charles Michel (President of the European Council) gives a doorstep to journalists during the December European Council, below EU countries' flags.
Moldovan, Georgian and Ukrainian flags.
EU and Western Balkans leaders posing for a family photo during the EU-Western Balkans summit on 13 December 2023.

Ukraine

12 July 2023

Ukraine’s security is Europe’s security. The EU’s support for Ukraine is unwavering and we will stand by the Ukrainian people for as long as it takes.
G7 Security Assurance event in Vilnius

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Charles Michel (President of the European Council) speaking at a press conference, next to Volodymyr Zelenskyy (President of Ukraine) with a map of the EU in the background.
Charles Michel (President of the European Council), Volodymyr Zelenskyy (President of Ukraine) and Maia Sandu (President of Moldova) sitting around a table, with EU, Ukrainian and Moldovan flags in the background.
Charles Michel (President of the European Council) talking to two veterans at a Veterans' Rehabilitation Centre in Kyiv.

21 September 2023

Ukraine is a crime scene. The perpetrator is in this very room. You know who you are. And we are all witnesses.
UN General Assembly

Strategic agenda
2024-2029

24 June 2023

Strong, united, strategic. We are charting a path towards a European Union that is more sovereign and more in control of its destiny. For the benefit of our people.
President Michel’s letter on strategic agenda
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Family photo. Standing from left to right: Thérèse Blanchet (Secretary-General of the General Secretariat of the Council), Ulf Kristersson (Prime Minister of Sweden), Evika Siliņa (Prime Minister of Latvia), Charles MICHEL (President of the European Council), Mette Frederiksen (Prime Minister of Denmark), Leo Varadkar (Taoiseach of Ireland), Petteri Orpo (Prime Minister of Finland), Nikolai Denkov (Prime Minister of Bulgaria).
Family photo. Standing from left to right: Mateusz Morawiecki (Prime Minister of Poland), Giorgia Meloni (Prime Minister of Italy), Andrej Plenković (Prime Minister of Croatia), Charles Michel (President of the European Council), Robert Abela (Prime Minister of Malta), Thérèse Blanchet (Secretary-General of the General Secretariat of the Council).
Family photo. Standing from left to right: Luc Frieden (Prime Minister of Luxembourg), António Costa (Prime Minister of Portugal), Charles Michel (President of the European Council), Emmanuel Macron (President of France), Mark Rutte (Prime Minister of the Netherlands), Kaja Kallas (Prime Minister of Estonia).
Family photo. Standing from left to right: Kyriákos Mitsotákis (Prime Minister of Greece), Alexander De Croo (Prime Minister of Belgium), Nikos Christodoulides (President of the Republic of Cyprus), Charles Michel (President of the European Council), Olaf Scholz (Federal Chancellor of Germany), Gitanas Nausėda (President of Lithuania), Viktor Orbán (Prime Minister of Hungary), Karl Nehammer (Federal Chancellor of Austria), Thérèse Blanchet (Secretary-General of the General Secretariat of the Council).

A multilateral world order

21 September 2023

Three proposals: One concerning the right to veto. One concerning representativeness. And one concerning the role of multilateral regional organisations. On those three points, I call for an amendment to the United Nations Charter.
UN General Assembly

10 September 2023

More cooperation. More multilateralism. More fairness. For everyone.
G20 summit

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President Charles Michel addressing the 78th United Nations General Assembly General Debate in New York.
Alberto Fernández (President of Argentina), Ralph Gonsalves (Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Charles Michel (President of the European Council) and Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission) join hands following the press conference of the EU-CELAC summit in Brussels.
Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission), Narendra Modi (Prime Minister of India) and Charles Michel (President of the European Council) hold hands in front of the G20 logo and the EU and Indian flags.

Climate change

19 September 2023

Everyone needs better, faster, fairer and more effective access to financing. Multilateral development banks need reform to get this done. Fighting poverty and climate change can’t wait.
High-level event "Towards a Fair International Financial Architecture" (UNGA)
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World leaders posing for a family photo in front of flags at the UN Climate Change Conference 2023 (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. President Michel speaking at the UN Climate Change Conference 2023 (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, with the COP28UAE green logo in the background.
President Michel speaking at the UN Climate Change Conference 2023 (COP28) in Dubai,
Family photo of leaders holding hands at the International Drought Resilience Alliance Event.

Going big for EU industry

15 January 2023

Europe must remain a continent of production and innovation. We must act smart, fast and on a massive scale to strengthen our economies. It's time to pick up the pace.
Going big for EU industry - Op-ed article by President Charles Michel
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Inside view of the Unilin production site in Wielsbeke, Belgium.

Middle East

8 November 2023

Peace means security, but security does not always mean peace. One without the other only feeds more instability, for both Israelis and Palestinians alike.
President Michel at a European Parliament plenary session
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President Michel speaking at the Cairo Peace Summit in Egypt. Margaritis Schinas (European Commissioner for Promoting the European Way of Life) and Antonio Guterres (United Nations Secretary-General) are sitting on his left.
Charles Michel (President of the European Council), Roberta Metsola (President of the European Parliament), Ursula von der Leyen (President of the European Commission) taking part in the minute’s silence in solidarity with the victims of the terror attacks in Israel.

European security
and defence

30 November 2023

The time has come to create a Union of Defence — coupled with a Defence Single Market.
President Michel at the European Defence Agency annual conference
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Photo collage representing a helmet, the EU stars and an olive branch.
Charles MICHEL (President of the European Council) speaking at the European Defence Agency Annual Conference 2023.
Visit the website of President Charles Michel

Photos/Credits
1. Family photo at the special European Council on 9 February. ©European Union 2023
2. Doorstep by Charles Michel at the European Council on 15 December. ©European Union 2023
3. Moldova, Georgia and Ukraine flags. Photographer Fly Of Swallow Studio ©Shutterstock
4. Family photo at the EU-Western Balkans summit on 13 December 2023. ©European Union 2023
5. Press conference following the EU-Ukraine summit on 3 February 2023. ©European Union 2023
6. Maidan commemorative meeting between President Michel and Presidents Zelenskyy and Sandu. ©European Union 2023
7. President Charles Michel visits the Veterans' Rehabilitation Centre in Kyiv on 19 January 2023. ©European Union 2023
8. Family photo at the leaders' consultation on the strategic agenda in Copenhagen on 14 November 2023. ©European Union 2023
9. Family photo at the leaders' consultation on the strategic agenda in Zagreb on 16 November 2023. ©European Union 2023
10. Family photo at the leaders' consultation on the strategic agenda in Paris on 28 November 2023. ©European Union 2023
11. Family photo at the leaders' consultation on the strategic agenda in Berlin on 13 November 2023. ©European Union 2023
12. Address by President Charles Michel to the 78th United Nations General Assembly General Debate in New York on 21 September 2023. ©European Union 2023
13. Press conference following the EU-CELAC summit in Brussels. ©European Union 2023
14. President Michel and President von der Leyen meet the Prime Minister of India at G20 summit on 10 September 2023. ©European Union 2023
15. Family photo at the UN Climate Change Conference 2023 (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 1 December 2023. ©European Union 2023
16. President Michel speaking at the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 1 December 2023. ©European Union 2023
17. Family photo at the International Drought Resilience Alliance Event ©European Union 2023
18. Inside view of the Unilin production site in Wielsbeke, Belgium. Photographer: Claudio Centonze ©European Union 2022
19. Opening remarks by President Michel at the Cairo Peace Summit on 21 October 2023 in Egypt. ©European Union 2023
20. President Michel takes part in the minute’s silence in solidarity with the victims of the terror attacks in Israel, on 11 October 2023 in Brussels. ©European Union 2023
21. Photo collage representing a helmet, the EU stars and an olive branch. ©European Union 2023
22. President Michel speaking at the European Defence Agency Annual Conference 2023 ©European Union 2023

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