The European Union summit has been postponed for a week because EU Council President Charles Michel has gone into quarantine after a close collaborator was diagnosed with COVID-19.
Spokesman Barend Leyts said Tuesday that Michel “today learned that a security officer, with whom he was in close contact early last week, tested positive for COVID."
Leyts said that the European Council chief is “respecting Belgian rules" and "he has gone into quarantine as of today."
European Council President Charles Michel, wearing a protective face mask, arrives ahead of a video conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020. (Aris Oikonomou, Pool via AP)
The summit set for Thursday and Friday was to address issues as wide-ranging as Brexit negotiations, climate change and the tensions between Greece and Turkey over energy rights.
Preparations for the meeting were already in full swing when Michel made the sudden announcement. He postponed the summit by one week, to Oct. 1-2.
Live summits with the leaders of EU nations coming to Brussels only resumed over the summer. Throughout the spring, they met through video conferences while staying in their own capitals.
European Council President Charles Michel speaks during a video conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the European Council building in Brussels, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020. (Aris Oikonomou, Pool via AP)
The postponement is a setback to the EU leaders' hope for a return to normalcy