Europe has slipped into its annual summer lull.
Brussels has emptied out, national parliaments are in recess, and politicians are looking to make the most of the rare opportunity to step away from the demands of public office.
But for Europe’s political class, switching off can be harder than it looks.
Europe’s crises haven’t disappeared. Russia’s continued bombardment of Ukraine, political tensions in the Middle East, economic uncertainty and wildfires that have ravaged several European countries continue to loom over governments, even as politicians seek to unwind.
Leaders find themselves measuring the length and extravagance of their escapes with particular care to avoid public fallout.
Here’s where some of Europe’s most notable leaders are spending their summer breaks.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
The European Commission chief has not revealed where she is spending her summer break, but on 5 August wished her Instagram followers a good and restful holiday, sporting a pair of sunglasses.
A Commission spokesperson told Euronews that the President, “while currently spending some time with her family, remains in constant contact with her team in Brussels” as well as her team of Commissioners.
“While family time is important, she always follows all critical matters closely, remains fully engaged, and intervenes directly whenever needed,” the spokesperson added, explaining that the President already has official engagements scheduled for next week.
Von der Leyen is known to spend time away from official duties at her family home near Hanover, located on a farm where she keeps horses and has also spoken of raising hens and goats.
In August, she posted a video from the farm in which she introduces a hen named Chikeletta, asking her followers to suggest names for her two newly adopted chicks.
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In the past, however, the Commission President’s choice of summer holidays have sparked controversy, with her August 2023 summer retreat at Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ Cretan property sparking sharp criticism.
The EU’s top watchdog, the European Ombudsman, later said that the free-of-charge retreat revealed a “structural shortcoming” in EU ethics rules, and that the “incomprehensible” year-long delay in responding to complaints amounted to maladministration.
French President Emmanuel Macron
The French President is spending time at his official residence of Fort de Brégançon on the Côte d'Azur along with his wife, Brigitte Macron.
It’s the last summer for Macron as head of state, and the venue been the site of several high level visits during his presidency (he even hosted Russian President Vladimir Putin there back in 2019).
He has already been spotted and photographed on a jet ski, prompting critics to accuse him of being disconnected from people’s daily struggles.
Yet Élysée officials are briefing French media that the President remains active politically despite his distance from Paris.
On Monday, Macron met mayors of the towns affected by the wildfires that have ravaged the Gironde region in recent weeks, while his Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has cut his holiday short to visit the affected area.
Macron has also been keeping up his telephone diplomacy while on his retreat, holding calls with Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman, as well as Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi.
Spain’s Pedro Sánchez
Another European leader grappling with a crisis over the summer break is Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, whose government has been forced to deal with the mass entry of around 80,000 migrants to the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in late July.
Since the outbreak of the crisis and his visit to the enclave on July 31, the Spanish Prime Minister has switched his Madrid office for his official residence of La Mareta on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, and according to Spanish media has been conducting official duties from there since 1 August.
Sánchez has interrupted his holidays to hold virtual meetings over the situation in Ceuta, including a ministerial meeting held on Monday.
The government acknowledges that the situation in Ceuta is yet to return to normality, and estimates that around 8,000 migrants who crossed in late July remain in the enclave, with around 5,000 thought to be eligible to seek asylum or protection.
Sanchez’s critics, notably from the opposition Popular Party, have slammed the image of normality projected by the Prime Minister at a time of crisis.
Italy’s Giorgia Meloni
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is choosing to spend her holidays along with her nine-year-old daughter and sister on the Adriatic coast in Italy’s region of Puglia.
According to Italian media, Meloni could also be joined at a farmhouse in the Brindisi area by friends as well as close allies from her hard-right Brothers of Italy party.
The region on Italy’s heel was also Meloni’s choice of venue when she hosted G7 leaders for a summit two years ago. With the exception of Emmanuel Macron, none of the six leaders she hosted back then are still in post, a reminder of the tumultuous nature of world politics.
Meloni herself faces a crunch election next year. If she does remain in post into the second half of 2027, she could break the record of the Italian head of government with the longest continuous tenure in office.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, currently facing low approval ratings, is reportedly taking a short break with his wife Charlotte in Germany, with the Chancellery revealing no further details about his plans.
But, a spokesperson told German media that the Chancellor is “always on duty, always available” and using the downtime to prepare for the September return.
The embattled Chancellor – who is a Roman Catholic — has taken a copy of Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical on artificial intelligence, Magnifica humanitas, with him on his break according to reporting by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
The encyclical warns of the risks of the technology and calls for it to serve humanity and protect human dignity.
The choice offers a rare glimpse into the Chancellor’s activities beyond his official duties, and could provide a taster of the global issues he is eager to deal with when the legislative term restarts.
Merz, a pro-business Conservative, has in the past suggested EU regulation is becoming a straightjacket for AI innovation.
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