EU Commission President Leyen's holiday in Greece spark outrage

Ursula von der Leyen went on holiday to Crete as a guest of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his wife Mareva Grabowski.

The President of the European Commission and his wife Heiko von der Leyen were hosted by the Mitsotakis family during a special three-day visit that ended on Monday.

The holiday in Greece has brought criticism.

It is stated that the holiday in question may change Brussels' attitude towards Athens, which is under the spotlight due to the spyware scandal, the migrant boat tragedy and the news of illegal pushback of asylum seekers.

The EU Commission responded to criticism of Leyen's holiday and calls for her resignation.

BRUSSELS IN LINE WITH THE RULES

It was noted that Ursula von der Leyen was the guest of Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis and that the visit was "a personal trip, fully in accordance with the rules".

"This was a personal trip, fully in line with the Commission's guidelines," an EU Commission spokesperson said.

On the other hand, Sophie in 't Veld, an influential MEP in the European Parliament (EP) who called for Leyen's resignation, appealed to the EU Ombudsman to assess whether the visit was in line with EU law.

In 't Veld also announced that she had requested the EP to discuss this visit at the General Assembly, which will reconvene in September.

"A HOLIDAY AT THE PRIME MINISTER'S HOME COULD JEOPARDISE THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS"

In a social media post, the MEP said:

The EU Commission is responsible for the implementation of EU law. It must be impartial.

If the President of the Commission is holidaying at the home of the Prime Minister of a member state, this could jeopardise the Commission's decision-making process.

LEYEN'S RESIGNATION IS DEMANDED

On the other hand, In 't Veld criticised von der Leyen's visit to Crete:

At this time (while von der Leyen is holidaying in Greece) the Commission is conspicuously silent on pushbacks, the investigation into the Greek boat disaster, the wiretapping scandal targeting the opposition party, the unsolved murder of an investigative journalist and the undermining of independent oversight bodies.

While issues concerning Greece and its government are being discussed in the EU Commission, it would be appropriate for von der Leyen to resign.

The criticism of the Dutch MEP, who accused the EU Commission of remaining silent on Greece's violations, was widely reported in the European press.