The Hungarian government has urged European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to withdraw Frans Timmermans from the position of first deputy chairman of the EU executive during the campaign for the European parliamentary elections in May, as the Dutch politician was named head of list of European socialists to succeed Juncker, according to Agerpres.
Gergely Gulyas, Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s head of office, sent a letter to Jean-Claude Juncker, pointing out that the European Union executive was represented in the recent debate in the European Parliament on the state of law in Hungary by Frans Timmermans.
“We are sorry to see, however, that Mr. Timmermans, a constant critic of Hungary, did not hesitate to use his intervention as an opportunity for his own electoral campaign, echoing the statements of the Hungarian left-wing opposition,” Gulyas said letter.
According to the Hungarian official, European commissioners should exercise their duties “in complete independence, integrity, dignity, loyalty and discretion”, respecting the Code of Conduct of the European Commission.
“We believe that these principles must be applied in all circumstances, especially during electoral campaigns,” Gergely Gulyas said in a letter to the EC President demanding that Frans Timmermans be on unpaid leave throughout the campaign period for the European Parliament elections.
Timmermans was also criticized by Poland, who claims that he has violated the European Commission’s Code of Conduct by using his work telephone to post messages about his campaign on Twitter.
Source: Flux24 (Translation TFP)
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