European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans has said he wants to become the next Dutch prime minister and will contest a parliamentary election in the Netherlands later this year.
The four-party coalition government of Prime Minister Mark Rutte resigned earlier this month after failing to reach an agreement on restricting immigration, triggering a vote on 22 November.
Mr Timmermans - who is the European Union's Commissioner for Climate Action - formally announced his candidacy to lead the ticket for Labour and Green Left parties, which are joining forces in a bid to stem a decline in support for left-leaning parties.
"This morning I told the Labour and Green Left parties that I would love to be a candidate to lead them in the next elections," the 62-year-old said on national Dutch television.
"I want to become prime minister because I think we can do politics differently than in recent years, that we can create a more just society, in which the market serves the people and not the other way around."
A European Commission spokesperson declined to comment on his possible departure, first reported by Dutch newspaper de Volkskrant.
Mr Timmermans was expected to leave his EU post before the autumn to join campaigning in the Netherlands.
The role would generally be filled by another Dutch national.
He is a well-known figure in the Netherlands, having served as foreign minister from 2012 to 2014 in Mr Rutte's previous cabinet.
Mr Timmermans, a native of the southern Dutch province of Limburg who has spent nearly a decade in Brussels, is standing in the first election since 2006 in which Mr Rutte will not be leading his conservative VVD party.
Mr Timmermans had been tipped as a top candidate to lead the parties in the Netherlands following his campaign for European social democrats in the 2019 European election, which was widely regarded as a success.
He speaks English, German, French, Italian and Russian in addition to his native Dutch and is known as a skilled negotiator during international climate negotiations.
An opinion poll published today indicated that 39% of voters in the Netherlands said they trusted him to lead the next government.
