The President of the European Commission has signalled her disapproval of outgoing commissioner Phil Hogan's actions during his visit to Ireland.
Ursula von der Leyen said that as Europe fought to reduce the spread of the coronavirus, and as Europeans made sacrifices, and accepted painful restrictions, she expected Commissioners "to be particularly vigilant about compliance with applicable national or regional rules or recommendations".
The president said she respected Mr Hogan's decision to resign and she thanked him for his "tireless" work as trade commissioner.
She invited the Irish Government to present suitable candidates for a replacement commissioner, adding she expected it should present a male and female nominee.
Ms von der Leyen said she would "at a later stage decide on the final allocation of portfolios in the College of Commissioners," a suggestion that Ireland might not retain the trade portfolio.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's statement on Phil Hogan's resignation. She said it is now up to the Irish Government to present suitable candidates for commissioner, and asked that a man and a woman be proposed. | Read more: https://t.co/5xcSC9nWvf pic.twitter.com/xXlrmezNfn
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) August 27, 2020
However, Ms von der Leyen is known to be extremely careful in maintaining political and regional balance within the commission, and Ireland holding on to the trade job cannot be ruled out entirely.
A commission spokesperson later confirmed that the President and Taoiseach Micheál Martin had spoken by phone and that the ball was now in the Irish court.
Mr Hogan's resignation was the culmination of a fractious week in Irish politics. It is also a major setback for the European Commission, at a time when trade is high on the agenda.
It is understood he offered his resignation yesterday afternoon during one of several conversations with Ms Von der Leyen.
She is said to have listened carefully to his reasons before accepting his resignation.
It is understood the fallout from the discrepancies over Mr Hogan's negative Covid-19 test and how that related to his obligations to restrict his movements, played a significant part in his decision to resign.
The moment he resigned, his mandate as trade commissioner ended, and his portfolio has been taken over by Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis until a new commissioner is named.
Mr Hogan's resignation avoids a constitutional conflict between Dublin and Brussels, but its impact will reverberate for months if not years.
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The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Green Party Leader described Mr Hogan's resignation as the correct course of action.
However, the Labour Party has said his resignation came five days too late and damaged efforts to tackle Covid-19.
Labour leader Alan Kelly urged the Government to move quickly to fill the vacancy at the European Commission.
The early speculation for that post centres on Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney and former EU ambassador to the US David O'Sullivan.
Some senior political figures speculated last night that the possibly of either Leo Varadkar or former taoiseach Enda Kenny becoming commissioner cannot be ruled out entirely at this stage.
Sinn Féin also said the Oireachtas golfing society event had undermined people's confidence in the Government's efforts in tacking Covid-19 and the time had come to get back work and deal with this situation.
Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath has said "it's above his pay grade" when asked to suggest likely candidates for the now vacant European commission post, but he is sure the Taoiseach and other party leaders will be discussing the issue over the coming days.
He said what happened was "deeply unfortunate" but Mr Hogan's resignation was inevitable.
Mr McGrath said: "We want to put someone forward who has the right skills and experience and the competence to hopefully hold onto what is really a very important portfolio for Ireland at this time.
"I’m not concerned where that person comes from or what their background is, but we need the best person who gives us the best prospect of holding on to that very important portfolio for Ireland."
The Fine Gael MEP for Ireland South said Mr Hogan was right to resign and by doing so he avoided a difficult decision for both the Government and Commission president.
Seán Kelly said the Government had to act in the public interest and show that public health guidelines applied to everyone.
He said the EU Commission is less than a year in place so it is not clear if a reshuffle will now happen or if a new commissioner will be appointed.
Mr Kelly said the EU's chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, has a very close relationship with Ireland "and won’t let us down" in Brexit negotiations.
He also paid tribute to Mr Hogan and the good work he has done in Europe, including on food supply chains, on CAP reform and in US and Japan trade agreements.
MEP for Ireland South Billy Kelleher has said it is important that Ireland's candidates to replace Mr Hogan would have a "philosophy and outlook consistent" with Irish industrial and trading policy.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, the Fianna Fáil MEP said that gender balance in the process for nomination is also important and while there is no guarantee Ireland can hold onto the trade portfolio in the EU Commission, it demands strong candidates to secure an important portfolio that is relevant.
Fine Gael MEP Maria Walsh said she is disappointed with the loss of "such a big personality in the European bubble" and with just 126 days to go until Brexit, she hopes someone is nominated who "can pick up the portfolio and run with it quickly".
Additional reporting Micheál Lehane
