The European Union lost its highly rated trade commissioner Phil Hogan due to an Irish domestic scandal over pandemic regulations. It needs a new one fast given the volume of critical issues mounting up.
The resignation of Phil Hogan as the European Commissioner for Trade came about in bizarre circumstances and has presented EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen with a policy headache when she needed it least.
Hogan was forced to resign after breaking various government guidelines related to COVID-19 restrictions while on an extended break to his native Ireland from Brussels.
While his movements in Ireland between July 31 and August 21 contravened several of the Irish government’s public health guidelines, the most egregious was his attendance alongside 80 people at a golf society dinner in Connemara, far west on Ireland’s Atlantic coast.
Hogan’s initially nonchalant response to the scandal angered the Irish government, who pressured him to step down amid mounting public anger. The Commission initially backed him, but Hogan’s explanations to von der Leyen about his movements were inconsistent and incomplete. Trust was damaged and he resigned.
