The European Ombudsman accused the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, regarding her summer holidays at the house of the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in Crete.
Von der Leyen’s holiday to Chania took place in the summer of 2023 and drew criticism from former Dutch MEP Sophie Id Feld, who requested access to documents related to the trip from the Commission and later lodged a complaint with the Ombudsman about the matter.
Then in her complaint she had argued that the executive body of the EU was “remarkably silent” on several sensitive political issues involving Greece, including migrant pushbacks, the investigation into the migrant boat tragedy, the spyware scandal that targeted politicians and journalists in the country, and the Greek government’s undermining of independent watchdogs.
The conclusion of the European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly on the case was particularly sharp for Ursula von der Leyen. According to the European Ombudsman, this case reveals a “structural gap” that exists in relation to the ethics rules of the European institutions.
“The Ombudsman closed the case, finding that the Commission’s handling of the public access request, including the delay in stating that there were no documents, amounted to maladministration”said the European Ombudsman. O’Reilly “also found the delay of the Commission President’s office to respond to internal consultations particularly regrettable.”
The finding emphasizes that “after considerable delay, the Commission finally issued an affirmative response to the request, explaining that no documents were located due to the private and unofficial nature of the trip.”
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