MEPs call for Michel’s resignation

Louis Michel, the European Commissioner in charge of development and humanitarian aid, is under pressure to resign following criticism by the European Parliament’s development committee over the leave of absence he will take to run for election in Belgium.

The committee has asked the Parliament’s legal service for an opinion on the month-long leave of absence Michel is taking to campaign in the poll. MEPs have said the move violates the EC treaty.

Michel will appear before the committee on 3 May to explain why he should be allowed to keep his post while taking part in the Belgian general election on 10 June.

"He is not taking his duties seriously. He should choose the Commission or the [electoral] list," said Maria Martens, a Dutch centre-right MEP and co-ordinator of the EPP-ED MEPs on the development committee.

"What he is doing is not compatible with the treaty provisions which states that his independence should be beyond doubt," she added.

Josep Borrell, a Spanish Socialist MEP and president of the development committee, wrote to Michel saying that his absence would coincide with a "key period for decisions on the Economic Partnership Agreements [EPAs]", which the Commission is negotiating with African, Pacific and Caribbean (ACP) countries. He said that there were fears that the leave of absence could be extended should Michel have to take part in negotiations on the formation of a government.

Borrell also criticised the choice of Olli Rehn, the enlargement commissioner, to replace Michel. "In no way do we doubt Mr Rehn’s competence and capacity, but he has his own weighty portfolio and can hardly be expected to become an overnight expert on development and humanitarian aid," the letter states.

In response Michel said that he told the Parliament before he began his mandate that "a commissioner stays and must stay politically engaged". He added: "This institution [the Commission] is not an administrative secretariat composed of politically asexual personalities."

He said that the negotiations on EPAs had been progressing for some time and would not end during his absence. He added that he would return to his post at the Commission the day after the election and would be able to participate in the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on 25 June.

The Commission yesterday (11 April) did not respond to the calls for Michel to resign. But a spokesman said: "There is plenty of precedent in the past and leave of absence is fully in line with EU law and the code of conduct" for commissioners.

Article 213 of the EC treaty states that commissioners "shall neither seek nor take instructions from any government or from any other body". It adds: "The members of the Commission may not, during their term of office, engage in any other occupation, whether gainful or not."

Michel announced his leave of absence in March, after receiving permission to take a month off from Commission President José Manuel Barroso. Michel will not receive his salary during the time away. A Parliamentary official said that Michel had not written to the Parliament or the development committee regarding the leave of absence and Parliament was not given a chance to decide whether a hearing on Rehn’s ability to serve as development commissioner was needed. "The Commission is fully accountable to Parliament…if Olli Rehn was to replace Michel, Parliament wants to be informed by the Commission not find out through the press," said the official.

Anna Diamantopoulou, former commissioner for employment and social affairs, took a leave of absence in 2004 when she ran for the Greek elections and subsequently resigned when she won a seat. Michel is not expected to win a seat in the Belgian Senate because he is far down the electoral list.

Louis Michel, the European Commissioner in charge of development and humanitarian aid, is under pressure to resign following criticism by the European Parliament’s development committee over the leave of absence he will take to run for election in Belgium.