Franz Timmermans has resigned as Vice President of the European Commission

The European Commission announced on Tuesday that its vice-president responsible for the Green Deal, Dutchman Frans Timmermans, would resign after being nominated to head the Social Democratic and Green List for snap elections in the Netherlands.

Following consultation with members of the Labor Party (PvdA) and the Greens (GroenLinks), Mr. Timmermans, 62, has been confirmed as head of a joint list to replace First Minister Liberal Mark Rutte.

The white-bearded, polyglot and iconic sculptor of the European Union’s (EU) environmental policies, the former diplomat is leaving his mandate less than a year before the June 2024 elections, which will renew the European Parliament and lead to a reshuffle. of the Commission.

It’s the second departure in months at a European administration: the European Commissioner for Innovation and Culture, Maria Gabriel, left her post in May to form a new government in Bulgaria. Another key figure, the influential Danish competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, has announced her candidacy for next year’s presidency of the European Investment Bank (EIB).

Medieval Slovak Maroz Cefkovic

In a commission led by conservative Ursula van der Leyen since 2019, Franz Timmermans was the architect of the Green Deal, a vast arsenal of legislation aimed at reducing carbon emissions and averting the biodiversity crisis.

EU environmental and climate policies will be delegated “temporarily” Another vice-president of the commission, the Slovak Maroz Cefcovic, until a new Dutch commissioner was appointed. M^me Van der Leyen asked Mark Rudd “To propose a new candidate”Commission’s press release announces.

Mr. Timmermans’ departure comes months before COP28, a key international meeting on climate, while the European Green Deal remains unfinished.

Although most of the climate plan has been accepted (reform of the carbon market, the end of the sale of heat engine cars by 2035, etc.), the main texts are still under debate – especially the reduction of pesticides and the restoration of ecosystems. – in the face of strong opposition from right-wing MEPs and some member states.

“I thank Franz Timmermans for his passionate and tireless work to make the Green Deal a reality. Thanks to his strong personal commitment, we have made great progress” Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday welcomed the EU’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

Former diplomat and former foreign minister, Mr. Timmermans has been a member of the European Commission since 2014. He served his first term as vice-president to conservative Jean-Claude Juncker. “Enhancement of regulation, inter-institutional relations, rule of law”.