EU Ombudsman rebukes von der Leyen over 2023 Cretan holiday

The European Commission president's 2023 holiday at the Cretan summer house of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has revealed a "structural shortcoming" in the bloc's ethics rules, the European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly said in a press release on Tuesday. 

Just days before MEPs will decide whether to grant Ursula von der Leyen a second term in office, O'Reilly criticised the Commission for providing contradictory replies to the Ombudsman when asked about the trip on 25 October 2023, and slammed the "incomprehensible" delay of those explanations which came after almost a year.

"In both replies to the letter, the Commission linked the visit to the President's responsibilities to maintain close working relations with heads of state and government. Yet, on the other hand, in the confirmatory decision on the related public access to documents request, the Commission...