Gulyas calls for Timmermans to be withdrawn from EC during EP election campaign

The Hungarian government has called on the European Commission president to withdraw EC vice president Frans Timmermans, who is the spitzenkandidat of the Party of European Socialists, from the commission's work for the duration of his active campaign to become commission president. Gergely Gulyas, the head of the Prime Minister's Office, addressed a letter to Jean-Claude Juncker, noting that the commission had been represented in the recent EP debate on the rule of law and fundamental rights in Hungary by Timmermans, its first vice-president. He said commissioners are expected to perform their duties "with complete independence, integrity, dignity, with loyalty and discretion," in compliance with the commission's Code of Conduct. "We do believe that these principles shall be applied under any circumstances, especially during electoral campaigns."