EU TRADE CHIEF QUITS AFTER FLOUTING IRISH COVID RESTRICTIONS

European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan said that he resigned after flouting Irish coronavirus regulations to prevent the "distraction of his visit to Ireland" from affecting the commission's work, Fiona Smith reported for Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa) late on August 27, 2020. 

"I broke no laws," Hogan told Ireland's national broadcaster RTE, on Wednesday evening, "but I could have adhered better to the guidelines." He thanked the President of the European Commission and said he "deeply regretted" that his trip to Ireland had "caused such concern, unease and upset."

He said that he had decided to resign and not been forced to do so by the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyn. The Commission President thanked Commissioner Hogan for his "tireless work" at his Brussels post, RTE reported. The Irish government has said that Hogan took the "correct course of action" in resigning his post. Hogan had been under fire for having attended a dinner in his home country of Ireland last week that contravened the nation's coronavirus rules. The pressure increased earlier Wednesday when even the Irish Prime Minister said Power had offered "changing narratives" around his movements.

Prime Minister Micheal Martin said that Hogan had "served Europe and Ireland with distinction." Speaking to Ireland's national broadcaster RTE, the prime minister added that everbody has a responsibility to adhere to public health guidelines.