Dublin (AFP)

European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan resigned on Wednesday evening, swept away by the scandal caused by his participation in a gala dinner in Ireland despite anti-coronavirus health restrictions.

Pressure has been mounting for several days on this heavyweight in Irish politics, whose repeated apologies and good faith proclamations have failed to allay outrage in his country.

"This evening I presented my resignation as European trade commissioner to the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen," Hogan, 60, said in a statement.

"It was becoming increasingly clear that the controversy over my recent visit to Ireland was starting to distract from my work as European Commissioner and would discredit my work in the key months to come", marked in particular by the difficult negotiations on an agreement post-Brexit with the United Kingdom, he added.

He renewed his apologies, however, once again defending himself from having violated the sanitary rules. "It is important to say that I did not break the law. As a public representative, I should have been more rigorous in my respect of the Covid instructions", he insisted.

Ursula von der Leyen accepted her resignation. "I respect his decision," she reacted, saying that she was "grateful for her tireless work" as Trade Commissioner, one of the most prominent positions in the European Union, which Phil Hogan had landed in 2019 after having been in charge of Agriculture.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin and his coalition partners also took note of the resignation, saying it was "the correct step to take". They had previously denounced "breaches" of health rules, which the police have opened an investigation.

- Telephone while driving -

Under pressure from the President of the European Commission, Phil Hogan had described Tuesday, in a four-page press release, his actions and actions during his stay in Ireland from July 31 to August 21.

With a negative Covid-19 test, he defended himself for having violated the two-week quarantine to which he was subjected after his arrival in the country.

He admitted, however, that he "should not have attended this dinner", organized for the 50th anniversary of the Irish Parliament Golf Club with more than 80 guests, which led several people to resign, including the Irish Minister for Agriculture Dara Calleary.

The dinner took place shortly after an authorities decision to tighten restrictions on gatherings, banning meetings of more than six people indoors, due to an upsurge in the epidemic that has killed nearly 1,800 people in Ireland.

Phil Hogan was also caught on the phone while driving by an Irish police officer, two days before this dinner, which he said he regretted.

- Bad timing -

Phil Hogan held one of the key positions in the European Commission. His departure comes at the worst time, when the EU's trade relations with the United States, but also with China are particularly strained.

The relatively rare resignation of a Commissioner is always a delicate matter because it affects the whole of the geographical and political balance on which the Commission is based.

Each EU country has a commissioner post. And the team of 26 people chaired by the conservative von der Leyen is the result of a clever mix between the main political families of the EU, depending on their results in the European elections of May 2019.

A former senior Commission official, the Irishman David O'Sullivan, 67, could be proposed by Dublin to replace Phil Hogan, according to a European source quoted by Politico on Wednesday.

But nothing says Ireland will manage to keep the prestigious trade commissioner post that another country might covet if the squad reshuffles.

In European history, the resignation of Frenchwoman Edith Cresson from the post of Commissioner for Science, Research, Education and Training, accused of "favoritism", was the most resounding. His departure caused the resignation of the entire Commission headed by Luxembourgish Jacques Santer, unprecedented.

© 2020 AFP