By John Chalmers and Philip Blenkinsop
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan insisted on Tuesday he had adhered to all COVID-19 rules during a trip to Ireland in the past month, while acknowledging he should not have attended a golf dinner that has outraged the Irish public.
The event led an Irish minister to resign and several lawmakers to be disciplined, but left a series of questions for Hogan, who also faced criticism for twice visiting a county under lockdown and for using his mobile phone while driving.
“To the best of my knowledge and ability I believe that I complied with public health regulations in Ireland during my visit,” Hogan said in a statement.
The European Union’s chief executive Ursula von der Leyen had given Hogan a deadline to further clarify his movements and the circumstances before she decides on his future.
Hogan, who leads trade policy for the world’s biggest trading bloc, apologised for a third time for attending with some 80 others a golf dinner that has caused outrage in Ireland and led its prime minister and deputy prime minister to ask him to consider his position.
Hogan said the dinner did not technically come within the remit of rules announced the previous day to restrict events. However, he said he recognised now that the event should not have proceeded and he should not have attended.
Hogan also gave a detailed account of his 20-day trip, which included a negative COVID-19 test and three visits to the county of Kildare, one just before it went into lockdown, and two made, he said, to collect essential trade documents and his passport.
Such visits were, he believed, covered by exceptions for those with a reasonable excuse such as work.
Von der Leyen has already received a report late on Sunday from Hogan, but sought further details. It was not clear when she would make a decision on his future.
(Reporting by John Chalmers, Philip Blenkinsop and Foo Yun Chee; Editing by William Maclean and David Holmes)
