(02 December 2019) – The Luxembourger now retires after several decades of high-level EU politics.
The outgoing president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, appeared before the press for one last time on Friday (29 November) and said he regretted that the Spitzenkandidaten system that landed him the top job in 2014 was not upheld this time.
Asked about the deterioration of the rule of law during his mandate, Juncker admitted he was very worried. “In more than one country, the rule of law is not respected strongly enough,” he said. His Commission has opened cases with Poland, Hungary and Romania over breaches of basic democratic standards.
However, he avoided commenting on Malta, where investigations on the murder of investigative journalist Daphne Caruana are pointing at the ruling government. “I do not have the details nor the elements to formulate a response,” Commission president said. (EurActiv)