Von der Leyen’s holiday to Greece prompts criticism from top EU watchdog

The European Ombudsman blasted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen regarding her free summer vacation at Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ home in Crete.
In Aug. 2023 local media posted snaps of von der Leyen and her husband as guests of Mitsotakis and his wife at their summer house on the sunny Mediterranean island of Crete.
Von der Leyen’s complementary holiday spurred criticism in Greece and abroad.
Former European lawmaker Sophie in ’t Veld requested access to documents about the trip from the Commission and later filed a complaint to European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly about the issue.
In ’t Veld noted that the EU executive was “conspicuously silent” on numerous sensitive political issues relating to Greece, including migrant pushbacks, an investigation into a migrant boat tragedy, a spyware scandal targeting politicians and journalists in the country, and the undermining of independent oversight bodies by the Greek government.
The top EU watchdog wasn’t impressed either, in findings published late Monday, arguing that the case revealed a “structural shortcoming” in the bloc’s ethics rules.
The EU’s code of conduct prevents commissioners from accepting free travels. Last year, the Commission tightened its own rules on travel expenses and officials can no longer accept sponsored travel or accommodation, except when paid for by universities, EU governments and major international organizations like the United Nations or G20.
But the Code of Conduct does not have any special provision if the allegations are directed against the president.
The Ombudsman said that “this appears to be a structural shortcoming that would need to be addressed by the Commission in order to convey to the public a clear message as regards the accountability of its leadership.”
The Commission sought to brush off any ethical concerns, saying that the trip was not unusual in terms of political and diplomatic relations.
“The Commission linked the visit to the president’s responsibilities to maintain close working relations with heads of state and government. Yet, on the other hand, in the confirmatory decision on the related public access to documents request, the Commission stated that this was a private, non-official trip. Nowhere has the Commission sought to reconcile both statements,’ O’Reilly said Monday.
“The Ombudsman closed the case, finding that how the Commission handled the public access request, including the delay in stating that no documents existed, amounted to maladministration,” O’Reilly said.
She “also considered particularly regrettable the delay by the Commission President’s cabinet in replying to the internal consultations.” 
The Commission’s “incomprehensible” and unlawful yearlong delay in responding to complaints amounted to maladministration, O’Reilly said.
This story has been updated.