Frans Timmermans, the mastermind of the EU’s environment policies, is to quit the European Commission to return to national politics in the Netherlands.
His departure was widely anticipated after the collapse of the Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte’s coalition government in a row over migration.
Timmermans, a member of the Dutch Labour party, said he would run for the leadership of the combined Labour and Green Left parties before a Dutch national election due in November. He has informed the commission of his decision.
The Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant said Timmermans would announce his candidacy in Maastricht later on Thursday. He is expected to compete with two other candidates before a decision is made in mid-August on the joint leadership candidate going forward to the election.
Timmermans, 62, serves as the European Commission’s first vice-president and is in charge of the EU’s Green Deal – its wide-ranging package of policies on the climate crisis and the environment. His departure could prompt a reshuffle at the top of the commission, with the Italian Paolo Gentiloni tipped to move from the economy to the environment portfolio.
The German MEP Michael Bloss, who has taken a leading role in environment policies in the European parliament, said Timmermans’ departure would be a blow for the Green Deal package and the Netherlands was lucky to have him back.
“With Timmermans’ move … the EU Commission loses its visionary mastermind of the Green Deal. He tirelessly fought against fossil fuels lobbyists and the opponents of European climate action. The Green Deal’s accomplishments are historic. It has achieved a lot for a greener and fairer future,” Bloss said.
Labour and the Green Left have decided to join forces in an attempt to stem a decline in support for left-leaning parties in the face of the growing populist and rightwing vote.
Timmermans is a well-known figure in the Netherlands, having served as foreign minister in 2012-14 under Rutte. One Dutch political source said he expected Timmermans to have a good chance in November’s election but that Rutte could be in power this time next year as Dutch politics was now so fragmented that it could take months to form a coalition.
A poll published on Thursday indicated that 39% of Dutch voters would trust Timmermans to lead the next government.
