Frans Timmermans will leave the European Commission to compete for the combined Labour and Green Left Party’s leadership in November’s national elections in the Netherlands, according to a Thursday report in De Volkskrant.
The newspaper reported that Timmermans, a member of the Dutch Labour Party, has informed the commission of his decision. Labour and Green Left have decided to unite in the upcoming election on November 22 in an effort to halt the decline in support for left-leaning parties. The commission declined to remark on the report that the Dutch politician would declare his candidacy in Maastricht on Thursday evening.
Timmermans, age 62, is the vice president of the European Commission and is in command of the EU’s Green Deal – its comprehensive package of climate change and environmental policies. He is also well-known in the Netherlands, having served as foreign minister in the cabinet of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte from 2012 to 2014.
