"It is up now to the Irish government to present suitable candidates for a Commissioner of Irish nationality."
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has asked the Irish government to propose a man and a woman as candidates to replace Phil Hogan, who resigned from the position of European Commissioner on Wednesday night.
She asked the government to present "suitable candidates" for consideration for the role.
In a statement on Thursday morning, von der Leyen thanked Hogan for his tireless work and said she respected his decision to resign as Commissioner.
"I am very grateful to Phil Hogan for his tireless and successful work as a commissioner and as a member of the college and I thank him warmly for his valuable contribution to the work of the Commission not only in this mandate but also in the previous mandate where he was in commissioner in charge of agriculture and rural development," von der Leyen said.
She said she had spoken to Hogan regarding his movements in Ireland and said that Europeans have had to make sacrifices to halt the spread of the Coronavirus.
"In the current circumstances, as Europe fights to reduce the spread of the coronavirus and Europeans make sacrifices and accept painful restrictions, I expect the members of the College to be particularly vigilant about compliance with applicable national or regional rules or recommendations.," she said.
"In accordance with Article 246 of the Treaty, it is up now to the Irish government to present suitable candidates for a Commissioner of Irish nationality. As in the past, I will invite the Irish government to propose a woman and a man."
In the interim, the trade brief will be managed by the Latvian official Valdis Dombrovskis, who is also executive vice president of the European Commission.
A decision for the final allocation of portfolios in the College of Commissioners will be made at a later date.
