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Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker announced his resignation on Thursday and
called for snap elections. The move came after Juncker was accused by
his own coalition partner of failing to stop the abuse of power by the country's secret
service. Juncker has denied any wrongdoing.
Do we really require the Prime Minister to be aware, 24 hours a day, of the activities
of the 60 employees of the Intelligence Service? Really? Is the fact that it operates under
the authority of the Prime Minister a sufficient reason to conclude automatically that if something
goes wrong, I should assume political responsibility and resign? I don't think so'.
The scandal emerged after Luxembourg's parliament reviewed a report alleging that the country's
security agency was illegally bugging politicians and misusing public funds.
Juncker became prime minister in 1995 and is the EU's longest serving head of government.
He was also president of the Eurogroup between 2005 and 2013.
The current government will remain in office until the elections take place, sometime within
the next three months.