ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s ruling coalition said on Wednesday that the chief of Consob, the country’s market watchdog, should resign because they say his continued ties to the European Commission conflict with his institutional role.

Consob head Mario Nava was appointed earlier this year by the previous government.

“Nava, as an employee of a supra-national institution, is incompatible with the presidency of an independent Italian authority,” the League party and the 5-Star Movement parliamentary group heads said in a statement.

Nava, 52, was the European Commission’s director for financial system surveillance and crisis management until he was appointed to head Consob, prompting him to take a temporary leave, or secondment, from the Commission.

Lawmakers from both the 5-Star and the League, who took power in June, have criticized Nava because he did not resign from the EU institution and still benefits from judicial immunity.

The row escalated in August when Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Consob had not provided additional information requested by the government about Nava’s status. However, people close to the matter in Rome said that the information had been turned over.

Nava’s appointment passed the scrutiny of the President Sergio Mattarella and the country’s audit court.