 In July 2018, he was succeeded by António Campinos.Battistelli's presidency has encountered discontent among the staff and has been marked by industrial actions with an escalation of the conflict in 2014.Discontent on the part of staff has been attributed to Battistelli's style of management which, according to reports in the German newspapers "Die Zeit" and "Die Welt", was perceived by staff as being unduly autocratic and unsuited to a European intergovernmental body such as the EPO, and, according to an article in the French newspaper "Le Monde", has been brought in relation with suicides among the EPO staff since 2013.