President European Commission

 

 

Dear President,

I am writing with reference to recent reports that a former director in the Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition will soon take up a post in the Brussels office of a US corporate law firm.

Public information to date on this move comes from the firm that has hired the former director, inter alia, the firm’s press announcement of 8 May 2024 that included the following claim: “[The former director] is a brilliant addition to our growing European competition team, He brings unparalleled insight from his extensive experience in EU competition law, where, among other things, he has been involved in many significant and complex merger matters and policy initiatives. He will be a tremendous asset to our clients.” [1]

 The clear impression is that the Commission has allowed one of its senior officials to work for a non-EU company that anticipates major benefits from that inside knowledge. The lack of information from the Commission on any restrictions it may have placed on the activities of the former staff member, with a view to mitigating the risk of conflicts of interest, has compounded the matter.

While the US law firm published a press release detailing the individual’s full professional experience, the Commission said it could not disclose details, it claims, for data protection reasons. The fact that the firm does not yet seem to be registered in the EU Transparency Register, and therefore does not disclose its clients or activities here, also means there is very limited transparency.

When closing my strategic inquiry into revolving door moves at the Commission[2], I asked the Commission to require former staff members taking up positions in the private sector to ask their new employer to make public the restrictions that are placed on the activities of the former staff member. The Commission said it could not do so. I also asked the Commission to be more robust in its application of the rules governing these moves. When an intended post-service activity poses risks that cannot be adequately mitigated by restrictions or when restrictions cannot be effectively monitored or enforced, I said that it would be prudent to (temporarily) forbid (former) staff members from taking up such positions.

As this move was not forbidden, the Commission should, without delay, publish the restrictions it has placed on the move and, more generally, explain how, in this specific case, it has taken into account the outcome of my inquiries in this area.

I would, again, encourage the Commission, when it assesses these individual cases, to take greater account of the corrosive effect of the ‘revolving door’ phenomenon, which can have a negative impact on public trust, feed Eurosceptic sentiment and undermine the EU’s trade, competition or other interests.

I would be grateful if you could reply by the end of June 2024. In case of questions, please contact the responsible inquiry officer is Mr Koen Roovers.

Yours sincerely,

Emily O'Reilly

European Ombudsman

 

Strasbourg, 17/05/2024

 

[1] See: https://www.paulweiss.com/about-the-firm/firm-news/leading-eu-competition-lawyer-joins-paul-weiss-as-firm-opens-office-in-brussels?id=51463  

[2] See: https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/decision/en/155953.