the mediator of the European Union is pushing the fires

It is decidedly the preventer of “slipping” in circles: Emily O’Reilly, the mediator of the European Union (EU), asked, Tuesday, October 19, the Commission in Brussels to hold a meeting in order to obtain explanations of the authorizations it issues to members of its staff who want to retrain in the private sector.

The ombudsperson, elected by the Parliament to ensure the good administration of the EU institutions, wants “Details” and “Clarifications” as to the application of the rules in force. Its services examined around 100 personal files concerning the cabinets of Commissioners, 14 Directorates-General, the General Secretariat, the Commission for Regulatory Control, the Legal Service and the Commission’s internal think tank.

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Mme O’Reilly evokes “A new stage” in the major survey launched by its services on the phenomenon of “revolving doors” (revolving doors), these senior executives of the Commission who go private, after giving up their functions. In 2019, the Commission was invited to develop a more ‘ closed “, but obviously did not prevent some questionable transfers.

Restrictions and conditions

The revelation, in September, of the hiring, by the Brussels branch of an American business cabinet, of the former Agriculture and Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan caused a lot of talk: the period of cooling (during which an ex-official is invited to be cautious) of this Irish official was not to be completed until 2022.

At the beginning of October, it was Nicholas Banasevic’s case and his stint with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher that hit the headlines in Brussels. This Briton worked for twenty years at the Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP), where he became one of the heads of unit, then the acting director. Specialized in antitrust and Internet issues, he had notably led investigations into the abuse of Google’s dominant position, which had resulted in record fines of 8 billion euros – contested by the American giant in court. European Union, which should issue a judgment on part of the case in November.

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The departure of this senior official for a company specializing in competition affairs, coupled with that of two other managers of DG COMP, who also join law firms, is interpreted as a solid setback for the Competition Commissioner, Margrethe Vestager. He asks above all the question of the future role of Mr. Banasevic. When questioned, the Commission services replied that the subject had been assessed “ with regard to the responsibilities of Mr Banasevic within DG COMP, in order to establish any resulting risks for the interests and reputation of the institution ”.

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