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By ELISA BRAUN
Tips, tales, traumas to @elisabraun or influence@politico.eu | View in your browser
BONJOUR. It’s funny what EU journalists miss during the summer break. How about a detailed report on how the money that member states put into the institutions is misused — some by incompetence, some through intentional abuse? Or maybe an important account from the Commission on how some countries forget to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to the rule of law or the fight against corruption?
I guess it’s a complete coincidence that such important reports are issued at a time when public (and journalists’) attention is focused on applying sunscreen rather than complex spreadsheets! After some time in the Greek sun, I’ve (almost) had enough of tanning and am now ready for the heat of rentrée. And I’d still love a coffee with you on To Meli’s terrace, so don’t forget to reach out with your best tips!
Today we’re talking about:
— An ex-commissioner turned lobbyist for a Chinese company
— Renew’s MEPs and their interest declarations
EX-COMMISSIONER NOW WORKS FOR CHINESE FAST FASHION COMPANY
MR. REVOLVING DOOR KEEPS ON GOING. Günther Oettinger has a new gig after being hired as an adviser on cyber security, data protection and geopolitics for the Chinese fast fashion company Shein. The 70-year-old ex-commissioner, notorious for his coziness with lobbyists before becoming one of them himself, is the latest addition to the company’s ramped-up efforts to influence European regulation.
Good timing. All this comes at a time when the company is preparing for an IPO and is feeling the heat in Europe. French lawmakers are threatening to push for an anti-fast fashion bill, EU lawmakers are questioning its tax practices, and the Commission warned that Shein “must put in place mitigation measures to address risks, such as the listing and sale of counterfeit goods, unsafe products, and items that infringe on intellectual property rights.”
NOT ALL COMMISSIONERS. Oettinger, who was in charge of budget and human resources, then digital economy and later energy, left the Commission 10 years ago but remains one of the most high-profile examples of top EU public servants who have taken advisory and consulting functions for the private sector after spearheading the defense of EU interests.
By the number: Ottinger declares getting between €10,000 and €24,999 from Shein on the EU’s transparency register to lobby on the Digital Services Act. Shein has also declared paying between €100,000 and €199,999 to Kekst CNC, a lobbying firm to which Oettinger is also an adviser.
Contacted, Oettinger said he was now a “private person” and that his advisory functions for Shein did not include, so far, lobbying key EU officials. “For former members of the Commission there are strong rules,” he said, adding that he had always followed them. Oh and to put it mildly, he was also quite pissed off about being in the spotlight again.
What Shein says: “It’s true that China is an important place where we have our supply chain but we don’t sell in China … and our headquarters are in Singapore,” said Jakub Hera Adamowicz, the head of Brussels Media and Communications for Shein. As for Oettinger’s role, he said there was no need for clarification or comment.
Here are five other examples of commissioners who also took the “advisory” path:
1. José Manuel Barroso, the former president of the Commission, was criticized after he took a job at Goldman Sachs. Green MEP Sven Giegold said at the time that “Barroso’s quick change-over damages the reputation of the European Commission.”
2. Günter Verheugen, a former German commissioner partial to a trip to a nudist beach, set up a consultancy called The European Experience with his partner Petra Erler (who’d worked for him at the Commission).
3. Julian King, the last British European commissioner, joined business firm Flint Global as a senior adviser based in London in 2020.
4. Neelie Kroes, a former European digital affairs commissioner from the Netherlands, had asked permission to start working for Uber before her cooling-off period ended, but withdrew her application after then-President Jean-Claude Juncker tipped her off that the Commission’s ethics committee had given a thumbs-down.
5. Jonathan Hill moved back to the private sector as an adviser for various companies after his stint as European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union.
WHAT DOES THE EU BUBBLE USUALLY SAY ABOUT THIS? The dominant refrain from the highly unimpressed participants of Brussels arcanes has been the same for decades, according to a search of the POLITICO archives. It revolves around two main arguments:
1. It’s legal, stupid. The Commission has stronger rules than many member states on revolving doors and, in theory, a clear process to avoid conflict of interests. The code of conduct for commissioners says “former members shall not lobby members or their staff on behalf of their own business, that of their employer or client, on matters for which they were responsible within their portfolio for a period of two years after ceasing to hold office.” The College can also veto certain activities in case the “planned activity is related to the portfolio of the former [Commission] member” after consulting an ethics committee.
2. It’s for the best, honey. In the industry, many say if you add more constraints to the job of being a politician, nobody will ever want to do it and you’ll only get people who are unable to understand how the private sector works and therefore come up with smart regulation for it. Oettinger has used this very argument in the past. Also, private interests are legit and it’s fair to have competent people defending them in the great marketplace of ideas.
NOW LET’S BE SERIOUS. Even the most lobby-critical NGOs acknowledge the need for private interests to be heard in political debate. And they say the rules are strong and you can’t completely separate the private and public sectors. They however point out that if we aren’t careful, the private sector can gain unfair competitive advantage against public interests. A lack of enforcement of rules aimed to avoid conflicts of interest and politicians using their public interest knowledge for the sole benefit of their own career are the go-to factors they identify.
The quote: “Oettinger was digital commissioner … and a former commissioner has hundreds of opportunities to take on other jobs than lobbying jobs in the field he has been commissioner,” said Max Bank, a researcher and campaigner for the NGO LobbyControl. He also added that “a former high commissioner always has to take into account the reputation of the institution he has worked for.”
Speaking of reputation. The public perception of a revolving door problem, even if it’s inflated by populists or a lack of understanding of ethical frameworks, is too often neglected in the debate, as the EU ombudsman has often pointed out. In short: it’s one thing to promote EU sovereignty and defend EU interests but it seriously makes the EU look weak if it is easy to hire public servants to tone down the exact same regulations they were in charge of strengthening.
Rules are rules huh? By the way, while the cooling-off period during which former commissioners can’t “lobby nor advocate with members of the Commission and their staff” lasts for 18 months, there is also a long-lasting commitment “to promote the general interest of the Union and take appropriate initiatives to that end.” That means you could argue that when you serve the EU at this level, it’s kind of forever.
The burd€n of b€ing an EU public $ervant. To mitigate the consequences of being unemployed after the end of their mandate, former commissioners receive a transitional allowance for 36 months which is between 40 and 65 percent of their pay depending on years of service. That gives them plenty of time to consider the best ethical options or start that ceramics training program they may have always dreamt of.
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VERY INTERESTED MEPS: RENEW
WE DON’T LIKE CLICHÉS BUT … the liberal family is so far the parliamentary group that is the closest to private sector interests and has some of the richest MEPs, my colleagues Louise Guillot, Max Griera and I found out by digging into the declarations of interest of the 77 members of Renew.
The figures: 42 percent of them have in the past three years declared getting money from a wide range of private actors, from the media industry to real estate, from finance to mobility. But the vast majority (around 70 percent) entered the Parliament having at least worked as a professional politician before. Some of those who were MEPs in the past mandate didn’t see any problem in doing both things: one out of five was getting money on top of their lawmaker’s allowance.
The richest:
— Ľudovít Ódor was getting €265,500 a year as deputy governor of the National Bank of Slovakia, before becoming prime minister.
— Slovak liberal Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová declared €388,000 a year from her TV company, Versaj Production, before becoming an MEP.
— Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy earned €60,000 a year at the public affairs and communication consulting firm Publyon.
Houston, we may have a problem. We spotted different cases of MEPs whose declaration included some orange to red flags when it came to risks of conflict of interest, especially on agri policies.
The one with a meaty declaration: Benoit Cassard. As the owner of a company, Fabroca, that specializes in bull breeding and sells bull sperm, the Belgian MEP made no secret he wanted to weigh in on agricultural policies in the Parliament. He didn’t declare that he used to be the general secretary of an important lobby, the Belgian Federation of Cattle and Meat, which he said was the result of a misunderstanding of the declaration rules and not intentionally hiding something he’s been very public about for the past 30 years. “I also feel that this conversation over conflict of interest is fun because should we come to the Parliament without experience? I think that my work as a farmer is what makes me more relevant for debating agricultural policies,” he said.
The one with a family affair in farming: Christine Singer. The German MEP has remained a member of a local farmers’ trade union while also joining the AGRI committee. But she already said she didn’t see any conflict of interest there. On a completely different note, her daughter is a farmer and influencer herself.
The one who had important CAPacities: Asger Christensen. The Danish MEP has already been flagged for potential conflict of interest in the last mandate as he was working on agri policies while being a farmer. He received €118,075 in CAP aid in 2019 and ranks as the 5th richest MEP, according to Transparency International. He also has ties with ARLA, one of the largest food cooperatives in Denmark, which is notably big on dairy. Contacted, he did not reply to a request for comment.
The one with so many interests: Stine Bosse. The Danish MEP, who now sits on the environment committee, used to hold many paid positions on numerous boards, ranging from an oil company to retail giants and financial services companies. She also had to resign from the bank DNB amid vocal criticism.
The one investigated for misuse of EU funds: Hilde Vautmans. The Flemish liberal is being investigated by the European Public Prosecutor’s Office for alleged misuse of EU funds — claims that she denies.
Next week: we’ll give you more details about MEPs from the Left. But you can facilitate our work by writing to us if there’s anything we should know.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
FIRS-TRATED EFFORTS: The British government has announced yet another delay to plans for a U.S.-style lobbying register, with a recess-cloaked admission that the Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (FIRS) is “no longer expected” to come into force this year, my colleague John Johnston writes in to say.
FROM BRICS TO CRABS. Just before Azerbaijan will host this year’s COP29 U.N. climate talks, full of diplomats, experts and environmental activists, Baku has announced its intention to sign up to the club of emerging economies known as BRICS, my colleague Gabriel Gavin writes.
TIKTOK INFLUENCE. The fact that the social media site sponsored one of Europe’s hippest tech conferences in Berlin did not go unnoticed by lobby watchers. In a long report published this week on Chinese tech platforms’ influence in Europe, Lobby Control notes that the company was one of RePublica’s sponsors this year — and Ursula von der Leyen was invited. Read the report here.
BEFORE WE GO. If you’re really into the fight against corruption and wouldn’t mind investing €3 million of EU money into it, there’s a new public tender for you.
HEADLINES
— Revealed: Shell oil non-profit donated to anti-climate groups behind Project 2025 (The Guardian)
— Looking for a man in finance? Where out of towners seek a wealthy husband (POLITICO)
— Secret superyacht trips and fake documents: how H2O tried to cover up a scandal (Financial Times)
— Labour and the Lobbyists (London Review of Books)
INFLUENCERS
EU INSTITUTIONS
— Lucie Béraud-Sudreau, formerly director of the military expenditure and arms production program at SIPRI, is now policy officer for strategic analysis at the European Defence Agency.
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION
— Christie J. Edwards will head the country cluster delegation for Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Czech Republic, Romania, and Moldova at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. She was previously with Geneva Call.
ENERGY
Constantine Levoyannis has been promoted to the head of government affairs at Nel Hydrogen.
DIPLOMACY
Nerijus Aleksiejūnas has been appointed permanent representative of Lithuania to the EU. He was previously ambassador of Lithuania to France.
Jesper Langsted, former chief consultant at Denmark’s Ministry of Culture, has started as special attaché for culture, sport and copyright at the Permanent Representation of Denmark to the EU.
Mazdak Hobbi has been promoted to senior representative to the EU in the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of International Affairs.
Irene Hvass has begun her new position at the Danish Permanent Representation to the EU. She was previously team leader for EU and regional cooperation with Africa at Denmark’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Conor Cinnamond has started as MEP Kathleen Funchion’s accredited parliamentary assistant.
LOBBYING
Paul Varakas is not running for president of the Society of European Affairs Professionals, a role he’s held since June 2021. Those who might be interested in succeeding him have until September 9 to speak up.
Un grand merci à: Clothilde Goujard, Louise Guillot, Max Griera, Šejla Ahmatović, my editor Paul Dallison and Raffaella Carrà‘s “Na na na na.”
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