The European Commission gave the green light on Thursday for former Commissioner for the Internal Market Thierry Breton to take up a new job at the Bank of America, despite a rule that requires a two-year waiting period before starting lobbying jobs.
“Former Commissioner Breton’s envisaged post term of office activity as a member of the Global Advisory Council [GAC] of Bank of America is compatible with Article 245 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,” the Commission wrote in its decision Thursday.
According to the Commission’s Code of Conduct, however, outgoing commissioners must respect a cooling-off period of two years before taking up a new role that involves lobbying or a potential conflict of interest. That period is three years for the president of the Commission.
“How is this not a lobbying gig?” German Greens member of the European Parliament Daniel Freund asked POLITICO.
“They pretend they have cooling-off periods and strict integrity. There is a website [where] all such decisions are published. They sneak it out the back door, but my team monitors such things,” he added.
Breton served as commissioner until Sept. 16 last year. He told POLITICO that his new position — while paid — was merely “advisory.”
“That’s three meetings a year,” he said. “It is neither a [full-time] job nor a salary.”
According to a Commission opinion document published in December, Breton notified the EU executive of his intention to join the GAC in October. In November, the Commission reviewed Breton’s request and asked for additional information.
On Thursday the Commission finally approved his new role, on the condition that Breton not engage in lobbying, particularly on issues related to his former responsibilities.
“In his notification, Mr. Breton underlined his determination to refrain from any lobbying activities of any kind, especially, but not only, on matters for which he had been responsible within his portfolio, to refrain from disclosing any information of the kind covered by the obligation of professional secrecy and to respect the duty of integrity and discretion in particular covering the duties of collegiality,” the Commission wrote in its decision.
“Mr. Breton also underlined that, during his mandate as a member of the Commission, he had had no contact whatsoever with Bank of America,” it added.
The Commission has come under frequent criticism for its so-called revolving door of officials leaving public service to work in sectors they previously regulated.
Former Commission President José Manuel Barroso became chairman of Goldman Sachs less than two years after leaving office, while former tech chief Neelie Kroes was investigated for lobbying for Uber both before and after her cooling-off period.
In 2018 the Commission increased the length of the cooling-off period from 18 months to two years.
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