Friday

29th Mar 2024

EU commissioner ducks questions on Selmayr affair

  • Germany's Martin Selmayr outside commission HQ (Photo: ec.europa.eu)

MEPs grilled EU commissioner Guenther Oettinger for more than 90 minutes on Tuesday (27 March) but got no new answers about the appointment of Martin Selmayr as secretary general of the European Commission.

Sticking to the answers to 134 preliminary questions sent by the EU executive on Sunday, the commissioner in charge of human resources gave an "unconditional yes" to the main one: did Selmayr's appointment follow the rules?

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"We believe it was fully in line with the regulations," he told the members of the budgetary control committee.

He argued that Selmayr, who was the head of cabinet of the commission's president Jean-Claude Juncker, "absolutely possesses the right personality and professional expertise" for the institution's top administrative job.

He insisted that Selmayr "fulfilled the legal requirements" and that "the spirit and the letter of the law" allowed him to be transferred from one position to the other without notice.

On 21 February, Selmayr was in a matter of minutes appointed deputy secretary general and then secretary general after the incumbent Alexander Italianer suddenly announced his resignation.

Oettinger stressed that the decision was taken as part of a "package" of administrative appointments, and that "no objection or position of dissent was expressed" by any commissioners - 25 of whom were unaware of the move.

But as a legal expert from the parliament explained that not publishing a position vacancy was allowed only in a "serious and urgent situation", the commissioner failed to tell the MEPs how Italianer's resignation represented such a situation.

He confirmed that Juncker knew since 2015, when he appointed Italianer as secretary general, that the civil servant wanted to retire on 1 March 2018 and that Italianer confirmed his decision to Juncker earlier this year.

But although the commission itself has admitted in its answers that Juncker had discussed the issue with Selmayr, "like all important senior management matters," Oettinger did not say when that discussion took place and when Selmayr really knew he would be able to be appointed.



While in an interview to Le Soir newspaper, Selmayr said himself that Juncker asked him to take the job in November last year, the commission insists that "the option for Mr Selmayr to become secretary general only became concrete on 20 February 2018."

Neither the commission nor Oettinger at the hearing would say why Selmayr applied and went trough the process to become deputy secretary-general and why the only candidate against him, his own deputy Clara Martinez Alberola, withdrew before the end of the procedure.

Asked why the decision to appoint Selmayr as secretary general was taken so rapidly, without letting other civil servants and even commissioners know about it, Oettinger answered: "I don't know if it would have changed anything if we had had a week to think about it."

This is not a 'coup'

The commissioner rejected the word "coup" used by an MEP to describe the move as "not appropriate".

And while the commission has been under pressure for giving misleading information about the appointment, he insisted that "lying is not a way to do politics."

He admitted however that a tweet by the commission deputy spokesman, calling on the "Brussels bubble" to "mind important things" rather than the Selmayr case, was "extremely personal and couldn't be expected to reflect the commission's opinion."

Oettinger also rejected suggestions that the appointment of Selmayr, who was Juncker's campaign director for the 2014 European elections, has anything to do with his and Juncker's party, the centre-right EPP, wanting to increase its control over the commission.

He noted Selmayr "is going to be tested" but will demonstrate that he is not "a political appointee".

He suggested however that Selmayr may have to leave his job when Juncker leaves and is replaced by a new commission chief.

"No one is secretary general for life," he noted, adding that Selmayr would have to "maintain the confidence of his bosses".

While several MEPs said that Juncker, not Oettinger, should be the one questioned by the committee, no decision was taken by the committee's chair Inge Graessle.

She indicated however that ahead of a resolution to be put to vote in April over the case, a new set of questions will be sent to the commission "before Easter".

EU Commission defiant ahead of Selmayr hearing

The European Commission is accused of "patronising" MEPs after calling on the "Brussels bubble" to stop questioning the appointment of its new secretary general.

Interview

Selmayr case symptomatic, says EU novel author

The controversy over the new EU Commission top civil servant is revealing of what is wrong with EU institutions and how they are blocked by national governments, says award-winning Austrian novelist Robert Menasse.

EU parliament united against Selmayr promotion

MEPs rallied against the stellar promotion of the new EU commission's secretary general, amid broader fears that the institution's integrity was in tatters, further weakening its credibility when tackling rule of law issues.

Investigation

Commission accused of cherry picking job applicants

A pilot project scheme is giving preferential treatment for interns to land highly sought-after jobs at the European Commission - bypassing the lengthy open competition for everyone else seeking the same position.

MEPs condemn Selmayr job 'coup' but no resignation call

In a draft resolution, the EU Parliament says that the appointment of Martin Selmayr as the commission's new secretary general "possibly overstretched the limits of the law" - but ask only for a review of the rules.

Opinion

Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Rather than assuming a pro-European Labour government in London will automatically open doors in Brussels, the Labour party needs to consider what it may be able to offer to incentivise EU leaders to factor the UK into their defence thinking.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us