EU ombudsman to investigate Barroso’s Goldman Sachs appointment
The EU ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, is to investigate the appointment of former European Commission President, José Manuel Barroso, as non-executive chairman at Goldman Sachs. Barroso’s role will include advising the bank on Brexit. O’Reilly has written to Jean-Claude Juncker, Barroso’s successor, to state that the appointment raises concerns about a potential breach of ethics with regard to relations with former colleagues. The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, was previously a special adviser to Barroso.  A petition by EU staff calling for action against Barroso, such as the removal of his EU pension, has received over 120,000 signatures.  

The EU’s ethics watchdog is to look into the former European commission president José Manuel Barroso’s new job with Goldman Sachs, which includes advising the investment bank and its clients on Brexit.

In a letter to Barroso’s successor, Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, said Barroso’s appointment as non-executive chairman of Goldman raised widespread concerns.

She cited “understandable international attention given the importance of his former role and the global power, influence, and history of the bank with which he is now connected”.

Her intervention comes after EU staff launched a petition calling on EU institutions to take “strong exemplary measures” against Barroso including the loss of his pension while he works for Goldman. The petition now has more than 120,000 signatures.

O’Reilly told Juncker that public unease will be exacerbated by the fact that Barroso is to advise Goldman Sachs on Britain’s exit from the EU. She warned of the danger of a breach of ethics in his interaction with former colleagues, including the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, a former special adviser to Barroso.

O’Reilly said new guidance was needed to ensure that EU staff were “not affected by any possible failure on Mr Barroso’s part to comply with his duty to act with integrity”. Barroso joined Goldman less than two years after leaving office at the European commission, but after the 18-month cooling-off period stipulated by European rules.

O’Reilly said Barroso’s case highlighted the “apparent arbitrariness” of the 18-month period.

“Certain cases will not cease to be problematic simply because 18 months or longer has passed,” she said. “It could therefore be more appropriate for the commission to decide on the merit of individual cases on a case-by-case basis taking into account all relevant issues and not just the quantity of time that has passed since a commissioner left office.”

She said this could include assessing the reputational damage that might have been caused by Barroso’s move, even when no rules have been broken. O’Reilly gave Juncker until 14 October to respond.

A spokesperson for Goldman Sachs said: “José Manuel Barroso joined as chairman of Goldman Sachs International, he will also help advise our clients in Europe and around the world on a range of issues.

“That decision had nothing to do with the outcome of the Brexit vote. Indeed, we began our discussions at a time when the prevailing view was that the remain campaign would succeed, an outcome we would have preferred and publicly supported.”

EU employees have reacted with fury to Barroso’s move, starting a petition in which they described the Goldman appointment as morally reprehensible and called for it to be investigated.

The petition said: “This decision to go and work for one of the banks most implicated in the subprime crisis that led to the financial crisis of 2007-2008 – the worst since the Great Depression – as well as one of the banks most involved in the Greek debt crisis, having helped Greece dissimulate its deficit before speculating in 2009-2010 against it in full knowledge of the unsustainability of its debt, is a further example of the irresponsible revolving-door practices, which are highly damaging to the EU institutions and, even if not illegal, morally reprehensible.”

The petition calls for “strong exemplary measures” to be taken against Barroso, for behaviour that “dishonours the European civil service and the European Union as a whole”.

Suggested measures include stripping Barroso of his EU pension and any honorary titles linked to his former office while he works for Goldman Sachs.

A Goldman Sachs spokesman said last month that Barroso would not be making any comment. “We follow strict rules set by our global regulators in the hiring of ex-governmental officials. José Manuel took the role after an 18-month restriction period following the end of his term at the European commission, a longer period than that imposed by most European institutions.”

He added: “José Manuel’s experience and advice in this time of uncertainty will be extremely valuable to our clients and their reaction to his appointment at Goldman Sachs has been very encouraging.”