 |
| Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org |
The French government called on former European Commission chief
Jose Manuel Barroso on Wednesday to drop plans to take a senior job at
U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs, part of a growing outcry against the
move.
The bank said last week it had hired Barroso, a conservative Portuguese ex-premier who headed the European Union’s executive arm from 2004-2014, to be an adviser and non-executive chairman of its international business. French European Affairs Minister Harlem Desir said the “scandalous” move raised questions about the EU’s conflict of interest rules and said they needed to be tightened. “It’s a mistake on the part of Mr. Barroso and the worst disservice
that a former Commission president could do to the European project at a
moment in history when it needs to be supported and strengthened,”
Desir said during a question and answer session in the lower house of France’s parliament. Barroso was hired 20 months after stepping down, shortly after an
18-month “cooling off” period when ex-commissioners must seek clearance
for new jobs to avoid conflicts of interest. “The European Commission
president should be above the pressures of private interest. The
restriction on being hired by a private company should be extended,”
Desir said. In reaction to news of Barroso’s move, the European Ombudsman called
on Tuesday for the EU to tighten rules on commissioners taking
appointments on leaving office. EU Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici criticised the appointment
as bad for the Commission’s image at a time when it is under attack as
Britain prepares to leave the European Union. “When a public person leaves public life and goes to the private
sector, he also has to think about the image it projects,” Moscovici
said on France’s Europe 1 radio. “I can assure you I won’t go to Goldman Sachs,” he added. Barroso has said he aims to bring his experience in EU affairs to help the bank prepare for Britain’s departure from the bloc. He was president of the Commission, which polices EU countries’
public finances, when it came to light that Goldman had helped Greece in
the past to reduce its debt burden with cross currency derivatives,
worsening its debt crisis.
(REUTERS) France 24 Photo
