Politics

Breton moves to Bank of America

The European Commission has given the OK. The former commissioner for the internal market, Thierry Bretonwill be able to take on a consultancy role at Bank of America. “The post-mandate activity envisaged by former Commissioner Breton as a member of the Global Advisory Council of Bank of America is compatible with Article 245 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,” the Brussels executive declared. We remind you that Breton left his post as commissioner on 16 September. And that, second Politicalwould have asked for the green light to join Bank of America as early as the following month.

However, a possible problem arises. Yes, because – according to the code of conduct of the European Commission itself – it is necessary that former commissioners must wait at least two years before being able to carry out a lobbying role. It is no coincidence that the person concerned has denied that he will take up such a position. “In his notification, Mr Breton underlined his determination to refrain from any lobbying activity of any kind, in particular, but not limited to, on matters for which he had been responsible within his portfolio, to refrain from disclosing any information of the type covered by the obligation of professional secrecy and to respect the duty of integrity and discretion”, the European Commission announced, before adding: “Mr Breton also underlined that, during his mandate as a member of the Commission, he did not had had any contact with the Bank of America.”

The point is that not everyone is convinced that Breton will actually refrain from lobbying. “How can this not be a lobbying activity?”, the Green MEP asked polemically, Daniel Freund. Moreover, the former commissioner has indeed underlined that his role will be as a consultant for a total of three meetings per year. But the fact still remains that he was in the European Commission until a few months ago and that he was the head of a rather delicate “department”. This lightning-fast transition into Bank of AmericaTherefore, it objectively raises some doubts. The Internal Market Commissioner also deals with financial services. And in any case, beyond everything, a question of image and opportunity emerges. The European institutions, there is no point in beating around the bush, do not enjoy great popularity. And trust in them is unlikely to be strengthened thanks to these revolving doors.

Finally, we cannot fail to notice a political short circuit. Breton is notoriously an archenemy of Elon Musk. The clash between the two exploded especially in August, when the then commissioner sent a threatening letter to the CEO of Tesla, while the latter was preparing to interview Donald Trump on X. Well, according to Reuters, Bank of America was among the banking institutions that, in 2022, helped finance the acquisition of Twitter by Musk. When it comes to the irony of fate.