Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Martin Selmayr (R) became Mr Juncker's chief of staff in 2014

The EU ombudsman has given a damning verdict on the way Jean-Claude Juncker's chief of staff was given the top post in the bloc's civil service.

The promotion of Martin Selmayr, nicknamed "the monster" by his boss, was fast-tracked in February, in a move condemned by one Euro MP as a "coup".

Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly identified four counts of maladministration by the European Commission.

She said the affair had damaged public trust in EU institutions.

Ms O'Reilly agreed with the European Parliament's assessment that the promotion had "stretched and possibly even overstretched the limits of the law".

However, her report will not affect his promotion. She calls only for the top job to have an appointment procedure separate from that for other senior posts.

Who is Martin Selmayr?

A lawyer originally from the German city of Bonn, he has worked for the Commission since 2004, but really came to the fore in 2014 when he was picked by Mr Juncker, then the new president of the European Commission, as his chief of staff.

He masterminded Mr Juncker's campaign for the presidency, and has since been described as the most powerful man in Brussels and the "Frank Underwood" of the Commission, in a reference to the House of Cards political thriller.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Rise of Martin Selmayr, Juncker's ex-chief of staff

In 2017, there were reports that he had leaked details of a confidential Brexit dinner meeting between Theresa May and Mr Juncker. German newspaper FAZ said Mr Juncker had left "ten times more sceptical than before".

Mr Selmayr has been in charge of the 32,000-strong EU bureaucracy since 1 March. One widely-circulated joke in Brussels about his alleged self-importance runs: "What's the difference between God and Selmayr? God knows he's not Selmayr."

How was Selmayr promoted?

It all happened in the space of a dizzying few minutes at a meeting of European commissioners on 21 February.

Mr Selmayr was appointed deputy secretary-general and the existing top civil servant, Alexander Italianer, suddenly announced he was retiring.

Without being promoted to the deputy's post first, Mr Selmayr could not have been given the top job. The only other candidate for deputy had conveniently pulled out the day before.

Mr Juncker then said his chief of staff should get the top job and he was duly appointed.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Selmayr was accused of leaking details of a confidential dinner meeting involving Mr Juncker and the UK prime minister

The European Parliament condemned the handling of the promotion, and there were reports that Mr Juncker had threatened to quit if the newly appointed secretary-general was forced out.

What does the ombudsman say?

In her scathing report, Emily O'Reilly pointed to several "issues of concern":

Mr Selmayr had not "recused himself" from decision-making that led to the deputy vacancy that he ultimately filled

The appointment procedure for the deputy role was carried out "to make Mr Selmayr eligible for his immediate reassignment as the new secretary-general"

The Commission reacted to valid concerns in an "evasive, defensive and legalistic manner".

She cited four instances of maladministration, including failing to avoid risking a conflict of interests, and warned that the sequence of events had placed the "wider legitimacy of the EU... at unnecessary risk".

The European Commission said it did not share all aspects of the report, but welcomed her decision not to contest the legality of the appointment.</s>The ombudsman said the commission had "stretched and possibly even overstretched the limits of the law the limits of the law" when making Martin Selmayr its Secretary General through a fast-tracked process.

Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly's report concluded that the Commission had failed on 4 counts, at the level of:

- the composition of the consultative committee;

- the selection process itself, which involved Selmayr's appointment first as Deputy Secretary General;

- secrecy about the vacancy, which created a sense of urgency to fill the post

Despite these criticisms the Commission today rejected suggestions that Mr Selmayr should resign.

When quizzed by Euronews's political editor Darren McCaffrey over whether Mr Selmayr should resign and reapply for the job, the European Commission's spokesperson said:

"While we do not share all aspects of the underlying report, we welcome that the ombudsman based on the extensive material she received from us, neither contests the legality of the appointment procedure of the Secretary-General, nor the choice of candidate, who is described as a competent EU official, highly committed to the European Union."

The ombudsman's findings do not suggest that Mr Selmayr should not continue is his post, but it does raise questions about the transparency of the European Commission.</s>The European Ombudsman has criticised the European Commission for the way in which it appointed its top civil servant, Martin Selmayr. The ombudsman said the commission had “stretched and possibly overstretched the limits of the law” when making Mr Selmayr its Secretary General, and this is raising questions about the European Commission’s transparency.</s>The European Commission “stretched and possibly even overstretched the limits of the law” by fast-tracking Martin Selmayr’s appointment as secretary-general, the European Ombudsman reported Tuesday.

In a scathing report detailing the findings of a five-month investigation, the ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, says the Commission had committed four acts of “maladministration” and forced Selmayr, Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s chief of staff, into the EU’s most senior civil service post.

Selmayr was given a position, O’Reilly says, that he was not qualified to fill without first being installed into a deputy job.

But while O’Reilly, the EU’s top watchdog, finds the entire 28-member Commission, including Juncker, at fault for the acts of maladministration, her findings yield no consequences for Selmayr, who will remain in his job. Instead, she urges the Commission to “develop a specific appointment procedure for its Secretary-General, separate from other senior appointments.”

Such a procedure should include “the publication of a vacancy notice,” which did not occur before Selmayr’s promotion last February.

O’Reilly was urged to investigate Selmayr’s appointment by the European Parliament, which has harshly criticized the promotion process. Her findings, while delivering little more than a slap on the wrist, will nonetheless be hailed as vindication by critics of the Commission who reacted to Selmayr’s promotion with anger that turned into a weekslong scandal.

The administrative infractions cited in the report are largely technical, but O’Reilly’s most damning accusation against Juncker and Selmayr is entirely political: that they had undermined efforts to portray the EU as transparent and democratic — efforts that the pair have championed.

“The Ombudsman wishes to highlight that an assessment of Mr Selmayr himself did not form any part of her inquiry,” O’Reilly writes in her conclusion. “The Ombudsman understands that not only is he a competent EU official but one highly committed to the European Union. He is also someone who has earned and maintained the trust of President Juncker.

“It is however somewhat ironic that President Juncker was the first Commission President elected via the ‘Spitzenkandidaten’ democratic process, assisted by Mr Selmayr. This transparent democratic process … is designed, in part, to counter false claims that the EU is run by unelected officials in Brussels.”

The 39-page report provides a detailed account of the process by which Selmayr was promoted to replace Secretary-General Alexander Italianer who unexpectedly announced his retirement on February 21.

At that same meeting at which the retirement was announced, Selmayr was promoted — first to the position of deputy secretary-general, which was required for him to achieve a necessary increase in his civil service grade, and then immediately to secretary-general.

The report, however, states that the plans to catapult Selmayr to the top job had been in the works for at least a month, and perhaps quite a bit longer.

Selmayr, nicknamed “Monster of the Berlaymont,” is widely regarded as a ruthlessly effective fonctionnaire. But in his meteoric rise through the Commission, Selmayr has never led — or even served as No. 2 — in one of the departments controlling such policy areas as trade, home affairs or energy. Instead, he vaulted into the president’s suite after serving as Juncker’s campaign manager during the 2014 European election.

While EU precedent affords Juncker wide latitude in choosing a new secretary-general, the Ombudsman’s report faults the entire Commission for going along with the fast-tracked promotion process.

“The Ombudsman also notes that responsibility for the maladministration in this case rests with the European Commission collectively,” O’Reilly writes. “The Ombudsman, like Parliament, is disappointed that no individual Commissioner appears to have seriously questioned the manner in which the appointment of the Secretary-General was conducted.

“It seems extraordinary that in the course of a very short meeting, at which other business was also dealt with, that the College should have approved, successively, the appointment of Mr Selmayr, first as Deputy Secretary-General, and then as Secretary-General. And all of this in a context where the proposed appointment of a new Secretary-General was not on the meeting agenda and no background papers had been circulated.”

The Ombudsman also faults the Commission’s responses to journalists who questioned the process.

“The Spokesperson’s Service became defensive, evasive and even somewhat combative,” according to the report. “The Ombudsman finds the information provided by the Commission to journalists in the days following the appointment of the new Secretary-General was not sufficiently clear and complete.”

“However, it is also true that given the way in which the appointment was conducted, the spokespersons were placed in a very difficult situation in attempting to explain a problematic appointment.”

Read this next: Jacob Rees-Mogg: Barnier and I agree May’s plan won’t fly</s>The controversial appointment in February of European Commission secretary general Martin Selmayr involved breaches by the commission of rules that constituted “maladministration”, a report by the European Ombudsman, Ireland’s Emily O’Reilly, has found.

The ombudsman, the EU’s independent watchdog, echoes similar criticism from the European Parliament of the appointment of the bloc’s most senior civil servant at president Jean Claude Juncker’s behest, bypassing normal interview procedures. Mr Selmayr was at the time Mr Juncker’s chef de cabinet.

The ombudsman was also critical of the commission’s press service whose response to “valid concerns” by the press and MEPs had been “defensive, evasive and at times combative”.

The commission had “risked jeopardising the hard-won record of high EU administrative standards and consequently, the public trust”, said Ms O’Reilly.

Responding on Tuesday, chief spokesman Margaritis Schinas said the commission would prepare a detailed response to the report, some of which it took issue with. Mr Selmayr would not be resigning, he said.

Budget and personnel commissioner Güenther Oettinger said the commission welcomed the finding that the appointment had not been illegal and that the ombudsman did not find fault with the choice of the candidate, who is described as a “competent EU official, highly committed to the European Union”.

Following the parliament’s report, he had already committed to convening a round-table discussion with all the EU institutions to reassess the application of senior appointment rules in all of them.

Mr Selmayr had in the course of one commission meeting been appointed to the post of deputy director general. And then, within minutes, to the secretary-generalship to fill an “urgent” vacancy that none of the commissioners were aware had arisen.

Outgoing secretary general Alexander Italianer had indicated to the commission president on appointment in 2015 that he did not wish to serve beyond March 2018. But according to the commission he had only formally reminded Mr Juncker of his intention on the morning of the meeting.

A master of the inner workings of the Brussels bureaucracy, Mr Selmayr was seen as having engineered his promotions in a way that conformed with the letter of the law but not its spirit. It has caused considerable disquiet in Brussels. Few accept that he did not know what was about to happen when the commission meeting convened.

“The maladministration arose due to the commission not following the relevant rules correctly either in letter or in spirit,” Ms O’Reilly reported. “The commission created an artificial sense of urgency to fill the post of secretary general in order to justify not publishing a vacancy notice.

“It also organised a deputy secretary-general selection procedure, not to fill that role, but rather to make Mr Selmayr secretary general in a rapid two-step appointment.”

Ms O’Reilly’s report will reopen the rows about the appointment but is unlikely to jeopardise Mr Selamyr’s job. His continued role under the next president of the commission, to be appointed next year, might be more precarious, however.</s>BRUSSELS — The European Union’s official transparency watchdog says the European Commission put public trust at risk by fast-tracking the appointment of a protege of its president, Jean-Claude Juncker, to a top job.

Martin Selmayr, Juncker’s former head of Cabinet, was appointed Commission Secretary-General in February at a meeting that saw him promoted twice within minutes.

Accusing the European Commission of “maladministration,” European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly said Tuesday that the move “risked jeopardizing the hard won record of high EU administrative standards and consequently, the public trust.”

Selmayr now runs the European Commission — which has around 33,000 employees and whose commissioners are appointed, not elected — and so wields strong influence over the EU’s agenda and policy priorities.

O’Reilly says it’s “extraordinary” that no commissioner seemed to question the appointment procedure.</s>Martin Selmayr was elevated to the body's most senior civil service post in February, assuming a position left vacant by Alexander Italianer in March. He had also previously served European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker as his campaign manager during the 2014 European election.

The Secretary-General post was not advertised via a vacancy notice, as rules dictate, and Selmayr was briefly assigned as deputy to render him eligible for the top job and make the process “appear normal”.

“All of this risked jeopardising the hard won record of high EU administrative standards and consequently, the public trust,” EU ombudsman Emily O'Reilly said.

O'Reilly also questioned why other commissioners had not challenged Selmayr’s appointment.

“The College of Commissioners collectively is responsible for the maladministration in this case. It is extraordinary that no Commissioner seemed to question the Secretary-General appointment procedure, which in the end raised valid widespread concerns,” she said.

O'Reilly launched an investigation in May after receiving complaints from French and Dutch MEPs, and at the urging of the European Parliament.

Concluding her report, in which thousands of internal documents were analysed, she recommended the body establish a separate appointment procedure for its Secretary-General, that the position be advertised via an advance vacancy notice, and that external experts be consulted ahead of an appointment.

But Selmayr’s position is not in question, O’Reilly added.

“The Ombudsman understands that not only is he a competent EU official but one highly committed to the European Union,” she said. “He is also someone who has earned and maintained the trust of President Juncker.”</s>Presidents of the European Commission should be able to choose their own secretary-general, EU budget chief Günther Oettinger said Wednesday, following criticism of how Martin Selmayr came to fill the EU’s most senior civil service post.

Oettinger was asked during the DLD Europe conference in Brussels whether the Commission could have done anything differently in the swift appointment of Selmayr as secretary-general, which the European Ombudsman slammed in a scathing report on Tuesday.

The budget commissioner said in response that the head of the Commission should be able to choose someone they think is trustworthy and capable of organizing the internal processes of the Commission. Oettinger added that even members of the European Council were wondering why the president doesn’t have the right to choose a secretary-general.

Currently, the secretary-general has to be approved in a vote by commissioners.

“Take my chancellor as an example,” Oettinger said, referring to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. “Do you really think when she has to appoint a new boss of her chancellery, she would ask anybody? It’s her decision.”

Selmayr’s rapid rise from President Jean-Claude Juncker’s chief of staff to secretary-general earlier this year created a storm in Brussels. European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly was urged by the European Parliament to investigate his appointment, and her report this week concluded the Commission had committed four acts of “maladministration” in the process.

Oettinger said Wednesday that Selmayr is a person that “nobody is neutral about.”

“Many like him and are happy to have him on our team. But not everybody likes him,” the commissioner said. “Therefore it was clear that not everybody was happy with his appointment — in the Parliament, in the public sphere, even in the Commission.”

Still, Oettinger said he is convinced that Selmayr is competent and can fulfill all the responsibilities of the secretary-general position.</s>FILE- In this Wednesday, March 7, 2018 file photo, Secretary-General of the Commission Martin Selmayr waits for the start of a meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels. The European Union's official transparency watchdog on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018 said the EU's executive Commission put public trust at risk by fast-tracking the appointment of Martin Selmayr. Selmayr, Juncker's former head of cabinet, was appointed Commission Secretary-General in February 2018 at a meeting that saw him promoted twice within minutes. less

FILE- In this Wednesday, March 7, 2018 file photo, Secretary-General of the Commission Martin Selmayr waits for the start of a meeting at EU headquarters in Brussels. The European Union's official transparency ... more

FILE - In this May 3, 2017 file photo, Martin Selmayr, right, attends a meeting with EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, center, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at EU headquarters in Brussels. The European Union's official transparency watchdog on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2018 said the EU's executive Commission put public trust at risk by fast-tracking the appointment of Martin Selmayr. Selmayr, Juncker's former head of cabinet, was appointed Commission Secretary-General in February 2018 at a meeting that saw him promoted twice within minutes. less

FILE - In this May 3, 2017 file photo, Martin Selmayr, right, attends a meeting with EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, center, and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at EU headquarters ... more

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's official transparency watchdog said Tuesday that the EU's powerful executive Commission put public trust at risk by fast-tracking the appointment of a protege of its president, Jean-Claude Juncker, to a top job.

Martin Selmayr, Juncker's former head of Cabinet, was appointed secretary-general in February at a meeting that saw him promoted twice within minutes.

Even EU commissioners — who are responsible for policy files ranging from the economy to trade, the environment and energy — publicly admitted surprise at the speed with which the nomination was handled. Many weren't aware that the promotion was planned in advance, by Juncker himself.

Accusing the European Commission of "maladministration," European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly said that the way the appointment was handled "risked jeopardizing the hard won record of high EU administrative standards and consequently, the public trust."

"It is extraordinary that no commissioner seemed to question the secretary-general appointment procedure, which in the end raised valid widespread concerns." she said.

O'Reilly didn't say the move was illegal or question Selmayr's suitability for the post.

Selmayr now runs the European Commission — which has around 33,000 employees and whose commissioners are appointed, not elected — and so wields strong influence over the EU's agenda and policy priorities. Juncker, who is of ailing health, stood by Selmayr when news of the appointment procedure became public and vowed to quit himself before he would ever try to force his protege out.

O'Reilly urged the commission to develop a specific and separate appointment procedure for appointing the secretary-general to avoid a repeat in future.

The commission, meanwhile, said it "has a different factual assessment" of parts of the ombudsman's report.

The commissioner responsible for human resources, Guenther Oettinger, said he looked forward to discussing with other EU institutions "how the application of the current rules and procedures can be improved in the future." A meeting has been scheduled for Sept. 25, he said.

The nature of the appointment, exposed by French newspaper Liberation, raised deep concerns because the European Commission is the guardian of the EU's treaties and the arbiter of the bloc's democratic standards yet stands accused of bending its own rules.

For example, the commission has launched a rule of law procedure against Poland for changes made by the new government there that Brussels believes undermine the independence of the courts and justice system. It's locked in a similar battle with Hungary. Both countries say — like the commission in this case — that they are following the letter of the law.

Part of the reason that Britons voted to leave the 28-nation bloc next year was the perception that unelected, unaccountable, well-heeled bureaucrats in Brussels were stitching up backroom deals against the interests of citizens and with the aim of enriching themselves. Regardless of his competence, Selmayr's nomination embodies the concerns of many euroskeptics.</s>Brussels broke “the spirit and letter” of EU rules by rushing through the controversial appointment of one of Jean-Claude Juncker’s closest allies to the lead role in the European Commission.

The European Ombudsman, which investigates maladministration, strongly criticised the rapid double-promotion of Martin Selmayr from head of Mr Juncker’s team to secretary-general of the EU's civil service.

Mr Selmayr was promoted to deputy secretary-general of the commission at a February 21 meeting of the EU commissioners. Shortly afterwards, the secretary-general Alexander Italianer announced his retirement.

Mr Juncker, the president of the commission, promptly proposed the divisive Mr Selmayr took on...
The European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly, mentions four counts of maladministration by the European Commission in the fast-track nomination of Martin Selmayr as its Secretary-General in February.