‘Revolving Doors’ Between EU Commission Staff and Corporations Prompts a New Probe
24th May 2024
A professional move by one of the European Commission’s top antitrust officials to a New York-based legal firm has precipitated a formal investigation by the EU Ombudsman over potential conflicts of interest.
The European Commission was publicly warned by Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly about a “negative impact on public trust” as well as a potential spike in “Eurosceptic sentiment” after the EU’s antitrust director Henrik Morch opted for a job with the American multinational law firm Paul Weiss after a 33-year career working in EU institutions.
Specialising in mergers and acquisitions, as well as navigating regulatory frameworks for major corporations, legal giant Paul Weiss gloated about Morch’s defection to the company on their webpage, saying that the former Danish Eurocrat would take a role in their Brussels antitrust office.
“This country is planted thick with laws, man’s laws not God’s.”
God’s laws are very simple:
(1) Be nice. (If you have to ask, it’s probably not nice.)
(2) Don’t do stupid shit. (If you have to ask, it’s probably stupid.)
All the rest is commentary (by people who ought instead to be doing something useful).