Leaked: Tense correspondence between EU commissioner hopefuls and Parliament

STRASBOURG — Twenty-three commissioner nominees who were asked for additional information regarding assets during their European Parliament screenings were approved Thursday morning, despite many of them returning sparse conflict-of-interest forms.

Some from The Left and the Greens called the process a “farce,” and a handful of their members walked out of the meeting.

POLITICO has seen 13 of the nominees’ additional disclosures. Some nominees such as Spain’s Teresa Ribera and France’s Stéphane Séjourné insist they did not need to declare additional assets. Greece’s Apostolos Tzitzikostas refused to provide many details on his extensive assets. Croatia’s Dubravka Šuica and Italy’s Raffaele Fitto have submitted responses to the legal affairs committee’s demands. Slovenia’s Marta Kos shared all the details related to her savings in a Swiss bank.

The legal affairs committee, known as JURI, asked 23 of the 26 commissioner hopefuls last week to provide additional information after determining a chunk of the conflict-of-interest declarations (leaked to POLITICO) were mostly empty. The European Commission, the European Union’s executive arm, is typically seen to be the institution with more control across Brussels and this is one of the few times the Parliament is able to hold it accountable to its rules.

Faced with the Parliament’s additional questions, nominees relied on ambiguous rules to avoid responding ahead of the committee’s meeting on Thursday. 

“It is not clear what they need to give because rules are weirdly phrased,” said a parliamentary official who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. According to the rules, nominees need to disclose any “investment” above €10,000 and any assets and liabilities that could bring about a conflict of interest. Real estate and bank accounts used for personal purposes do not need to be declared. 

It is up to candidates to disclose or omit based on their own assessment of what might constitute a conflict of interest, “which is strange,” the same official said. 

This explains why some nominees did not disclose additional information.

“When I raised issues about incompleteness of the information and that we should pose another question, they voted everything down because they are afraid their candidates could be damaged,” the Greens’ lead MEP in the committee, Sergey Lagodinsky, told POLITICO.

The process can kill (or severely damage) aspiring commissioners’ careers by rejecting a candidate or lead to portfolio rearrangements if JURI finds evidence of a conflict of interest. 

But the committee has limited investigative capacity and — as ever with Parliament — it remains to be seen if it will be willing to use the full extent of the power it holds in the November hearings. In the end, the Socialists and Democrats, the European People’s Party, Renew Europe, and the European Conservatives and Reformists agreed to push forward their 26 commissioners, without the support of The Left and the Greens.

Not so much to declare (again)

— Greece’s Apostolos Tzitzikostas raised eyebrows among lawmakers who asked him to clarify the origins of his real estate portfolio, which includes partial or total ownership of 16 apartments, approximately 655,463 square meters of land, six stores and also several garages and storage spaces all around Greece. Some fear this could affect his role as a future commissioner on tourism, whose decisions may collide with his properties’ values.

The politician, who comes from an old Greek family, said in a written answer that it all came from inheritance from his parents, except for a house he purchased through a loan taken with his wife in Vari Voula Vouliagmeni. He didn’t specify the loan’s amount or its provenance, despite lawmakers’ request for specifics on mortgages, loans or other liabilities attached to his properties.

Lawmakers noted that with the exception of his shareholding in a dairy plant and a coffee company, he did not declare any financial assets above €10,000. “In particular as could be derived from the use of and income from the declared property” — Tzitzikostas owns farms and also takes part in a solar energy company.

The Greek candidate said the revenue he generates from his properties is used “for taxes, maintenance, repairs and renovation” and the remaining income is kept in bank accounts on which he gives no further details. Tzitzikostas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

— Spain’s Teresa Ribera also submitted a form that lacked details, while an earlier declaration of interest in Madrid contained many more. Despite the committee’s push for additional information, Ribera reaffirmed: “I have no financial interests that could be declared or could give rise to a conflict of interest.”

Her latest declaration of interest in 2023 disclosed she owned €250,000 in a savings account and is co-owner of four properties, as well as having shares in one of Spain’s biggest banks, BBVA, worth €1,680, none of which was disclosed in her latest declaration. When asked by POLITICO about the previous declaration, Ribera’s office confirmed she still owns the assets outlined in Spain’s declaration, where the “information required is different.” 

“In Spain it is pretty exhaustive: deputies are obliged to declare every single thing … in the case of the EU bank accounts, real estate properties for family use” and assets below €10,000 do not need to be declared, Ribera’s office pointed out, adding that she sought “confirmation” before sending in her declaration. 

— France’s Stéphane Séjourné, whose party advocates for tougher transparency obligations for EU officials, surprised members of the legal affairs committee with an almost empty form. He acknowledged the “utmost importance” of the Parliament’s review and his respect for “the highest ethical standards.” Still, he was reluctant to provide further details on the basis that it is “in line with the Code of Conduct for Members of the European Commission” and that he has served the public’s interest throughout his career.

While he worked for Macron’s campaign in 2016 and 2017 — which can be found in the much more detailed declaration he provided to the French High Authority for Transparency in Public Life — he did not include this in his current declaration.

He doesn’t provide details on family connections, declares having no investments, “no stocks, bonds or loans,” or any other assets or liabilities that could potentially raise a conflict of interest. Séjourné did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

— Estonia’s Kaja Kallas pointed out it has been 13 years since she complied with transparency requirements attached to her various roles as an Estonian or EU official. “I have not declared any financial interest as I do not have any,” she writes to lawmakers, adding this comes as a result of a “conscious decision not to invest in any shares or bonds of companies or similar instruments” because of her functions.

The future chief of the EU’s foreign service arm, who faced controversy at home related to her husband’s investments, also said she and her husband have “thoroughly verified that it cannot be considered to be capable of giving rise to a conflict of interest.” Her husband owns a consultancy which also has shares in a company providing storage facilities. Kallas did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

— Finland’s Henna Virkkunen adopted the same line as all the above. Asked to provide more information about her and her husband’s financial situation, she said that she has no financial interests she considers could give rise to a conflict of interest. “I have only regular bank and savings accounts, no loans to declare,” she affirmed. Virkkunen did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

— Slovakia’s Maroš Šefčovič pushed back against the committee’s request for more information, arguing that he has been commissioner since 2009 and that his declarations have been public since then. He highlighted owning standard bank and saving accounts but that he did not declare them because it’s not required. On the questions regarding his spouse, he justified the lack of information by arguing she has not worked since 2004. When asked for comment, Šefčovič said: “The EVP has made sure to provide the European Parliament with the necessary and clear clarifications in response to the Committee’s follow-up questions.”

— Romania’s Roxana Mînzatu said in her answer to the committee’s request for more information that she had nothing new to declare. Contacted by POLITICO, Mînzatu said it would “not be appropriate to comment on any leaks or speculation” while the evaluation process in ongoing.

— Austria’s Magnus Brunner was asked to provide more details and said he had already declared everything he was obliged to disclose. “In the interest of full transparency, I may add — although not required by the declaration of interests — the following elements: I own a security issued by the Republic of Austria worth 100 euro — I have taken out two bank loans, one for the purchase and renovation of our family home, and another to finance my children’s education abroad— I am the owner of a family home,” he said in a letter to the committee.

A spokesperson for Magnus Brunner said they did not wish to comment on this ongoing process.

— Portugal’s Maria Luís Albuquerque was also asked to provide more information about her financial interests and amended her previous declarations by giving more details about her role in two companies — which she did. That includes her own boutique consultancy that she owns with her husband, which she says she is in the process of leaving, and a holding company, HRRL Açores, in which she participated as part of her previous activities. Albuquerque did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Submitted to Parliament’s demands

— Slovenia’s Marta Kos intrigued lawmakers when declaring around €1 million in savings accounts and was asked to provide more details — which she did. The future commissioner for enlargement declared owning around €523,000 in the regional bank for the Swiss canton of Vaud, the Banque Cantonale Vaudoise. An investment manager also based in Switzerland is moving the money in various mutual funds (40 percent), the rest of it is being split between companies in the watchmaking sector, food industry, pharmaceutical sector, financial services, health care, but also in commodities like gold.

The former ambassador-turned-consultant for a lobbying firm in Brussels has also invested €682,000 through a Slovenian bank, which deals with investments in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, according to graphics she included. Kos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

— Bulgarian Commission nominee Ekaterina Zaharieva was asked to clarify the source of €38,000 in cash which she declared belonged to her husband. In her answer to lawmakers, she said this comes from his work as an architect and clarified shares he owns in other companies like his architect studio. Zaharieva did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

— Italy’s Raffaele Fitto provided lawmakers with numerous documents to clarify the number and current market value of the shares he owns in banks — whose worth remains below the €10,000 threshold. The future vice president of the Commission, in charge of the multibillion-euro Cohesion Fund, also corrected his previous declaration as he noticed a €860 gap in the amount listed as his savings (worth €246,090).

The right-wing politician was also asked to clarify the origins and loans related to his real estate assets portfolio, which includes the total ownership of seven apartments and shares in three others. His real estate assets, all located in Italy, also include land, two garages and a cellar. Two of those assets were entirely financed through personal funds, he detailed, while two others implied mortgages. One of them — a €600,000 mortgage with Banco di Napoli (now Banca Intesa Sanpaolo)— is still being paid. Fitto did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

— Croatia’s Dubravka Šuica decided to submit to the committee’s demand to sell all her shares in maritime shipping company Atlantska Plovidba worth €3,684. Though highlighting that she has always declared these shares since she started as commissioner, she acknowledged the committee’s worries that these could now give way to a conflict of interest as she has been assigned the Mediterranean portfolio. She will sell her shares “in the interest of full transparency, and to avoid any instance of a perception of a potential conflict of interest,” her letter to the committee reads. Šuica did not immediately respond to a request for comment.