Are Juncker’s Commission staff headed for #BrusselsLobbyShops?

While European heads of state are fighting over which Spitzenkandidat will succeed Jean-Claude Juncker as European Commission president, lobbying and consulting shops in Brussels are rubbing their hands at the prospect of recruiting new high-profile employees. It’s no secret many outgoing officials exchange their offices in the EU institutions for cushy jobs in the private sector, capitalizing on their connections and insider knowledge to continue influencing decision-making in Brussels. If past Commission handovers are any example, the outgoing Juncker Cabinet should expect an avalanche of emails from head-hunters.

And why not? After all, a lobbyist’s ability to exert influence and effect change depends on the ability to reach decisionmakers. They know all the important stakeholders not only professionally but personally as well, maintaining relationships not only with them but with their families. It’s no wonder this line of work attracts politicians, their relatives, and many others who have been close to the centre of political power.

The European Commission’s revolving door

The list of career politicians-turned-lobbyists is long. Take Siim Kallas, former prime minister of Estonia and European Commissioner for Transport but currently a governance consultant for software solutions provider Nortal since 2015. In this role, he has advised Nortal in countries such as Qatar, Lithuania and Moldova.

Neelie Kroes, meanwhile, went into international finance with special adviser and board membership roles at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Salesforce and Uber. Kroes had already enjoyed an illustrious career in the private sector before becoming Commissioner for the digital agenda, to the extent the Wall Street Journal noted in 2004 that “EU officials…have never dealt with a commission candidate with such extensive business ties – and potential conflicts.

It’s not clear what Juncker himself is planning to do once he relinquishes his position, but predecessor José Manuel Barroso set a notorious precedent when he became a non-executive Chairman of Goldman Sachs within two months of the official 18-month “cooling off” period mandated for EU officials. 

The switch from public official to corporate lobbyist is so common that the Anglophone world has even developed a idiom for it, the “Blair disease”, after Tony Blair. The expression refers to former heads of state monetising their services as lobbyists and consultants without regard for risks to their personal reputation. In fact, in many such cases, that hard-earned reputation represents the lobbyist’s primary added value.

KGL and Marsha Lazareva: good money to fix bad reputations

One ongoing lobbying effort spanning Washington, London, Moscow, and the Persian Gulf on behalf of logistics company Kuwait & Gulf Link (KGL) has brought together a star-studded team of personalities and may represent a new pinnacle for this brand of lobbying. Prominent spokespeople including Neil Bush, son of George H.W. Bush, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, Tatyana Yumasheva, daughter of former Russian president Boris Yeltsin, and former MI6 head Sir John Scarlett have signed up to help KGL counter embezzlement charges facing executives Marsha Lazareva and Saeed Dashti. As it happens, Cherie Blair’s law firm Omnia Strategy is part of the legal team working the executives’ case in parallel with this lobbying campaign.

Freeh notably signed up as the first of 13 top-level lobbyists to represent Kuwait & Gulf Link (KGL) and its CEO Marsha Lazareva, jailed by Kuwaiti authorities in 2017 for allegedly misappropriating half a billion dollars from an asset sale in the Philippines. KGL invested $2.5 million in lobbying efforts in Washington alone during the first quarter of the year. The narrative at the heart of the campaign? Marsha Lazareva and Saeed Dashti are the victims of a flawed investigation in Kuwait, with advocates like Freeh demanding the pair be released and the charges dropped. These efforts seem to be bearing fruit, with Marsha Lazareva’s release on bail last month.

In reality, however, KGL has faced disturbing allegations related to money laundering and sanctions busting over the past decade. The most serious involve claims the company, a contractor for the US military in the region, had created “ghost structures” to circumvent sanctions against Iranian business entities. In January 2018, US Senator Marco Rubio penned a letter to Department of Defence (DoD) Inspector General Glenn Fine, urging a deeper look into KGL’s compliance with the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR). Rubio pointed to allegations KGL had used cargo vessels to circumvent sanctions and “provide logistic support to and from Iran,” as well as mismanaging its US military contracts and conducting large-scale trespassing in Kuwaiti ports.

The archetype: Gerhard Schröder and Vladimir Putin

While the KGL campaign is impressive in the range of personalities it has hired, the most scandalous switch by a European politician in recent memory is likely former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Indeed, when Angela Merkel’s predecessor joined the circle of Russian president Vladimir Putin following his defeat in the 2005 elections, he took up the cause not only of a political leader who represents perhaps the greatest geopolitical threat to Europe, but also a personal friend.

Schröder’s sell-out paid off financially but has critically damaged European interests. Putin made sure Schröder would take a leadership position in Gazprom in 2005 and oversee the Nord Stream pipeline project. Schröder’s subsequent push for the establishment of Nord Stream 2 has sabotaged Europe’s attempt to diversify its energy supplies, increasing dependence on Russia and undermining EU energy security. In 2017, Putin arranged for Schröder to become the chairman of Rosneft, despite the company being under European sanctions. For pushing Russia’s foreign policy agenda abroad, Schröder has been referred to as Putin’s most important propagandist in Europe.

With the revolving door of high-ranking politicians joining lobbying campaigns directly impacting European interests, will the EU find any lessons to be learned from these examples? With a new Commission coming in shortly, now would be an ideal time to increase the length of the official “cooling off period”. After all, the Barrosos and Schröders of the world have proven their ability to wield undue influence years after they leave office.

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