Ursula von der Leyen's "friend" and advisor, lobbyists' favorite interlocutor

Jean-Claude Juncker, former president of the European Commission, represents the non-transparent gateway for lobbyists to connect with Ursula von der Leyen, the current president of the European Executive, according to an investigation published yesterday by journalists from the European investigative website Follow The Money.

The cited source shows that Juncker established in 2019, upon the end of his term as president, a position as an unpaid special advisor to the European Commission, a position on the basis of which he continues to have an office in the Berlaymont building, the headquarters of the European executive in Brussels, where he receives diplomats, former European commissioners who have since become lobbyists and high-ranking politicians. Basically, although his term ended in 2019, Juncker did not withdraw from the center of power. He himself admits to the quoted source: "I have become accustomed to this building. I have many friends, former collaborators and colleagues here. When prime ministers or former commissioners come to Brussels, they want to have a meeting with me. The easiest thing is to have an office in the Commission.”

His weekly presence in Brussels, accompanied by meetings with current President Ursula von der Leyen and other commissioners, raises suspicions that his visitors could use their relationship with him as a hidden path to power. "These people who want to see him clearly want something from him,” warns Emilia Korkea-aho, professor of European Law and Legislative Studies at the University of Eastern Finland.

In response, Jean-Claude Juncker downplays the risks and claims that he cannot be influenced: "The people I see never try to corner me into acting according to their instructions. I talk to them, like I talk to journalists. It's exactly the same. I am immune to influence.”

However, the Finnish researcher rejected this argument, according to Follow The Money: "No one is immune to influence.”

For his part, Daniel Sarmiento, professor of European law at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid, confirms that the problem is not just what the former president of the European Commission does, but the type of message Juncker sends: "The problem is not how immune you are. The problem is that if you meet a lobbyist in the Commission headquarters, this will raise questions and send the wrong message. He may indeed be immune, but people do not know.”

The cited source tried to document the 74 meetings that Jean-Claude Juncker has had in the European Commission headquarters over the past six years, but for none of them are there any references in the documents in the Berlaymont building to the topics or ideas discussed. The reason is simple: Juncker is not required to keep minutes, because he is not a European Commission official, but an unpaid special advisor. Moreover, the European Commission confirmed to the cited source that there are no public documents detailing the former president of the European Executive.

Among the 74 people who met with Juncker in the European Commission building in the last six years are Gunther Oettinger or Phil Hogan, who quickly entered the consulting industry after leaving their European positions, which demonstrates that the interactions in Juncker's office are not simple conversations between friends, but can represent informal channels through which major decisions are tested or even influenced.

Iskra Kirova, director of Human Rights Watch for Europe and Central Asia, told the cited source that the possibility of someone taking a simple photo of Juncker in discussions at the European Commission headquarters can very easily be used to influence decisions or politicians. Furthermore, Kirova stated that the lack of transparency in this case raises serious concerns about freedom of expression, freedom of the press and the ability of civil society to operate.

The status of Jean-Claude Juncker as an "unpaid special advisor” is also controversial, according to the cited source, which recalls that in 2019, the college of commissioners approved that former presidents should have such a contract for five years, although the rules provide for a maximum of two. Last year, the Commission website still mentioned that Juncker's mandate expires in 2029, but after journalists asked, the date was discreetly changed to 2026. Commission spokesman Balasz Ujvari stated that the process "was fully in line with the relevant legislative framework” and that Juncker worked "on the basis of a series of two-year contracts”. However, the European Commission refuses to publish the contracts signed with Juncker since 2019.

Contacted by Follow The Money journalists, Jean-Claude Juncker declares himself a stranger to these maneuvers: "I am in the hands of the Commission. I do not decide”. Furthermore, regarding his current role, Juncker claims: "I do not provide specific advice on concrete issues. I am not Ursula von der Leyen's advisor. I am her friend".

The fact that Jean-Claude Juncker speaks regularly with the head of the European Executive was confirmed by Balasz Ujvari, the Commission spokesman: "There are regular contacts between President von der Leyen and Mr Juncker in his capacity as a special advisor".

However, experts believe that Juncker's mere presence in the Berlaymont - the European Commission building -, with direct access to current commissioners and meetings that escape any transparency rules, is enough to raise questions.

"We don't really know how powerful and influential Juncker is. All these people want to meet with him. This indicates that he can exercise some power", Emilia Korkea-aho, professor of European law at the University of Eastern Finland, told the quoted source.

And one example of this is the meeting between Kazakh Ambassador Margulan Baimukhan and Juncker, two years after the Luxembourger left the Commission. Shortly after the visit, the Kazakh embassy publicly praised the talks on "economic cooperation”, even suggesting that the former European leader had used his influence to promote commercial interests. Juncker has denied any such involvement, but the lack of official minutes or notes makes it impossible to verify the content of his meetings. And this lack of transparency is precisely what worries experts, who point out that, unlike active commissioners, special advisers are not required to declare meetings with lobbyists.