Brussels’ Selmayr problem: Too many Germans in top jobs

Too many Germans and not enough transparency.

Those were the main complaints among EU diplomats and members of the European Parliament about the surprise appointment of Martin Selmayr, Jean-Claude Juncker’s chief of staff, as the Commission’s top civil servant. The move gives the already-powerful German lawyer even more influence in Brussels and ensures he will stay in the secretary-general post even after the current Commission departs in October next year.

The move means Germans will hold the secretary-general position in three EU institutions. Klaus Welle holds the post at the European Parliament while veteran diplomat Helga Schmid has the equivalent position at the European External Action Service.

A senior EU diplomat said Selmayr’s nomination was not surprising as “he acted and worked in the interests of the European Commission.”

However, having a third German as secretary-general in the EU is “not possible,” the diplomat said.

“There needs to be a balance of nationalities,” he said. “Three Germans is too much.”

Another EU diplomat went as far as saying that Selmayr’s appointment was a “power grab that gives lots of power to the Germans.”