Martin Selmayr – who was dubbed the “Monster of the Berlaymont” when he worked for the European Commission – is poised to make a shock return to Brussels in an influential new role, leaked papers have suggested.
The 53-year-old German served as chief of staff to former President Jean-Claude Juncker between 2014 and 2018, before being controversially appointed the Commission’s Secretary-General, a promotion which led to him being described as “the most powerful bureaucrat in the world”.
He resigned abruptly in 2019, with speculation that he opted to do so after current Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was nominated to replace Mr Juncker.
His move was also preceded by a vote in the European Parliament for him to step down, with widespread concerns about the process by which he was appointed less than a year earlier.
Since then he has worked as the EU’s permanent representative to Austria – but a document seen by Politico has indicated he is set to be appointed to a newly created advisory role within the Commission’s Secretariat-General in what would be a major turn-up.
Pieter Cleppe, editor of BrusselsReport.eu, told Express.co.uk that if Mr Selmayr did come back, it was reasonable to expect that he would once again wield considerable clout.
He said: “He was mostly so powerful due to the passivity of Juncker.
“Still, all the top bureaucrats in the EU Commission are very powerful, given how they remain there permanently, as opposed to the Commissioners that change every five or a maximum of 10 years.”
Acknowledging him as “the classic career eurocrat”, Mr Cleppe recalled Mr Selmayr’s famous nickname, bestowed, he suggested: “I guess as he was so all-controlling.”
While stressing that Mr Selmayr did not “share my views”, Mr Cleppe said he was “quite capable”. His appointment needed to be viewed in the context of a crucial year for the EU with June’s European Parliamentary elections, he stressed.
Yesterday’s decision is understood to have been signed off by the bloc’s 27 Commissioners – although for now, he is on secondment to the University of Vienna, where he has been appointed to a “guest professorship” in EU law starting today.
One EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the final decision of whether he would come back to a senior post would be taken “in the summer”.
Speaking to a German journalist last year, Mr Selmayr indicated his willingness to come back.
However, responding at the time, another insider suggested his testy relationship with Ms von der Leyen made such a move difficult.
They said: “As long as Ursula sits where she sits, Martin will spin around the EU rather than be in the EU.
“She will keep him safely away not to erode her power.
‘At the same time, he is also smart enough to realise that he has to stay away for now.”
