Selmayr ain’t welcome back in Brussels, EU officials say

BRUSSELS — The potential return of the “Monster of the Berlaymont” is freaking out Brussels.

The halls of Brussels’ institutions are abuzz with gossip (and some fear) that Martin Selmayr, once the European Commission’s top civil servant, known for his abrasive leadership style, is set to return to the mothership as his assignment in Austria hits the term limit. If an official of his seniority were to return to Brussels, it would have to be to a big job.

POLITICO spoke to a dozen EU officials in Brussels, all of whom said his return to Brussels was unwelcome, unlikely and, in the words of one Commission official, even “unthinkable” under the current boss of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, who runs a tight ship.

Still, the officials were granted anonymity to speak freely about Selmayr, who is still seen as a powerful figure, but has been packed off at a safe distance to head the European Commission’s office in Vienna.

In a sign that even he may accept that he may need to stay out of the base camp for a while longer, Selmayr has been interviewed to become the next EU ambassador to Switzerland, two officials familiar with the interview process told POLITICO. According to the EU’s own guidelines, ambassadors are appointed by the presidents of the European Council and the European Commission following a proposal from the EU’s foreign policy chief.

Selmayr received a murky fast-track promotion in 2018, from chief of staff to then-Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to secretary-general of the European Commission. The European Ombudsman said that accelerated appointment “did not follow EU law, in letter or spirit, and did not follow the Commission’s own rules” and it was widely seen as a Machiavellian power move to concentrate Selmayr’s power.

As one European Commission official put it, classic Selmayr moves during his time in Brussels included, for example, steamrolling the opposition, enforcing decisions even where he had no formal authority, and promoting his favorite candidates.

Selmayr resigned from his top civil servant role as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen secured her nomination, a concession to critics worried about too many German officials in the Commission’s highest echelons. For von der Leyen, it was a double win, affording the European Parliament a triumph at a time when she needed their support (and nomination), and allowing her to be seen as having deposed the powerful civil servant as she asserted her own influence in Brussels.

In an interview with a German news outlet last year, Selmayr said he wouldn’t be sad to return to Brussels. But von der Leyen’s outsized influence in Brussels, combined with Selmayr’s controversial leadership tactics, make a Commission comeback nearly impossible, according to two senior officials in the EU executive.

“As long as Ursula sits where she sits, Martin will spin around the EU rather than be in the EU,” one EU official said. “She will keep him safely away not to erode her power. At the same time, he is also smart enough to realize that he has to stay away for now.”

Selmayr did not respond to a request for comment.

Since Selmayr’s departure from Brussels in 2019, the Commission’s inner workings have been transformed. Whereas Selmayr was the “power behind the throne” under Juncker, von der Leyen and her right hand, Björn Seibert, run a tighter ship.

Since Selmayr’s departure from Brussels in 2019, the Commission’s inner workings have been transformed | Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images

Four other Commission officials said speculation is rife among colleagues concerning Selmayr’s potential return and current power dynamics at the top of the Commission, given the starkly different styles of current senior Commission officials. Von der Leyen has run the EU executive in a more top-down, presidential manner, especially in steering the bloc through the pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine. Since she took control, the Commission’s power has grown considerably.

In a way, von der Leyen is the new Martin Selmayr, said Steven Van Hecke, a professor in European politics at the Catholic University of Leuven. “This was always a difficult point: He was ‘only’ the chief of staff or the secretary general. He always said that he didn’t do anything without Juncker’s blessing, but he did have a chance to jump in that hole. Von der Leyen does not leave that space.”

According to EU standard practice, diplomats rotate out every four years. In the last European diplomatic reshuffle, Selmayr was shortlisted to become the bloc’s ambassador to either the U.S. or the United Nations, two key postings for defending EU interests. Instead of securing one of those posts, however, Selmayr’s time in Austria was extended.

The Commission refused to comment on Selmayr’s future posting. 

As with Austria, a posting to Switzerland is seen by some officials as diplomatic exile, a place where Selmayr’s damage potential is limited. “It’s a quiet nice place where he can do no harm,” yet another Commission official said.