Günther Oettinger — De facto European Commission vice president
No-one gets between Jean-Claude Juncker's team, and Commissioner Günther Oettinger | John Thys/AFP via Getty Images
Günther Oettinger — De facto European Commission vice president
It’s now Day 95 with no confirmation of whether Günther Oettinger is to be promoted to Commission vice president, it’s apparent this is not all bad news for the man himself. Oettinger currently doesn’t report to any of the Commission’s vice presidents, unlike his direct colleagues.
The two vice presidents he could report to — Jyrki Katainen on budget and Frans Timmermans on human resources — have received no instructions on how to handle Oettinger’s policy files.
“He’s a free agent,” reports a Berlaymont source. “Can you imagine [President Jean-Claude Juncker chief of staff] Martin Selmayr allowing Cecilia Malmström or someone else to be a ‘middle man’ between him and Oettinger on senior appointments? It would never happen,” the source concluded.
Read more today’s Brussels Playbook here.
Click Here: Golf special