The transfer of Diederik Samson from the European Commission to the Gasunie board is contrary to EU lobbying and transparency rules, say MEP for the National Security Council Dirk Gutink and MEP for the Greens Daniel Freund. They want to know from the European Commission whether this will have any consequences.
As of July 1, former PvdA leader Diederik Samsom will become chairman of the Gasunie supervisory board. Before that, he was the right-hand man of European Commissioner Frans Timmermans for many years, and then briefly of his successor, Webbie Hoekstra.
Research site Follow the Money wrote in late June that Samsom accepted the top job at Gasunie without seeking permission from the European Commission. Samsom admitted to the broker that he had made a mistake.
Gutink is surprised by Samsom’s breach of the rules. “We watched with astonishment as Didrik Samsom moved to a senior position at Gasoni without informing the European Commission, even though this was just a commitment,” Gutink says.
“If senior European Commission officials and lobbying and transparency rules are ignored, we will not only be violating the rules, but we will also be violating trust in good governance in Europe,” he added.
According to Goetting, Samsom is clearly suitable for the position in Gasoni. “But the rules apply to all people working at the European Commission, so we expect them to make a comprehensive retrospective assessment of this transition and, if possible, impose restrictive conditions, such as a cooling-off period.”
