Following our complaint alongside other watchdogs Corporate Europe Observatory, LobbyControl and the Good Lobby, and previous statement, Transparency International EU is pleased to learn the European Ombudsman is now opening a full inquiry into the European Commission’s appointment of Jim Hagemann Snabe as its special AI envoy. As we detailed extensively, the appointment should never have taken place due to Mr Hagemann Snabe’s extensive interests in the AI industry. These include:
- His chairmanship of the supervisory board of Siemens, a company with considerable stakes in the AI market
- His membership of the board at Bloom Energy Corporation, a corporation that provides on-site power generation for data centres
- His membership of the board of the investment fund Temasek Holdings, which holds investments across the digital industry.
Nick Aiossa, Director at Transparency International EU, said:
“It is extremely encouraging the Ombudsman has now expended the scope of her inquiry into the appointment of the EU’s AI envoy. This appointment was rife with potential conflicts of interest related to Mr Hagemann Snabe’s extensive financial ties to the AI industry. It is high time the Commission opened its eyes to these concerns and rescinded the appointment.”
Bram Vranken, campaigner and researcher at Corporate Europe Observatory, said:
“It is clearly impossible for Mr Hagemann Snabe to navigate the potential conflicts of interest. He has direct financial interests in the data centre build-out and watering down rules on AI. With public concerns about under-regulated AI and the impact of data centres growing, the EU should listen to the thousands of people that took the streets protesting data centres last weekend. The Ombudsman inquiry is a welcome step in holding the Commission to account on blatantly side-stepping its own rules.”
The Ombudsman will now be inspecting Commission documents. The inspection is due to take place by 18 December.
