EU watchdog probes Commission’s AI pick over conflict of interest concerns

European Ombudsman Teresa Anjinho opened an inquiry into the European Commission's appointment of Siemens supervisory board chairman Jim Hagemann Snabe as its Special Envoy for Industrial Artificial Intelligence, after NGOs including Transparency International and Corporate Europe Observatory complained in June that the Commission failed to "identify, assess, and address" conflicts of interest. Anjinho told Corporate Europe Observatory she will inspect Commission documents and possibly meet relevant staff, and the NGOs want the appointment revoked; Snabe holds the unpaid role until the end of March 2027 while Siemens lobbied to exempt machinery-rule products from the EU AI Act, a change legislators agreed to in the summer. The Commission, which denied document access to European Parliament lawmakers and POLITICO, did not comment by publication.

Jim Hagemann Snabe, supervisory board chairman of Siemens and EU Commission Special Envoy for Industrial Artificial Intelligence, speaks during the Siemens general assembly in Munich, Germany on Feb. 9, 2023. | Pool photo by Sven Hoppe via Getty Images The EU’s watchdog is investigating whether the European Commission managed to “identify, assess and address” actual or potential conflicts of interest when it appointed the chairman of Siemens as Ursula von der Leyen’s AI envoy. A group of NGOs complained in June to the European Ombudsman about the choice of Jim Hagemann Snabe. Among his responsibilities in the role is to produce a report on issues including AI infrastructure, frontier AI technologies and industrial AI adoption. The NGOs, which include Transparency International and Corporate Europe Observatory, warned that Snabe’s ongoing role at Siemens “may compromise the envoy’s independence and impartiality.” Advertisement The European Ombudsman in September launched a probe into the Commission over its failure to respond to the NGO concerns. Now, it has gone one step further. “You argue that the Commission did not properly identify, assess, and address actual or potential conflicts of interest,” Ombudsman Teresa Anjinho wrote in a letter to Corporate Europe Observatory. “Therefore you would like the Commission to revoke the appointment.” “I have decided to open an inquiry into this complaint,” she wrote, adding that it was necessary for the watchdog to inspect Commission documents, and possibly meet with “relevant Commission staff members.” Bram Vranken, Corporate Europe Observatory researcher and campaigner, 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." Snabe will serve in the unpaid role until the end of March 2027. Advertisement His appointment in June drew criticism from NGOs because of Siemens’ recent role in lobbying to loosen the AI rules now shaping Europe’s industrial strategy. Siemens was one of the main proponents of exempting products covered by the EU’s machinery rules from the bloc’s flagship AI law — a tweak EU legislators agreed to in the summer and which is now part of the law. Siemens is also part of European Tech Creators, a new lobbying force in Brussels that also includes SAP, ASML, Mistral, Airbus, Ericsson, Nokia and BMW. The group has met with von der Leyen and plans to seek meetings with the Commission president once a quarter. The Commission did not reply to a request for comment by the time of publication. The EU executive has previously defended Snabe’s appointment by saying that his report will be publicly available and “subject to public scrutiny,” and that his advice will be “visible and accessible to all.” The Commission denied access to a series of documents around Snabe’s appointment — both to European Parliament lawmakers and to POLITICO.