The EU-Wall Street revolving door keeps spinning

Thierry Breton’s decision to take on a lucrative advisory role at Bank of America underscores the complicity of EU officials in fostering the very dependencies they publicly decry

This article was originally published in UnHerd.

---

As EU Commissioner for Internal Market, Thierry Breton often portrayed himself as a champion of European sovereignty, particularly in his efforts to challenge the dominance of US corporate tech giants such as Elon Musk’s X. However, many of us suspected that his rhetoric had less to do with defending Europe’s autonomy and more to do with a desire to control the online narrative. This was evident in the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA), a tool that effectively grants EU elites the power to dictate what hundreds of millions of Europeans can or cannot say and read online under the guise of combatting disinformation.

These suspicions have been further validated by the announcement late this week that Breton has been approved by the European Commission — the very institution he departed only months ago — to take on a lucrative advisory role at Bank of America, the second-largest bank in the United States. In doing so, he has bypassed the customary two-year cooling-off period designed to prevent immediate lobbying. It’s a curious move for a self-styled Euro-sovereigntist: how does one reconcile championing Brussels’s independence from foreign corporate power while stepping into an influential position at one of America’s financial behemoths?

Breton’s case is not an isolated one, however, fitting a longstanding pattern in which former EU officials leverage their public service experience for high-finance positions. This generally takes place among US banks which stand to benefit from insider knowledge of European policymaking, underscoring the ongoing “revolving door” between EU officials and Wall Street.

Perhaps one of the most infamous examples is José Manuel Barroso, who served as president of the European Commission from 2004 to 2014. After his tenure, Barroso joined Goldman Sachs as an adviser and non-executive chairman, a move which drew significant backlash considering the bank’s controversial role during the eurozone debt crisis and its involvement in concealing Greece’s debt levels before the financial meltdown.

The revolving door operates in both directions, however. Mario Draghi served as vice chairman at Goldman Sachs International before becoming governor of the Bank of Italy and later president of the European Central Bank. During his tenure at Goldman Sachs, he was involved in structuring complex financial products, including those employed by Greece in the run-up to the financial crisis. Similarly, Mario Monti, the former EU commissioner who replaced Silvio Berlusconi as Italy’s technocratic prime minister in 2011, had also served as an international adviser to Goldman Sachs, resigning from the position just a few days before he was sworn in.

Besides raising ethical concerns about the blurring of lines between public service and private profit, this pattern also exemplifies the profound influence the US exerts over Europe — not only politically but in financial and economic terms as well. American financial institutions embed themselves within the highest levels of European policymaking by recruiting former and prospective high-ranking EU officials, thus shaping the continent’s economic landscape to align with their interests.

When Barroso joined Goldman Sachs, for example, his role was explicitly tied to navigating the fallout from Brexit — a crisis that could have undermined Wall Street’s access to European markets. Draghi’s role in enforcing austerity as president of the ECB also benefitted US banks, many of which were heavily indebted to European banks and governments. As for Monti, one of the first measures undertaken by his government was to pay Morgan Stanley $3.4 billion to terminate an interest rate swap struck with the US bank more than 20 years earlier.

The phenomenon extends beyond the financial sector to broader geopolitical implications. By embedding themselves in European policymaking structures, US financial institutions act as conduits for American economic and political influence. This deep integration erodes the ability of European nations to chart independent paths in addressing challenges such as digital sovereignty and industrial policy. Instead, Europe often finds itself aligning with US-centric frameworks, even at the expense of its strategic autonomy.

The timing of Breton’s move is particularly striking, as it comes amid growing debates about the role of US financial and tech influence in shaping Europe’s digital and economic landscape. Far from reinforcing European sovereignty, such actions suggest a troubling pattern of elite complicity in fostering the very dependencies they publicly decry.

---

Thanks for reading. Putting out high-quality journalism requires constant research, most of which goes unpaid, so if you appreciate my writing please consider upgrading to a paid subscription if you haven’t already. Aside from a fuzzy feeling inside of you, you’ll get access to exclusive articles and commentary.

Thomas Fazi

Website: thomasfazi.net

Twitter: @battleforeurope

Latest book: The Covid Consensus: The Global Assault on Democracy and the Poor—A Critique from the Left (co-authored with Toby Green)