European Commission defends appointing adviser Markus Pieper after selection process is questioned
Ursula von der Leyen’s run for a second term as president of the European Commission has been dented after accusations of favouritism in the selection of a fellow party member for a lucrative new job.
Some of the highest-ranking people in Brussels, including the EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, and the French commissioner Thierry Breton, have written to von der Leyen to complain that the appointment of the German MEP Markus Pieper as a special adviser “has triggered questions about the transparency and impartiality of the nomination process”.
