Der 48-jährige Vertraute des scheidenden EU-Kommissionspräsidenten Jean-Claude Juncker war 2018 unter umstrittenen Umständen zum höchsten EU-Beamten befördert worden. Die EU-Bürgerbeauftragte hatte das kritisiert und das Europaparlament seinen Rücktritt gefordert.
Von der Leyens Ankündigung gilt als Zugeständnis an die kritischen Abgeordneten.
According to the minutes, the European commission’s secretary general, Martin Selmayr, who is known as a master of strategy, asked: “Imagine that they have a new Brexit secretary or prime minister – what then? Article 50 has been agreed and the process has ended. It must be clear that the starting point is not a renegotiation of the withdrawal agreement.”
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”
Albert Einstein apparently said. By that yardstick, the Prime Minister and the EU are are completely off their rockers.
Mood in Gov Buildings described as “calm”. #Brexit
May’s statement is here, the EU’s here – review them yourself. We await Cox’s legal review and the decision of the DUP critics tomorrow. If the DUP give it the thumbs up most Tory rebels will follow suit. The ERG’s lawyers are unlikely to be enthusiastic – that is already priced in. Guido suspects those Tory MPs that want to avoid the hell that will follow a delay to Brexit – for whatever reason – will choose to believe the rabbit is real.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May says she has secured „legally-binding changes“ to allay concerns over the Irish border backstop.
Speaking after last-ditch talks in Strasbourg, she called on MPs to back her „improved“ Brexit deal in a meaningful vote on Tuesday.
MPs from the Commons Brexit committee were in Brussels this morning meeting with Martin Selmayr, the commission’s secretary general. Some of those present reported that they left the meeting believing the UK would be able to secure legally-binding concessions on the issue of the backstop.
However, on seeing this account reported, Selmayr has taken to social media to put forward a different account of what took place.
Martin Selmayr is taking over the Brexit negotiations – and that’s bad news for Britain | Coffee House
(8.1.2018) Much attention has focused on Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxemburger EU Commission President, and Michel Barnier, the Commission’s French chief Brexit negotiator.
But most Brussels commentators maintain that Brexit details are determined by their respective number twos: Martin Selmayr (Chief of Staff to Juncker since 2014, and – controversially – General Secretary of the European Commission since March 2018) and Sabine Weyand, deputy to Barnier.
Both happen to be German. Indeed, Die Welt, the leading German daily, early on in the negotiations did a feature titled ‘The top German players in the Brexit poker game’, with a certain pride, on their central role in the coming talks.
(27.11.2018)
(4.9.2018) The Martin Selmayr affair, which reveals much about attitudes to power and accountability at the top of the EU, is both depressing and depressingly familiar.
(16.4.2018) Der Ausschuss räumte aber auch ein, dass die Annullierung der Ernennung Selmayrs juristisch schwierig ist. Er forderte daher zugleich die EU-Kommission auf, ihre Beförderungsregeln zu ändern, damit Bewerbungsverfahren in Zukunft „offen und transparent“ ablaufen.
(18.4.2018) The non-binding text adopted in Strasbourg on Wednesday says ……..
(4.9.2018) Selmayr, damals Kabinettschef von EU-Kommissionspräsident Jean-Claude Juncker, war nach einem Bewerbungsverfahren im Februar zunächst zum Vize-Generalsekretär der EU-Kommission berufen worden. Nur Minuten später beförderte das Kollegium der Kommissare den 47-Jährigen direkt zum Generalsekretär, als Juncker überraschend den Rückzug des Amtsinhabers Alexander Italianer bekannt gab.
For a true believer in democracy, Martin Selmayr runs the European Commission not as some curator of debate but like the merciless hand of a king, who will stop at nothing to protect his vision of the realm: Europe, united and free.
Make that an extremely heavy hand. Or maybe an armored bulldozer.
Jean-Claude Juncker’s fearsome right-hand man Martin Selmayr told Member States they have little to fear because “the power is with us”.
The Commission’s top civil servant delivered the boast at a meeting of EU leaders’ top advisors in Brussels last week.
(18.11.2018) In Brüssel sind aus Raabs Sicht „dunkle Mächte“ am Werk. So sei ihm von Diplomaten berichtet worden, innerhalb der EU-Kommission werde Nordirland als „Preis“ bezeichnet, den London für den Brexit bezahlen müsse. Das sei „total unverantwortlich und rücksichtslos“, sagte er. Dahinter stecke wohl der deutsche Martin Selmayr, Generalsekretär der EU-Kommission, der in britischen Medien als „Monster von Brüssel“ bekannt ist.