Josep Borrell served on the board of Spanish energy firm Abengoa between 2009 and 2016.
The company was involved in the construction of combined-cycle gas turbine power plants.
During his stint with Abengoa, Mr Borrell received up to €300,000 a year.
Three of Ursula von der Leyen s top EU officials have links to fossil fuel firms (Image: GETTY)
European Commission Presdent Ursula von der Leyen (Image: GETTY)
The Spaniard was forced to resign as the president of the European University Institute after failing to declare his interest in the firm in 2012.
Mr Borrell holds a master’s degree in oil economics and was an engineer for Spanish petrol giant Cepsa.
Three top officials in Ursula von der Leyen’s green-oriented European Commission – Josep Borrell, Stella Kyriakides and Adina Vălean – have until recently had ties with the fossil fuel industry, according to new research revealed exclusively by EURACTIV.
The research by international NGO Global Witness has uncovered close links between the three EU commissioners and companies involved in the fossil fuel business.
Although all of them had severed ties with their previous jobs before joining the European Commission, their past activities or links between their immediate family and the fossil fuel sector “should at the very least give pause for thought about their appointment to ‘green’ Commission briefs,” Global Witness says.
Launching the European Green Deal in December 2019, European Commission (EC) president Ursula von der Leyen called it
the continent’s “man on the moon moment”. The plan aims to achieve
net-zero emissions in the European Union (EU) by 2050, and while it has
been criticised for not being ambitious enough it does suggest that Europe is waking up to the need to face climate change head-on.
Von
der Leyen is backed up by the EC’s 27 commissioners – professional
politicians responsible for leading the development of European policy
in specific areas, one from each EU member state. The Green Deal cuts a
EXCLUSIF : les liens de Bruxelles avec l industrie des énergies fossiles révélés euractiv.fr - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from euractiv.fr Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.