The European Ombudsman has opened a formal inquiry into the European Commission's decision to appoint Siemens chairman Jim Hagemann Snabe as its special envoy for industrial AI, after a coalition of transparency organisations warned that his ongoing corporate role undermines the position's independence.

The inquiry, opened on 10 September, gives the Commission until 29 September to respond to complaints that Snabe's dual role as Siemens chairman and EU envoy creates a clear conflict of interest. The appointment, which carries no salary, runs until the end of March 2027.

What triggered the investigation

Four NGOs, Transparency International, Corporate Europe Observatory, LobbyControl and the Good Lobby, wrote to the Commission on 10 June setting out their concerns. They said Snabe's continuing position at Siemens "may compromise the envoy's independence and impartiality." The Commission never replied.

That silence pushed the groups to escalate the matter to the Ombudsman, the EU's internal watchdog responsible for investigating maladministration in EU institutions. The Ombudsman's decision to open a formal inquiry is a step beyond simply registering a complaint: it means the office considers the concerns serious enough to warrant a structured examination of how the Commission reached its appointment decision.

Siemens and the AI Act lobbying record

The NGOs' concern is not abstract. Siemens was one of the most active corporate lobbyists pushing to exempt products covered by the EU's machinery rules from the bloc's AI Act. That exemption, which EU legislators agreed to this summer and which is now written into the law, directly affects the regulatory environment Snabe is supposed to advise on.

The AI Act is the Commission's flagship regulatory framework for artificial intelligence. Carving out machinery products from its scope weakens the law's reach in precisely the area, industrial AI, where Snabe will now shape European thinking. He is tasked with producing a report covering AI infrastructure, frontier AI technologies and industrial AI adoption. The results of that work could influence how the Commission implements and enforces the very rules Siemens sought to soften.

A new Brussels lobbying formation

Siemens' influence extends beyond its own direct lobbying. The company is part of European Tech Creators, a recently formed Brussels lobbying group that also includes SAP, ASML, Mistral, Airbus, Ericsson, Nokia and BMW. This coalition has already met Commission president Ursula von der Leyen and plans to seek meetings with her once a quarter.

The group's existence signals a shift in how Europe's largest technology and industrial companies coordinate their approach to EU digital regulation. Rather than working through established trade associations, these firms are building a direct channel to the Commission president's office. Snabe's envoy role sits uncomfortably alongside that effort.

The Commission's defence

The Commission has defended the appointment by arguing that Snabe's final report will be publicly available and therefore "subject to public scrutiny." It also said his advice will be "visible and accessible to all." The logic is that transparency about his conclusions compensates for any perceived conflict in how he reaches them.

But the Commission has been far less transparent about the appointment itself. It denied access to documents surrounding Snabe's selection both to members of the European Parliament and to the press. That refusal makes it impossible to see who proposed Snabe, what vetting took place, or whether any conflict-of-interest assessment was carried out before the decision was announced.

Unpaid but not without influence

The Commission has emphasised that Snabe's envoy role is unpaid. That framing is meant to reassure: no salary means no financial dependency, the argument goes. But unpaid special envoys can still shape policy agendas, commission research, and signal institutional priorities. The absence of a paycheck does not remove the conflict; it merely removes one category of financial entanglement.

Snabe's day job at Siemens, a company with significant commercial interests in industrial AI, remains unchanged. He will produce a report that could influence how the Commission interprets and enforces rules that Siemens has already sought to modify. Whether the final document is public or not, the framing of its recommendations matters as much as their visibility.

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European Commission · Siemens · European Ombudsman · Transparency International · Corporate Europe Observatory · LobbyControl