Jean-Claude Juncker: José Manuel Barroso is ‘an honest man’

Commission president still puzzled by his predecessor’s job at Goldman Sachs.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Thursday said his predecessor José Manuel Barroso “played by the rules” when he took up a job at Goldman Sachs.

In an interview with Euronews broadcast on Youtube,  Juncker said that he “does not see any major issue with [Barroso] working in the financial sector” after leaving the Commission.

However, Juncker questioned why his predecessor chose to join the investment bank that had been implicated in the economic downturn.

“Goldman Sachs was one of the organizations that contributed to the financial crisis in 2007-2009, so we wonder about this particular bank,” Juncker said, calling Barroso “a friend” and “an honest man.”

Before taking up the job, Barroso respected the 18 months “cooling-off” period, spelled out in the EU rule book. However, Juncker on Monday announced that an ethics committee will investigate whether he had broken EU laws by taking a new job.

Barroso said that the probe was “discriminatory.”

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