Question for written answer E-002375/2020 to the Commission Rule 138 Manuel Bompard (GUE/NGL), Anne-Sophie Pelletier (GUE/NGL), Manon Aubry (GUE/NGL), Leila Chaibi (GUE/NGL), Emmanuel Maurel (GUE/NGL), Younous Omarjee (GUE/NGL) Subject: Collusion and conflicts of interest regarding the Commission’s choice of BlackRock to draft a report On 8 April 2020, the Commission selected BlackRock to draft a report on the incorporation of environmental and social factors into banks’ supervisory mandates. It is well known that the asset manager lobbied European authorities intensely 1 , as evidenced by the reform of the pensions system promoted by the Commission. In June 2017, BlackRock’s CEO was received by President Macron; in March 2018 the CEO was received by France’s High Commissioner for Pensions; in June 2019 BlackRock advised the French Government on pension reform; and in January 2020 President Macron decorated the CEO of BlackRock’s French subsidiary. At the same time, BlackRock was advising the Commission on the creation of a pan-European individual retirement savings product, which was set up in 2019. Upon learning of this, the delegation of Parliament’s ‘La France Insoumise’ party became concerned that a company with 87 billion shares in fossil fuel companies would be advising the Commission on the environmental and social factors to be incorporated into banks’ supervisory mandates. 1. Does the Commission intend to publish details of the procedure used to award this contract and the purposes of the study it commissioned? 2. Does the Commission plan to end this conflict of interest? 1 According to the European Union Transparency Register, BlackRock’s lobbying expenses in 2018 came to between EUR 1.2 million and EUR 1.5 million. PE651.261v01-00.