Kazakhstan Uses Juncker to Wield Influence in Europe

Kazakhstan’s diplomats have repeatedly met with Jean-Claude Juncker, a politician from Luxembourg who served as President of the European Commission between 2014-2019, possibly in an effort to lobby the current EU leadership, a new investigation by Follow The Money found.

Years after serving as the head of the EU government body, Juncker still keeps an office in the Berlaymont, the building that hosts the EU Commission in Brussels.

There, according to Follow The Money, is where Juncker meets with foreign diplomats.

One such instance was on 3 December 2021, when Kazakhstan’s ambassador to the EU Margulan Baimukhan entered the Berlaymont for a high-level meeting. But the investigation found that he did not meet with Ursula von der Leyen, who had become the commissioner two years prior, but with Juncker.

The Berlaymont. Photo by Beiimbet Moldagali.

Revolving Doors

Juncker does not deny the meeting with Baimukhan, which was confirmed by one of his staffers in a list along with 73 other names, but does not recall the details. Unlike current EU top civil servants, Juncker does not have to follow strict transparency rules and keep minutes of the meetings.

His position as special adviser to the EU executive is unpaid, but a potentially influential one, given his regular meeting with von der Leyen.

Notably, the position was Juncker’s own brainchild before he left the Commission. By still holding the position during a second five-year contract, however, he seems to be breaking the rules he helped establish that only allow for one two-year term.

Photo: European Parliament.

Speaking of the Berlaymont, Juncker told Follow The Money: “I have gotten used to this building. When prime ministers or former commissioners are coming to Brussels, they want to have a meeting with me.”

Daniel Sarmiento, a lawyer and professor of EU law at Madrid’s Universidad Complutense who published a study on Juncker, told Follow The Money that the former commissioner would not have simply left politics after 2019.

“Juncker is the type of political animal that can never stop being political. I really don’t see him just going home and playing cards with his friends,” Sarmiento said.

While boasting a long list of influential top-level EU politicians as well as foreign government leaders and ambassadors among his visitors, Juncker did not disclose the topics they discussed.

Kazakhstan Tracks

The public learned about the 2021 Juncker-Baimukhan meeting through a press release published the day after by the Kazakh embassy.

According to the official communique, Juncker and Baimukhan discussed the “prospects of cooperation,” including “investments between Kazakhstan and Luxembourg.”

The Kazakh press release also recalled ties between Juncker and former President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who at the time still retained the title of Father of the Nation (Elbasy).

“Juncker noted that he remembers with great warmth the long-term personal friendship with Elbasy and asked [Baimukhan] to convey his best wishes to him,” the press release read.

When questioned by Follow The Money, Juncker denied making any of these statements. Kazakhstan’s embassy to the EU did not reply to a request for comment.

Juncker and Baimukhan. Photo: Kazakhstan's embassy in Brussels.

Iskra Kirova, Europe and Central Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch’s, told Follow The Money that Juncker’s political line could differ from the EU’s foreign policy stance towards Kazakhstan.

“A photo opportunity like that can very easily be misused inside the country,” Kirova said. “There are very serious concerns with freedom of expression, media freedom, and the ability of civil society to operate [in Kazakhstan].”

Juncker acknowledged his conversation with Baimukhan did not touch upon the topic of human rights. He insisted that he merely discusses European affairs with his guests.

“The people I see are never trying to push me in a corner in order to have me acting on their instructions,” he said.

Juncker added that he was “immune” to influence.

Emilia Korkea-aho, professor at the University of Eastern Finland, who has done extensive research on the dynamics of lobbying, told Follow The Money that there is no such thing as “immunity” from lobbying.

“You don’t need to have a very long discussion. You can just have a very quick chat in an elevator,” she said.

Kazakhstan’s diplomacy, instead, chose the direct link with Juncker, a friend of the country’s former leader and a politician with an office down the hallway from the EU’s top-level decision makers.