Mario Monti

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In 1965 he received his degree in Economy at the Università Commerciale Luigi Bocconi, Milan, and went on to specialise at Yale University.

Business Activities

In 2005 Mario Monti, joined Goldman Sachs as an international adviser.[1] He is also a member of the advisory board of the Coca-Cola Company.[2]

He was previously advisor to Italian car giant FIAT, Insurance company Generali Group, and between 1988-1990 he was Vice President of one of Italy's first and most important banks La Banca Commerciale Italiana (BCI) (also known as Comit).[3] He has authored many publications on economy and finance and is a columnist in one of Italy's leading newspapers Il Corriere della Sera.[4]

Affiliations

Mario Monti was the first elected European chairman of the Trilateral Commission in 2010[5] and is on the Steering Committee of Bilderberg.[6] He is also on the Executive Committee of the Aspen Institute Italy[7], Honorary President (previously Chairman 2005-2008) of Brussels-based think-tank Bruegel[8]

Revolving Door

On the 9th of November 2011 Mario Monti was nominated as Senatore a Vita (Life Senator) and on the 13th of November 2011 was appointed Presidente del Consiglio dei Ministri (Prime Minister) of Italy by Presidente della Republica (Italian Head of State) Giorgio Napolitano within less than 24 hours of the resignation of Silvio Berlusconi.[9]

The European Commission's official website states:

Monti served as European Commissioner in charge of the Internal Market, Financial Services and Taxation from 1995 to 1999 and then as European Commissioner for Competition (1999-2004). In the latter position, he handled a number of well-known cases such as General Electric/Honeywell, Microsoft, and the German Landesbanken. He also introduced a radical reform of EU antitrust and merger controls and led, with the US authorities, the creation of the International Competition Network (ICN).
As EU coordinator for the France-Spain electricity interconnection, he brokered the agreement between Prime Ministers Fillon and Zapatero in June 2008. Mr. Monti was also a member of the Attali Committee on French economic growth, set up by President Sarkozy (2007-2008).[10]

Between the years 1995-1999 he was a member of the European Commission, and between 1999-2004 he was appointed the role of European Competition Commissioner.[11]

The Santer's Commission 1995-1999 in which Mario Monti served as a Commissioner, was dissolved amidst allegations of fraud, mismanagement and nepotism.[12] The official report of the allegations was put forward by a Committee of independent experts and led to the immediate collective resignation of Santer's Commission.[13] Although many of the Commissioners, including Monti, were not individually subject to any specific allegations of wrongdoing, the Commission as a whole was found to be at fault due to concerns about the individual claims

that they knew nothing of the problems that were often common knowledge in their services, even up to the highest official levels (Committee of Independent Experts, 15 March 1999, p. 137)[14]

By the report's own admission the Committee was unable to conduct a thorough investigation due the extremely limited time available and that it did not seek proof with regards to the information it obtained. The report also makes it clear that it was never intended be a judicial enquiry.[15] The timely manor of the collective resignation helped to avoid a potential independent judicial enquiry, and the succeeding Prodi Commission actually assisted in covering up and preventing the debate on accountability of the Commission opened by Parliament and the independent experts.[16]


EU Revolving Door.jpg This article is part of the EU Revolving Door project of SpinWatch.

Resources

Notes

  1. Merrell, Caroline, "Goldman hires former EU Competition Commissioner", 14 December 2005, Times Online, accessed 31 January 2010.
  2. European Commission, Economic and Financial Affairs, accessed 17 November 2011
  3. http://www.giornalettismo.com/archives/166649/mario-monti-il-tecnico-diventato-politico Mario Monti, the technocrat turned politician] accessed 19 November
  4. Who is Mario Monti?, Accessed 17 November 2011
  5. Trilateral Commission Leadership, accessed 17 November 2011
  6. Bilderberg Governance, accessed 17 November 2011.
  7. Executive Committee of Aspen Institute Italia Accessed 19 November
  8. Brussels-based think-tank Bruegel, accessed 19 November 2011
  9. Ansa.it Napolitano Nominates Monti to form new Government, Accessed 17 November 2011
  10. European Commission, Economic and Financial Affairs, accessed 17 November 2011
  11. GiornalettismoMario Monti, the technocrat turned politician accessed 19 November
  12. The European ParliamentFirst Report on Allegations regarding Fraud, Mismanagement and Nepotism in the European Commission 15 March 1999 Accessed 21 November 2011
  13. The European ParliamentThe resignation of the Jacques Santer Commission 17 March 1999 Accessed 21 November
  14. The European ParliamentCommittee of Independent Experts. (15 March 1999). First Report on Allegations regarding Fraud, Mismanagement and Nepotism in the European Commission. Brussels: European Parliament. Accessed 21 November 2011
  15. The European ParliamentCommittee of Independent Experts. (15 March 1999). First Report on Allegations regarding Fraud, Mismanagement and Nepotism in the European Commission. Brussels: European Parliament. Accessed 21 November 2011
  16. J Nergelius, De-legalize it-On Current Tendencies in EC Constitutional Law, in P. Eeckhout and Tridimas, eds., Yearbook of European Law, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 21, 2001–2002, 443 cited in Rossetti, C. (2006). Chapter IIV, The Italian EU Presidencies And The De-Legalization Policy. In J. Nergelius, Nordic and other European constitutional traditions. Brill.