One Eurocrat’s ‘unprecedented’ deal

Commission maritime director holds onto his job for 16 years, far longer than what is customary.

In the European Commission, the career path of Fotis Karamitsos is unique.

Officials normally switch between EU institutions, agencies and departments on their way up the greasy pole, but Karamitsos has held the same job for more than 16 years — a Brussels record which not everyone in the world of shipping, where he is the Commission’s go-to guy, is celebrating. 

The Greek holds the post of acting deputy director-general of the mobility and transport department, as well as director of maritime transport. His job title has changed over the years, but the job itself has essentially remained the same.

The Commission likes to rotate its staff every five years to give them a broader perspective and prevent them from getting too close to the industries they regulate. It’s not a strict rule; the needs of the Commission are supposed to trump the rotation requirement. Nevertheless, the Commission compiles a list of officials who have overstayed. Karamitsos was already number one on the list five years ago.

Rotation has been avoided by having bits lopped off his portfolio and new bits added, so the job can justifiably be described as different. But regardless of his reincarnation, Karamitsos has always stayed in charge of ships and shipowners — an industry that, according to a study by Oxford Economics, directly contributes around €56 billion to the GDP of the European Union.

This autumn, Karamitsos did it again. He secured approval from the college of commissioners to postpone his retirement by a year. If he can do the same in 2016 (two years is theoretically the maximum career extension beyond the standard retirement age) he will have held sway over European Union maritime policy for the best part of two decades.

“I still feel young,” Karamitsos said after being told he could stay in post. “I’ll be around to bug you for a bit longer.”

Split opinion

Some have no problem with his longevity.

“We are happy that Fotis will be around for a bit longer yet,” said Patrick Verhoeven, secretary-general of the European Community Shipowners’ Association. “The Commission needs Fotis. He knows all the files,” said a diplomat from an EU country. 

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker told colleagues in March that it was in some cases necessary to “prioritize the stability of high-performing teams” and that he was not in favor of changes being made “for the sake of it.”

But those in industry who have crossed swords with the Commission, and Karamitsos in particular, see things differently.

Seafaring unions — who represent, among others, belligerent dockers — believe the director has not forgiven them for twice helping sink draft legislation on port services.

“Fotis is not an ally,” said Eduardo Chagas, secretary-general of the European Transport Workers’ Federation. “He still has a problem with us because of the ports packages. To say that it is insulting for us to have to deal with Fotis would be to attach too much importance to us, because the reality is they [in the Commission] don’t care.”

“I think it’s an absolute scandal that he has been allowed to stay on this long,” said a British competition lawyer.

“Fotis’ deal is unprecedented in the European Commission,” said a former colleague, now retired. “The five-year rule exists because you have to give some of these industries another chance if something has gone wrong.”

Rightly or wrongly, Karamitsos has become a divisive figure: respected for his knowledge but criticized for his desire to amass power. When prospective candidates for secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization (a United Nations agency) call in on Brussels, they knock on Fotis’ door, not that of Violeta Bulc, the European commissioner for transport.

Could he go on past the age of 67? “I can see the argument forming already,” said the former colleague. “People will ask how the Commission can cope with a new set of laws without its star.”

The Commission is preparing to launch maritime legislation in 2017.

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While still strong, Europe’s maritime industries have not faired well during his stewardship. Ships flagged in the EU now account for less than 20 percent of the global fleet, a figure that has been dropping by around a percentage point every year of late. European seafarers have over the past 20 years become an endangered species.

While acknowledging the decline, the Brussels bureaucracy doesn’t actually know how few European seafarers are left. Their disappearance is considered to a large extent inevitable.

Mention Karamitsos’ name in Brussels and you are likely to get a wry smile.

“Fotis is the kind of guy who will invite you into his office, tear your idea to shreds and then make you feel good about it as you are on the way out of the door,” said Tim Springett, policy director at the U.K. Chamber of Shipping.

Fotis Karamitsos will go down in the history of the Commission as the great survivor.

Justin Stares is editor of maritimewatch.eu