--- description: France is calling on Jose Manuel Barroso to rescind his decision to join the U.S. bank as an advisor on Brexit. title: Ex-Europe Commissioner Slammed for Joining Goldman Sachs image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta822d6c0000227f3/69889bea428a9e0734cd36b3/gettyimages-507859238.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [europe](/tag/europe/) ## europe Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # France Slams Former European Commission Chief for Taking a Job at Goldman Sachs by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 14, 2016 5:32 AM CUT  Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, former President of the European Commission, speaks at a press conference, after he received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from The West University of Timisoara on January 29, 2016 in Timisoara, Romania. Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, former President of the European Commission, speaks at a press conference, after he received the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from The West University of Timisoara on January 29, 2016 in Timisoara, Romania.Ciprian Hord—Everyday Projects/Getty Images by [Rishi Iyengar](/author/rishi-iyengar/) ## Rishi Iyengar Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 14, 2016 5:32 AM CUT The former head of the European Commission has [invoked the ire](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36787931 "undefined") of the French government for his decision to join Goldman Sachs, with several ministers saying it violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the EU’s rules on conflict of interest. Jose Manuel Barroso is being urged by France to back out of a job advising the U.S. banking giant on Britain’s decision to leave the EU, the BBC reports. Although Barroso, a former Portugese Prime Minister, is joining Goldman Sachs 20 months after stepping down (the minimum waiting period for ex-commissioners to take up new roles is 18 months), his move has been slammed as “scandalous”, “shameful” and ill-timed for coming so close on the heels of [Brexit](http://time.com/tag/brexit/ "undefined"). “It’s a mistake on the part of Mr Barroso and the worst disservice that a former Commission president could do to the European project at a moment in history when it needs to be supported and strengthened,” Harlem Desir, France’s Europe Minister, told the country’s parliament, according to the BBC. “If you have loved Europe, you shouldn’t do this to it, especially not now,” French Finance Minister Michel Sapin added. “But this doesn’t surprise me from Mr. Barroso.” \[[_BBC_](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36787931 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4405685/european-commission-goldman-sachs-jose-barroso-france/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4405685/european-commission-goldman-sachs-jose-barroso-france/"},"headline":"France Slams Former European Commission Chief for Taking a Job at Goldman Sachs","datePublished":"2016-07-14T05:32:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T23:14:37.375Z","description":"France is calling on Jose Manuel Barroso to rescind his decision to join the U.S. bank as an advisor on Brexit","url":"https://time.com/4405685/european-commission-goldman-sachs-jose-barroso-france/","keywords":["europe","France","Goldman Sachs","eu","portugal"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta822d6c0000227f3/69889bea428a9e0734cd36b3/gettyimages-507859238.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rishi Iyengar","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rishi-iyengar/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta822d6c0000227f3/69889bea428a9e0734cd36b3/gettyimages-507859238.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jose Manuel Barroso is awarded Doctor Honoris Causa","caption":"Jose Manuel Barroso is awarded Doctor Honoris Causa","creditText":"Ciprian Hord—Everyday Projects/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/europe/","name":"europe"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4405685/european-commission-goldman-sachs-jose-barroso-france/","name":"France Slams Former European Commission Chief for Taking a Job at Goldman Sachs"}}]}] ```