{"id":731717,"date":"2026-06-06T05:05:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T02:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/von-der-leyens-ai-envoy-pick-draws-conflict-of-interest-fire\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T05:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T02:05:14","slug":"von-der-leyens-ai-envoy-pick-draws-conflict-of-interest-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/von-der-leyens-ai-envoy-pick-draws-conflict-of-interest-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Von der Leyen&#8217;s AI envoy pick draws conflict-of-interest fire"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4032f760984\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a4032f760984\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/von-der-leyens-ai-envoy-pick-draws-conflict-of-interest-fire\/#Who_is_Jim_Hagemann_Snabe\" >Who is Jim Hagemann Snabe<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/von-der-leyens-ai-envoy-pick-draws-conflict-of-interest-fire\/#The_AI_Act_rollback\" >The AI Act rollback<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/von-der-leyens-ai-envoy-pick-draws-conflict-of-interest-fire\/#The_criticism\" >The criticism<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/von-der-leyens-ai-envoy-pick-draws-conflict-of-interest-fire\/#What_the_role_involves\" >What the role involves<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div id=\"article-main-content\">\n<p>The European Commission has <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ointed Jim Hagemann Snabe, chairman of Siemens\u2019 supervisory board, as its special envoy for industrial artificial intelligence. He will advise Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and tech sovereignty chief Henna Virkkunen on how to accelerate AI adoption across European industry.<\/p>\n<p>The backlash was im<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>te. Snabe\u2019s appointment lands weeks after Siemens was among the\u00a0companies that lobbied hardest\u00a0for the rollback of the EU\u2019s AI Act, the world\u2019s most ambitious AI regulatory framework. Critics say the appointment amounts to handing advisory power over AI policy to the same industry that successfully weakened it.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_is_Jim_Hagemann_Snabe\"><\/span>Who is Jim Hagemann Snabe<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Snabe, 60, is a Danish executive who co-led SAP as co-CEO from 2010 to 2014 before moving to the supervisory board. He became chairman of Siemens\u2019 supervisory board in 2018. Beyond those roles, he has served on the advisory board of Google Cloud, on the board of US enterprise AI firm\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/Archives\/edgar\/data\/0001577526\/000162828021003652\/ex992-jimsnabeappointmen.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">C3.ai<\/a>, and as a board of trustees member at the World Economic Forum.<\/p>\n<p>The Commission says it conducted a thorough conflict-of-interest assessment before the appointment. For the duration of his mandate, which runs until 31 March 2027, Snabe will suspend his Google Cloud and C3.ai memberships. The role is unpaid.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_AI_Act_rollback\"><\/span>The AI Act rollback<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<div class=\"inarticle-wrapper latest channel-cta hs-embed-tnw\">\n<div id=\"hs-embed-tnw\" class=\"channel-cta-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"channel-cta-img\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/media.thenextweb.com\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/media.thenextweb.com\/hardfork-2018\/uploads\/visuals\/tnw-newsletter.png\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"channel-cta-input\">\n<p class=\"channel-cta-title\">The \ud83d\udc9c of EU tech<\/p>\n<p class=\"channel-cta-tagline\">The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol&#8217; founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It&#8217;s free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The timing is what makes the appointment politically charged. On 7 May, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament\u00a0reached a deal to simplify the AI Act\u00a0through the so-called Digital Omnibus. The headline change was a 16-month delay to high-risk AI obligations, pushing the deadline from August 2026 to December 2027.<\/p>\n<p>More significantly for Siemens, the deal introduced an industrial AI exemption. AI systems used on factory floors and embedded in machinery will now be covered by separate machinery regulations rather than the AI Act, unless a failure could directly endanger health or safety. Germany, where Siemens is headquartered,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.siliconrepublic.com\/machines\/merz-siemens-call-for-easing-of-eu-regulations-on-industrial-ai\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">led the push<\/a>\u00a0for that exemption. Chancellor Friedrich Merz called for freeing industrial AI from the EU\u2019s \u201cregulatory straightjacket\u201d at the Hannover Messe trade fair in April, with Siemens executives alongside him.<\/p>\n<p>Virkkunen, who drove the simplification through the College of Commissioners, framed the deal as proof that Europe can maintain a rules-based approach while\u00a0making regulation workable for industry. Snabe\u2019s appointment is the next step in that direction: an explicit signal that industrial competitiveness, not regulatory caution, is now the priority.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_criticism\"><\/span>The criticism<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>\u201cMy first reaction was just: Wow,\u201d said Kim van Sparrentak, the Dutch Green lawmaker who led the Parliament\u2019s work on the AI Act. \u201cThey fought hard against AI rules for themselves, they lobby against\u00a0technological sovereignty, and now they get to decide how we are going to integrate AI.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The concern is not only about Siemens. Snabe\u2019s board positions at Google Cloud and C3.ai place him at the intersection of the three constituencies most directly affected by EU AI policy: European industry, US Big Tech, and the enterprise AI software market. Suspending board seats is not the same as severing ties, and critics argue that an unpaid advisory role with no formal accountability is precisely the kind of arrangement that makes revolving-door governance difficult to scrutinise.<\/p>\n<p>The Commission has not disclosed the specific terms of Snabe\u2019s conflict-of-interest assessment. It says one was carried out but has not published the methodology or findings, which makes the assurance hard to evaluate independently.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_the_role_involves\"><\/span>What the role involves<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Snabe\u2019s mandate is to advise on how Europe can\u00a0boost industrial AI adoption, a priority that the Commission has elevated since the AI Act\u2019s passage exposed a tension at the heart of European tech policy: the desire to regulate AI and the fear of falling behind the US and China in deploying it.<\/p>\n<p>The appointment was announced alongside the Commission\u2019s broader <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a> sovereignty blueprint, which includes the Cloud and AI Development Act, Chips Act 2.0, and new restrictions on US cloud providers handling sensitive European government data. Snabe\u2019s role sits within that framework, theoretically bridging the gap between Brussels\u2019 regulatory ambitions and the corporate reality of getting AI into European factories.<\/p>\n<p>Whether a Siemens chairman is the right person to bridge that gap or simply the most obvious symptom of the gap itself is the question Brussels will be debating for the duration of his mandate.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Technology category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thenextweb.com\/news\/von-der-leyens-ai-envoy-pick-triggers-conflict-of-interest-backlash-weeks-after-siemens-helped-gut-the-ai-act\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The European Commission has appointed Jim Hagemann Snabe, chairman of Siemens\u2019 supervisory board, as its special envoy for industrial artificial intelligence. He will advise Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and tech sovereignty chief Henna Virkkunen on how to accelerate AI adoption across European industry. The backlash was immediate. Snabe\u2019s appointment lands weeks after Siemens&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":731718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/media.thenextweb.com\/2026\/06\/von-der-leyen-ai-envoy-snabe-conflict-interest.avif","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-731717","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=731717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/731717\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/731718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=731717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=731717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=731717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}