European Patent Office (EPO) Series: Photo-Ops Galore and Suspicions of Influence-Peddling
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Part 23
Campinos posing for a photo-op with the Croatian Minister of
Economy Ante Šušnjar.
We continue our coverage of the 20th Annual Cooperation Meeting of the European Patent Network which took place in Split, Croatia, on 11th and 12th May 2026.
To the casual observer the optics were unremarkable and it seemed like a normal meeting dealing with the activities of an international organisation: handshakes, bilateral meetings, panel discussions and group photographs.
The official agenda for the meeting focused on various administrative and technical issues such as the integration of "artificial intelligence" into the patent granting process, the development of shared data infrastructures, strengthening capabilities across offices, and the introduction of services and events aimed at providing better access to the patent system for SMEs, startups and first-time users.
But for those more familiar with EPO affairs, it was evident that for EPO President António Campinos another much more personal matter was at the top of the agenda, namely his ambition to secure reappointment for a third tenure.
In cases like this, timing plays a vital role. With a decision on reappointment around the corner, it can hardly be disputed that a gathering of so many key decision-makers in one place constitutes a prime networking and lobbying opportunity.
The fact of the matter is that this little Croatian junket offered the President of the EPO an unusually valuable opportunity to spend "quality time" with many – if not all – of the officials who sit on the EPO's governing body – the Administrative Council – the very body which is due to take a decision on his reappointment during the latter half of the year.
It is worth recalling that Campinos is an old hand at this game as revealed by the fallout from the 17th EPN Annual Cooperation Meeting which took place in Lisbon three years ago.
On that occasion, the French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire felt compelled to write an angry letter to Campinos expressing concern that the EPO-sponsored event was being used to influence or interfere in the EUIPO selection procedure for the successor to Executive Director Christian Archambeau who had fallen out of favour with the EUIPO Management Board. One of the leading contenders in the succession race was João Negrão – a Portuguese compatriot of Campinos and his former chef-de-cabinet during the latter's tenure at the head of EUIPO from 2010 to 2018.
The controversial EPO-sponsored Annual Cooperation Meeting took place in Lisbon from 26th to 27th May 2023. This was shortly before a critical meeting of the EUIPO Management Board on 6th June 2023 to vote on a shortlist of candidates for the top EUIPO job.
In his letter to Campinos dated 27th March 2023, Le Maire alleged that organising a major event in Portugal such a short time before the EUIPO Management Board vote amounted to a deliberate political interference. Critics and media outlets reported that Campinos used the Lisbon event to proactively lobby member states on behalf of Negrão.
As reported by the French investigative outlet Medipart, Campinos had already started promoting Negrão's candidature early as October 2022 at a meeting of the EPO Administrative Council in Munich where he organised a "convivial meal" for delegates from Cyprus, Poland, Ireland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Austria and Slovenia together with Negrão. All of those countries subsequently voted in favour of Negrão in the EUIPO selection procedure.
Le Maire argued that the EPO – which is an autonomous non-EU international organisation – was exceeding its legal mandate by using its budget and events to implicitly influence an election for a top post at the EUIPO (which is a statutory agency of the EU). The letter implied that by utilising the Lisbon meeting as an aggressive networking and lobbying platform for his preferred candidate, Negrão, Campinos had violated the ethical standards required of an EPO President.
Despite the French government's intense formal pushback, the lobbying momentum generated by Campinos proved unstoppable. Negrão secured the majority of votes at the EUIPO Management Board meeting just days later which placed him at the top of the shortlist of candidates forwarded to the European Council for decision. The European Council subsequently approved his appointment on 25th July 2023 and he officially began his term of office in October 2023.
Three years later, at the 20th EPN Annual Cooperation Meeting which took place in Split, the stakes were higher for Campinos because this time it was about his own reappointment.
The available information indicates that the EPO President spared no effort in "working the room" and connecting with as many Administrative Council delegates as possible.
He used the occasion to secure a bunch of carefully choreographed photo-ops starting with the Croatian Minister of Economy Ante Šušnjar who had been invited to give the opening speech.
He also posed for a group photo together with SIPO director Ljiljana Kuterovac and the Minister, flanked by the EPO and Croatian delegations.
Campinos and SIPO director Kuterovac with their respective
delegations posing for a photo-op with Croatian Minister of Economy
Ante Šušnjar at the EPN Annual Cooperation Meeting in Split (11 May
2026).
A small selection of the EPO President's photo-ops with various other Administrative Council delegates follows below.
Campinos (left) and the EPO's Chief Patent Research and Policy
Officer Gilles Requena (3rd from left) with Iris De
Poulain (director of the Luxembourg IPO) and Jean-Pierre Santos
(director of the Monegasque IPO).
Right: Campinos with Simona Marzetti (Italy), Ewa
Skrzydło-Tefelska (Poland) and Ana Bandeira (Portugal); Left: With
Karin Žvokelj (Slovenia).
In the next part we will wrap up our coverage of the EPO's Croatian junket and explain how it provides a graphic illustration of the appalling double standards which have come to characterise the organisation's managerial culture. █