12.26.15
Europatis: “Turnover of €211,800 and Zero Employees”
The Michel family stakes
Summary: The business of Jacques Michel (EPO Vice-President of Directorate General 1 from 1987 to 2003) put under closer scrutiny
Regarding our recent article about Europatis and the EPO, some readers had positive things to say, whereas some thought we had missed an even bigger story.
“You’re making a big deal of “Europatis”,” one person told us, “but that is in my opinion really something of a non-story. Jacques Michel’s career prior to his official retirement is without doubt considerably more interesting. Let us first have a quick look at Europatis.
“Geneviève Michel née Aligon was listed in the EPO directory… And that’s not counting his other occupations.”
–Anonymous“Jacques Michel: He swims with the biggest of the sharks, and is rumored to have at least four rows of very sharp teeth that can tear your arm off in the bat of an eye. But despite the bone rattling noise from his closet, Jacques Michel is nevertheless a rather congenial fellow, and can genuinely claim to have built something in his lifetime — unlike the Battistelli clique to which he doesn’t belong, AFAIK.
“Word was that the company was founded in 2009 as a sort of plaything to keep his son busy. Its founding statutes show that Jacques Michel and his wife Geneviève Aligon respectively hold 50% and 2.5% of the shares. Laurent Michel, the son, got the balance, 47.5%.
“With his EPO pension, Jacques Michel shouldn’t be in any sort of financial need, especially if his wife should also be entitled to one. Geneviève Michel née Aligon was listed in the EPO directory… And that’s not counting his other occupations.
“Europatis is actually very small peanuts compared to other initiatives that Michel was involved in and derived a lot more money from prior to his EPO career.”“Europatis officially reported a turnover €211,800 and zero employees for 2014.”
Europatis is actually very small peanuts compared to other initiatives that Michel was involved in and derived a lot more money from prior to his EPO career. This, however, will be the subject of future articles. Guillaume Minnoye now occupies the position previously occupied by Michel.
Isn’t it funny that EPO management brags about the need for “independence” of boards, requires somewhat unreasonable cooling-off periods and gags departing staff when it’s so abundantly clear that there may be ‘revolving doors’ at the very top (way above the boards)? █
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