The European Ombudsman's November 2020 decision on the Commission hiring BlackRock for an ESG banking study. Nine firms bid; BlackRock's bid was EUR 280,000 against an initial EUR 550,000 estimate. The Ombudsman said the Commission should have checked conflicts of interest more rigorously and that the low price could be seen as a bid for inside influence, but found the threshold for maladministration was not met.
the company may have sought to win this contract because it gave it an opportunity to influence and gain understanding, from the inside, of the Commission's policy-making in areas that affect its interests
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The European Ombudsman's November 2020 decision on the Commission hiring BlackRock for an ESG banking study. Nine firms bid; BlackRock's bid was EUR 280,000 against an initial EUR 550,000 estimate. The Ombudsman said the Commission should have checked conflicts of interest more rigorously and that the low price could be seen as a bid for inside influence, but found the threshold for maladministration was not met. The Ombudsman's case summary page says the low price "could be perceived as part of a strategy" to gain influence.