The quick appointment to a top civil service post was said not to have followed EU rules, leading the European Parliament to demand his resignation.
In 2019, Selmayr managed to avoid excommunication by stepping down from his position when Commission President Ursula von der Leyen secured her nomination, a move made in response to criticism over the high number of German officials holding top positions.
As a compromise, he was appointed as the EU ambassador to Austria and sent to Vienna, where he provoked the national government by labeling Austria’s dependence on Russian gas supplies as “blood money.”
Selmayr is currently serving as a high-ranking adviser in the Commission. Since February, he has also been a visiting professor of European law at the institute for innovation and digitalization in law at the University of Vienna.