On July 8 2016 José Manuel Barroso was appointed non-executive chairman of Goldman Sachs International. Ex-commissioners are free to take up a new role 18 months after leaving. Despite accepting the job after 20 months, Mr Barroso has come under fire for ignoring the "spirit of the rules". The situation has led the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (ALTER-EU) and Transparency International (EU Office) to create a petition asking "not to sell the public interest".