BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union's official transparency watchdog says the European Commission put public trust at risk by fast-tracking the appointment of a protege of its president, Jean-Claude Juncker, to a top job.

Martin Selmayr, Juncker's former head of Cabinet, was appointed Commission Secretary-General in February at a meeting that saw him promoted twice within minutes.

Accusing the European Commission of "maladministration," European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly said Tuesday that the move "risked jeopardizing the hard won record of high EU administrative standards and consequently, the public trust."

Selmayr now runs the European Commission — which has around 33,000 employees and whose commissioners are appointed, not elected — and so wields strong influence over the EU's agenda and policy priorities.

O'Reilly says it's "extraordinary" that no commissioner seemed to question the appointment procedure.