Commission’s Code of Conduct: Bad cosmetics
MEP Sven Giegold, financial and economic policy spokesperson of the Greens/EFA group commented:
Today, Wednesday, the EU Commission proposed new cooling off rules for former EU Commissioners and former EU Commission presidents. They suggest to extend cooling off from 18 months to 2 years for Commissioners and 3 years for Commission presidents. For the rapporteur of the Initiative report on transparency, accountability and integrity in the EU institutions, Sven Giegold of Greens/EFA Group, this is not enough:
“Juncker’s proposal is not convincing at all. Such a soft approach certainly does not point the way to an integrity and trustworthy European Commission as expected by EU citizens. Juncker reacts to the scandals on former Commission president Barroso and former Commissioner Kroes with bad cosmetics. We do not need just a few more months of cooling off but a new way of thinking altogether.
The EU Commission has to present a Code of Conduct worth its name. This has to include an obligatory cooling off rule of three years for former Commissioners and five years for former Commission presidents. The checks on conflicts of interest have to be performed by a truly independent body. Current rules, leave it to the Commission to decide on sanctions against their predecessors. This is ridiculous given the fact that in a conflict of interest the Commission itself acts against this conflicts of interest. What is more is that the three people that advice the Commission in cases of conflicts of interest are actually chosen by the Commission and thus not independent. For that reason one of our demands was to follow the French example of an independent body that decides on ethical questions in the Commission.“
Commission’s proposal is here: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-16-3929_en.htm