The Board of Supervisors of the European Banking Authority (EBA) today issued conditions for the change of its acting Executive Director Adam Farkas to the Lobbying Association of Major European Banks (AFME). According to the agreement, Farkas will not be allowed to participate in AFME’s lobbying of the EBA for the first two years. Farkas will become managing director of AFME on 31.01.2020. MEP Sven Giegold, financial and economic policy spokesperson of the Greens/EFA group commented:
“The conditions imposed by the European Banking Authority on Farkas’ change of employer are only a drop in the ocean. The weak conditions do not solve the fundamental problem of the conflict of interest. The crucial point is not whether Farkas lobbies the banking supervisor, but whether his insider knowledge goes directly to the banking lobby. Farka’s interruption-free change damages the reputation of the banking supervisor. Instead of weak conditions, we need binding cool-off periods for sensitive posts in EU agencies. A cool-off period of 24 months would make sense. It is an invitation to ignore the reality when each agency has its own rules. If the rules do not effectively prevent conflicts of interest, we must change them. When the European Parliament gives its annual discharge to EBA, we will raise the Farkas case. Conflicts of interest in EU agencies should be on the agenda of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. We need an independent EU ethics authority to avoid such conflicts of interest. The Farkas case must be a wake-up call for European politics”.
Link to the EBA press release and the conditions for Adam Farkas’ move to the private sector:
https://eba.europa.eu/-/adam-farkas-steps-down-as-eba-executive-director