Brussels, 18/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - A number of NGOs active in addressing corruption and promoting transparency in the European institutions, Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO), Friends of the Earth Europe, LobbyControl and Spinwatch, have criticised former justice and fundamental rights commissioner Viviane Reding and her plans to become a member of the board of directors at international mining company Nyrstar.
The NGOs note that, on 29 October, the European Commission, at that time still under the leadership of José Manuel Barroso, gave its authorisation to Reding, who has since become an MEP, to join the board of directors of Nyrstar and that of the Bertelsmann Foundation on the advice of the Commission's ad hoc ethics committee and in line with the rules of the commissioners' code of conduct.
“We have a series of concerns about the authorisation of this 'revolving doors' move”, say the NGOs. “In our view, the Commission should not have authorised Reding's participation on the board of a mining company at all, and the 18-month ban which prevents Reding from undertaking Nyrstar's lobbying activities is too short and too narrowly defined. We also believe this position is not compatible with Reding's role as an MEP.”
The NGOs point out that Nyrstar does not feature on the register of lobbyists but some of its contacts do, for example, Russchen Consultants, which Nyrstar employed in 2013, says CEO. Nyrstar is also a member of Eurometaux, the trade association representing the non-ferrous metals industry, which is also active in lobbying.
Concerns relate to possible conflicts of interest that Reding, who is currently a member of the European Parliament international trade committee, might face. She will, for instance, be involved in the review of the free-trade agreement with Mexico, a matter that is highly relevant to Nyrstar, the NGOs say. They are looking to the new Commission to enhance transparency and to prevent conflicts of interest. (SP)