In Strasbourg on Tuesday 4 October, commenting on the highly controversial appointment of Jose Manuel Barroso by Goldman Sachs and Neelie Kroes by Uber and then Salesforce, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Pierre Moscovici said on behalf of the European Commission that no extension of the requirements imposed by the code of conduct would have prevented their choice of professional development.
Despite recent cases of insider appointments that have shocked public opinion, the European Commission does not want to change the commissioners’ code of conduct or how the ad hoc ethics committee operates, which examines appointments of former commissioners after their time in office.
Many MEPs are demanding tighter ethnical rules to avoid conflicts of interest within the Commission.
During the 18 months after the end of the Barroso Commission, the Commission headed by Jean-Claude Juncker consulted the ad hoc ethics committee on 40 of the 114 activities notified by members of the previous Commission, Moscovici said in a debate on avoiding conflicts of interest among former or current European commissioners. The ethics committee has adopted five negative opinions, and former members of the Commission have decided to withdraw their notifications rather than risking having them rejected by the new Commission, he said. Moscovici said this demonstrates the efficacy of how the ethics committee operates and the strength of the rules that apply. The commissioner said that criticisms of a weak line and lack of transparency are unfounded.
Moscovici said that no rule, no matter now strict, could substitute for individual responsibility among members of the Commission, and no extension of the duties imposed by the code of conduct would have prevented their choice of professional development (commenting on the cases of Barroso and Kroes). He said, however, that there could be comments about the individual responsibility of certain individuals.
Moscovici said the statement of interests made by Commissioners must be accurate, updated and comprehensive so that the risks of conflicts of interest can be examined. He said the president closely monitors implementation of the code of conduct and feels that at this stage, no changes would have avoided the cases that are being examined at the European Parliament and by public opinion.
In the debate, Tadeusz Zwiefka (EPP, Poland ) urged the Commission to take action because the code is very general. Peter Simon (S&D, Germany) recommended higher penalties, echoed by Bernd Lucke (ECR, Germany). Jean-Marie Cavada (ALDE, France) asked for the ethics committee to be independent and sovereign. Like many others, he called for the current 18 months ‘retirement’ period to be extended. Head of the S&D Gianni Pittella (S&D, Italy) said at a press conference in Strasbourg on Tuesday that he was in favour of extending the retirement period, adding that he favoured a stricter code of conduct and binding lines that have to be respected. Dennis de Jong (GUE/NGL, the Netherlands) demanded a review of the composition, functioning and mandate of the ad hoc ethics committee responsible for ruling on commissioners’ new jobs when they leave office. He called for Barroso and Kroes to be send to the European Court of Justice and for suspension of their retirement pensions.
Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA, Belgium), co-leader of this group, told reporters that he expected tough action from all three European institutions. Much needs to be done to extend the retirement period for commissioners as there has to be enough of a gap beaten before they start working for the private sector, argued Lamberts. He slammed the "indecency" of Jose Manuel Barroso joining Goldman Sachs.
Lamberts recommended a precise cartography on who works for whom, not only in the Brussels bubble, but also in other European capitals. He referred to the virtually incestuous link between French business and most of the country’s politicians.
Legislative fingerprints. The Greens/EFA Group called for the online publication of documents submitted to the European institutions by lobbyists, in order to be able to connect up the views of lobby groups with tabled amendments. Lamberts said there was not a majority on this at the European Parliament at present.
Keeping one’s own doorstep clean. Lamberts recommended banning MEPs from having paid employment outside the European Parliament, saying it was unacceptable to be allowed to sit on bank management boards when a European legislator on bank issues.
He said the European Parliament should change its rules to this effect. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)