The European Commission takes a positive view, in a report published on 24 June, on the new Code of Conduct for Commissioners, introduced at the end of January 2018 (see EUROPE 11951/4). It establishes stricter rules and greater transparency in a number of areas.
The Commission claims it has achieved an even greater level of transparency when it comes to the conduct of its members, despite calls for a strengthening of the Code of Conduct after former President José Manuel Barroso was employed by Goldman Sachs.
In this report, the Commission notes that, since February 2018 and every two months after that, the Commission has published information on the travel expenses of Commissioners.
In February 2019, it also published practical arrangements for Commissioners participating in the European Parliament elections. The Commission's website related to ethics and integrity of the Members of the Commission was updated to provide better, clearer and more comprehensive information for interested stakeholders.
In addition, a new reinforced Independent Ethical Committee was set up to give advice on all ethical issues and make recommendations related to the Code.
The Commission has also decided to extend the mandates of the three members of the Independent Ethical Committee - Ms Dagmar Roth-Behrendt, Mr Christiaan Timmermans and Mr Heinz Zourek - as from 13 July 2019.
To read the report: https://bit.ly/2Yi2ZHc (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)