The European Commission adopted, on Wednesday 7 April, a ‘guidance note’ to promote a uniform interpretation and application of the rules on avoidance of conflicts of interest for financial actors and staff of the EU institutions involved in implementing, monitoring and controlling the EU budget under direct, indirect and shared management.
The aim is also to raise awareness among Member State’s authorities, holders of public office (including members of government) and any other person involved in implementing the EU budget under shared management about the applicable provisions of the 2018 Financial Regulation and the Public Procurement Directive with regard to the avoidance of conflicts of interest.
In particular, the note states that, when dealing with conflicts of interest, the focus should be on avoidance, “as it is much more difficult to detect and correct such situations”. It should be borne in mind that conflicts of interest can arise at any stage of the implementation of the EU budget.
Link to the guidance note: https://bit.ly/3mCwHnj (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)