The European Ombudsman, Emily O’Reilly, announced, on Tuesday 18 May, the launch of a wide-ranging inquiry into the European Commission’s management of ‘revolving doors’ situations concerning EU staff.
“There is a big mismatch between rules of regulations and what actually happens. I don’t think there is a real understanding of the issue”, Ms O’Reilly noted as she presented her 2020 progress report to some journalists. She stressed that cases of revolving doors, when reported in the press, have “a negative effect” on the institution concerned in the eyes of the general public.
The Ombudsman requested access to almost 100 personnel files from 14 Directorate-Generals, the Secretariat-General and all the cabinets of the European Commissioners.
Once finalised, the analysis will lead to specific “recommendations”, Ms O’Reilly promised.
She recalled several of her investigations into revolving doors in the European institutions and bodies. One of them concerned the European Banking Authority (EBA), which, according to the Ombudsman, should not have allowed its former Executive Director, Adam Farkas, to become the head of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), one of the main lobbies of the financial sector (see EUROPE 12484/19).
In this particular case, Ms O’Reilly welcomed the EBA’s endorsement of her recommendations.
Two other investigations are underway. The first concerns the European Defence Agency, where a former executive director has joined Airbus. The second concerns former Commissioner Oettinger’s consulting activities for a major tobacco company (see EUROPE 12306/1).
In her annual report, the Ombudsman presents the initiatives taken to ensure transparency and good administration in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 2,148 complaints were handled last year and 370 investigations were opened, 56% of them targeting the Commission.
Ms O’Reilly said the mandate of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) was “too limited”. “It's a very weak agency entirely dependant on Member States to carry its work”, she noted.
For the Ombudsman, the pandemic has also created opacity in the work of the EU institutions, especially in the EU Council, although the situation has improved since then.
The activities mentioned also include investigations into the environmental sustainability impact assessments of the EU/Mercosur trade agreement and of certain important projects of common European interest (IPCEI). Respect for fundamental rights within Frontex is also in the Ombudsman’s sights.
Last week, the European Parliament and the EU Council reached an interim agreement on the reform of the European Ombudsman’s Statute.
See the annual report: https://bit.ly/2SVc7n7 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)