On Wednesday 24 January, the European Commission updated its guidelines for European Commissioners who will be standing in the European elections in June 2024, as well as in national elections.
These guidelines are largely based on those adopted for the 2019 European elections (see EUROPE 12188/17). As a result, when standing in the European elections, a European Commissioner will not have to be on standby during the election campaign. They will therefore be required to continue performing their duties (taking part in meetings of the College, the work of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU).
In order to separate the Commissioner’s activities from those linked to the election campaign, a European Commissioner will have to create separate social media profiles. They may not use the Commission’s human and material resources for their campaign activities, in particular for drafting speeches or organising trips. A clear separation must be established between travel related to Commission duties and travel related to the election campaign.
If a situation of potential conflict of interest arises, the Code of Conduct for Commissioners sets out a procedure for identifying and, if necessary, remedying it.
Elections at national level. With regard to participation in elections at national level, the code of conduct stipulates that a European Commissioner wishing to stand as a candidate or play an active role in the election campaign must remain available throughout the period of active involvement and, at least, for the duration of the campaign.
The guidelines for election campaigns at Member State level also make a clear distinction between active and non-active participation.
To see the Commission’s 2024 guidelines, go to https://aeur.eu/f/ak1 (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)