Representatives of the European Union’s institutions and bodies were attempting to finalise negotiations at political level on the creation of the European Ethics Body (see EUROPE 13355/6) in Strasbourg on Tuesday 12 March, as we were going to press.
The members of the future body - one from each participating EU institution or body plus five independent experts - will be responsible for drawing up common standards of ethics and integrity in public life at European level in areas such as professional activities carried out during and after a political term of office or declarations of financial interests.
The European Council is not expected to be a member of the future European Ethics Body. After consultation with the Member States, there was no consensus for the European Council to join the Ethics Body at this stage, said a European source.
If reached, the interinstitutional political agreement will have to be reviewed by the Conference of Presidents (CoP) of the European Parliament’s political groups, potentially on Thursday 14 March. In the event of a positive outcome, the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs will have to prepare a report aimed at approving this agreement at the April plenary session. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)