On Wednesday 19 March, the European Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs (AFCO) will debate the draft report by Sven Simon (EPP, German) on amending the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure to include the procedures for appointing Parliament’s representative on the future European Ethics Body.
According to Mr Simon, the Parliament representative and alternate will be drawn from the 14 Vice-Presidents of the EU institution and will be appointed by the President of Parliament based on a proposal from the Conference of Presidents of the political groups (CoP) for a two-and-a-half year term, renewable once.
It will be up to the AFCO Committee to determine Parliament’s position within the European Ethics Body. However, if a political group contests this position within 24 hours of its announcement, a plenary vote will be taken by a majority of the votes cast (quorum set at one third of the Chamber).
Mr Simon also mentions the independent experts who will sit on the European Ethics Body. These experts will be proposed by the AFCO Committee. The latter, as well as the Parliament Advisory Committee, will be able to consult or question them, but their opinion will remain confidential and consultative.
Several political groups, notably the Greens/EFA and S&D Groups, have complained about the slow progress in setting up the European Ethics Body. They accuse the EPP Group of delay tactics, by imposing the reform of Parliament’s rules of procedure before any appointment can be made to the Body.
In September 2024, the President of Parliament, Roberta Metsola, nonetheless appointed the Spaniard Esteban González Pons (EPP) the responsibility of sitting on the future Body and the German Katarina Barley (S&D) as his alternate (see EUROPE 13484/25). As for the independent experts, a number of names have been put forward to fill this role, including former MEPs such as Danuta Hübner from Poland and Pascal Durand from France.
See Sven Simon’s draft report: https://aeur.eu/f/fyw (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)