Ad hoc ethics committee (European Commission)

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The ad hoc ethics committee , also briefly only ethics committee or ad hoc ethics committee ( English Ad hoc Ethical Committee ) is an ethics committee of the European Commission , the former European politicians the following activities related to compatibility assessed.

Assignments and history

In 2001, the EU Commission received a code of conduct for commissioners under Prodi ( Code of Conduct for Commissioners , K (2011) 2904). This regulated in particular how questions of lobbying, gifts and donations, or conflicts of interest with other activities are to be dealt with. For former commission members, a subsequent professional activity is compatible according to Article 245 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union  (TFEU, ex-Art. 213  ECT ), which prescribes “in particular the duty” “when accepting certain activities or benefits Procedure for this activity [note: your term of office] to be honorable and cautious. ”Section 1.2 then specifically applies. Activities after the end of the term of office of the Code of Conduct , according to which the new planned activity must be communicated to the current committee at least in the first 18 months after departure ("cooling off" period), which must give its consent. If this is "in connection with the department of the [former] commissioner", it is intended to obtain an opinion from an ethics committee before the EU commission takes the decision. In the event of a negative decision by the EU Commission, it or the European Parliament could even initiate sanctions proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CVRIA / CJEU) if an ex-commissioner does not adhere to the code of conduct - such a case has not yet occurred.

This ad hoc ethics committee was set up as an advisory board in 2003 (C (2003) 3750, October 2003). Three members are envisaged (Art. 4 Para. 1 C (2003) 3750), they are determined by the Commission itself (Art. 5) and should have the appropriate “competence, experience and professional skills” (Art. 4 Para. 1), and exercise this activity for three years each (Art. 6). It does not meet all the time, but only meets in the event of a request (hence ad hoc , "on occasion").

The task of the ethics committee is to issue an opinion “on general ethical questions” (Section 2.3 Code of Conduct ). The extent to which the commission then follows these recommendations is not explicitly regulated, but if the committee does not reach a unanimous decision, the opinion should also contain the dissenting opinion (Art. 9 C (2003) 3750). In practice, the commission tends to consult the ethics committee only when the following activity is not strongly academic or culturally oriented, and only when the ex-commissioner concerned held one of the more responsible posts. There were cases in which the EU Commission did not make a decision after the ethics committee's negative attitude; it is assumed that the ex-commissioner concerned was then “informally” advised to postpone his intentions to work.

The fact that the advisory board, which assesses their future career aspirations, is appointed by the commissioners themselves, was viewed quite critically. The Barroso Commission came under public criticism in 2009 when it named Michel Petite as chairman of the ethics committee, who had switched to the law firm and well-known EU lobbyist Clifford Chance after his legal advisor work for the three presidents Delors, Prodi and Barroso , one in relation to reconciliation also a precarious decision. In 2011 the code of conduct was also revised. In 2012, Petite was even reappointed by the Barroso (II) Commission , following complaints from some NGOs, the European Ombudsman Diamandouros became active and the appointment was revoked.

After the crisis of confidence in the EU in the early 2010s, the Juncker Commission involved the ethics committee intensively. Between 2014 and 2016 alone, it issued more than 30 opinions, with the majority of all requests from Barroso commissioners being approved by the ethics committee, which was still determined under Barroso, but three requests were rejected and withdrawn. But the ethics committee appointed under Juncker was also viewed critically, two of the three members had previously been special advisers to commissioners. After Barroso himself switched to the financial services provider Goldman Sachs , which took place after the 18-month period had expired, the question of the code of conduct and the decisions of the ethics committee became topical again, particularly through the 2016 Bahamas leaks , in which tax havens Companies owned by EU politicians showed up.

Members

Since July 2016:

Legal sources

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Code of Ethics for Commissioners, ec.europa.eu (accessed January 26, 2017).
  2. ↑ a b Art. 245 TFEU, German version as amended by Austrian Federal Law Gazette III No. 86/1999 (online, ris.bka ).
  3. ↑ a b c d e Christian D. De Fouloy: The EC Ad hoc Ethical Committee. Website of the Association of Accredited Public Policy Advocates to the European Union (aalep.eu), December 9, 2016 (accessed February 6, 2017).
  4. ↑ a b c d Translation of the quotations into German: Wikipedia.
  5. ↑ a b c d Corporate Europe Observatory: The who, what and why of the Commission's Ad hoc Ethical Committee. , September 15, 2016 (accessed on February 6, 2017; German translation: The who what and why of the EU Commission's ad hoc ethics committee. Wunderhaft.blogspot.co.at).
  6. ↑ Michel Petite. Entry in Corporate Europe Observatory: RevolvingDoorWatch (accessed February 6, 2017).
  7. ↑ Tobacco lobbyist resigns as head of the EU Ethics Commission. In: Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten online, December 24, 2013.
  8. ↑ a b EU Parliament discusses conflicts of interest of former EU commissioners and the proposal for a transparency register. ( Memento of the original from February 5, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / akeuropa.eu archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Austrian Federal Chamber of Labor, Brussels office, October 10, 2016 (accessed February 6, 2017).
  9. ^ The revolving doors spin again - Barroso II commissioners join the corporate sector. Corporate Europe Observatory, October 8, 2015 (accessed February 6, 2017).