On Monday, the Constitutional Affairs Committee approved the agreement to create a body tasked with strengthening integrity, transparency and accountability in European decision-making.
The agreement reached between eight EU institutions and bodies (namely the Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the European Central Bank, the European Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee European Regions) provides for the joint creation of a new ethical standards body. MEPs approved the agreement by 15 votes for, 12 against and no abstentions.
The body will develop, update and interpret common minimum standards for ethical conduct and publish reports on how these standards have been reflected in each signatory’s internal rules. The institutions participating in the Body will be represented by a senior member and the position of President of the Body will rotate between the institutions each year. Five independent experts will support the work of the Body, who will be available for consultation by a party to the agreement on standardized written statements, including declarations of interest.
A successful push for monitoring functions
Parliament was represented at the negotiations by Vice-President Katarina Barley (S&D, DE), Chairman of the Constitutional Affairs Committee Salvatore De Meo (EPP, IT) and rapporteur Daniel Freund (Greens/EFA, DE). They managed to significantly improve the Commission’s proposal, described as “unsatisfactory” by MEPs in July 2023, by adding to the tasks of independent experts the competence to examine individual cases and issue recommendations. The provisional agreement was approved by Parliament’s Conference of Presidents on Thursday.
Citations
Parliament’s co-negotiators stated the following.
Daniel Freund (Greens/EFA, DE): “The rules on lobbying within the European institutions will finally be applied by an independent arbitrator. This will be a considerable improvement in the present defective system of self-control. The independent checks carried out by the experts of the new ethics body are a hard-won success which will improve the transparency of lobbying. This will send a clear signal to voters: your vote counts. Independent monitoring of lobbying rules will strengthen citizens’ trust in European democracy.”
Katarina Orge (S&D, DE): “The ethics body is a big step forward towards transparency and openness in Europe. Above all, it is about putting citizens’ interests first and ensuring that European institutions respect the highest ethical standards. I am proud that this progress has been made possible thanks to Parliament’s unfailing dedication to serving Europeans. The creation of this new authority demonstrates our commitment to fairness and trustworthiness across the EU.”
Salvatore De Meo (EPP, IT): “The provisional agreement voted on today in the AFCO committee represents a first step towards the creation of common rules on ethics and transparency between the different institutions. It is now up to the plenary to confirm its support for this agreement which, despite its many shortcomings, would contribute to more harmonized practices between European institutions.”
Next steps
Parliament will make a final vote on whether to approve the deal during the plenary session currently taking place in Strasbourg on Thursday 25 April. The interim agreement will still need to be signed by all parties before it can come into force.
Background
The European Parliament has called for European institutions to have an ethics body since September 2021, one with real investigative authority and a structure fit for purpose. MEPs reiterated their call in December 2022 immediately after allegations of corruption involving former and current MEPs and staff, alongside a series of internal improvements to improve integrity, transparency and accountability.
Lien source
Originally published in The European Times.
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