Cabinet Informal Note:
Independent EU Ethics Body
ACTORS
European Commission
o Political Guidelines (President Ursula von der Leyen)
Commissioner Jourová
o Vice-President for Values and Transparency
Commissioner Šefčovič
o Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight
Council
o The Council has been sceptical
EP AFCO Committee European Parliament
o AFCO rapporteur Daniel Freund
o Committees for opinion: JURI, CONT, ECON
TIMELINE OF THE FILE
After a long consultation period, Green rapporteur Daniel Freund, produced a draft report in
January 2021. The amendments to the draft report are set to be voted on in the Constitutional
Affairs Committee (AFCO) in July 2021. A
Plenary vote is then foreseen for
September 2021.
The Commission has promised to work on a proposal upon the basis of the parliamentary
report, when/ if it is passed.
SUBSTANCE STATE OF PLAY
The draft report from rapporteur MEP Daniel Freund was welcomed by outspoken academia
and civil society but was met with controversy in the AFCO Committee. Several amendments
have been submitted by the EPP and the political right which question the body as such and
raise constitutional concerns. There are also several amendments which would favour a body
with purely advisory capacity. The JURI committee opinion has been relevant with regard to
the process by which that committee scrutinizes the conflicts of interests of incoming
Commissioner candidates.
SET UP
Independent
o All actors agree it needs to be independent. But little detail has been mentioned
on budget, members, powers, systems of review, standing. Independence is
crucial from an Ombudsman perspective
Inter-institutional
o Inter-Institutional Agreement seems to be the only viable option.
Binding decisions
o Very controversial. Would make the body substantially different from the EO. It
would also imply redress rights in front of Court.
Advisory powers
o VP Jourová believes these are crucial to allow the IEB to react quickly
Members based
o The draft report suggests a members based set-up. This seems to face little
resistance. Proposal is for nine Members (3 selected by COM, 3 elected by EP, 3
assigned from former presidents of CJEU, ECA, EO). Overall, Members could be
former EOs, national members of ethics authorities etc ...
Power to receive complaints
o No agreement on whether citizens should be allowed to complain as well.
Own initiative investigations
o No agreement yet.
Mandate/Form
o Many open questions remain. If the new entity is a new EU body, then will there
be overlaps with the mandates of the Ombudsman and OLAF? Will this new
body fall also under the mandate of the Ombudsman?
Secretariat
o Current proposal is to establish an independent secretariat
OMBUDSMAN PERSPECTIVE:
Supports anything which improves ethics regulation in the EU.
Many open questions how the body would work.
Ombudsman’s independence has to be safeguarded if there are any interactions with
the IEB.
Ombudsman happy to share institutional experience.
Ombudsman office already carries out many tasks in the area of ethics of senior EU
officials (except MEPs). E.g. EBA case, former COM Sec Gen case, former COM
President case, G30 case, EMA executive director declaration of interests case, Special
advisers case, Commissioners’ travel expenses case, ....
Ombudsman inquiries into EU administration, and not individuals.
Ombudsmen could be a good source for candidates for Members.
Any ethics body needs to be
truly independent and have own initiative powers.
MODELS TO DRAW FROM
Irish Standards in Public Office Commission1: board of members, chaired by a former judge,
members include: senior civil servants, former MPs and the Irish ombudsman. The ethics body
uses the same secretariat as the ombudsman’s office. Besides overseeing compliance/
complaints, it also issues guidance and advice and undertakes outreach activities. Also covers
lobbying and elections. The website has a convenient overview of all applicable rules and
guidelines.
1 Standards in Public Office Commissio
n https://www.sipo.ie/about/our-members/
2
French High Authority for Transparency in Public Life 1: 9 members. President, appointed by
the French president, as well as members of France’s highest judicial bodies and members
appointed by the parliament. They serve a non-renewable and non-revocable mandate, cannot
seek or receive orders from the government. Financial autonomy - Solely subject to audit by
court of auditors and the parliament. It deals with ethics of public officials and the regulation
of lobbying. Receives and checks declarations of CoIs and declarations of financial interests.
Cooperation with tax and anti-money laundering services.
1 French High Authority for Transparency in Public L
ife https://www.hatvp.fr/en/high-authority/ethics-of-publics-
officials/list/#what-is-the -monitoring-process-rp
3