Conflicts of Interest

Parliament strengthens its scrutiny over Commissioners' Conflicts of Interest

The European Parliament has today approved by a large majority the report by Greens/EFA MEP Pascal Durand on the declarations of interests of European Commissioners. The report is a reaction to multiple ethics scandals in the European Commission, which the Parliament has so far had little powers to uncover or prevent.

European Parliament moves forward on transparency of decision-making and impact of lobbyists

After much insistence and plenty of reminders from the Greens/EFA group, the European Parliament has finally put into place an official mechanism that allows Members of the European Parliament to publish a list of the interest groups or lobby organisations that they met with in the context of a particular report or piece of legislation.

The Greens/EFA Co-Presidents' briefing

22.11.2016

LIVE press conference 22 November 10:30-10:50

Greens/EFA co-presidents Rebecca Harms and Philippe Lamberts present the key issues of the plenary session and of the European agenda for the Greens/EFA group

Ombudsman report

excellent work on transparency, citizen rights, good administration and conflicts of interest

  The Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament is a big supporter of the work done by the European Ombudswoman, Emily O’Reilly, to ensure oversight over the EU administration and defend transparency and ethical behaviour in the institutions. A draft report reviewing the work done...

Positive feedback on Greens/EFA draft EU Directive for the protection of whisteblowers

  On 4 May 2016, the Greens/EFA group in the European Parliament presented a draft Directive to ensure minimum standards of protection for whistleblowers across the European Union. The Directive, drafted with the help of legal experts, was designed to be a catalyst that would push forward th...

Conflicts of interest

Juncker finally pushing to improve the Commission’s ethics rules, but more needs to be done

Next Wednesday 16th November, the Commission is due to discuss (and possibly decide) on a prolongation of the cooling off period for ex- Commissioners, which is designed to prevent possible conflicts of interest arising from the "revolving door".

Members of the European Parliament failing to improve their own ethics system

A blog post from our Transparency and Democracy campaign

  Today, members of the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee have voted to amend their “Rules of Procedure”, which govern the way the EU’s only directly elected institution works and which lay down ethics rules for MEPs in a legally binding Code of Conduct for avoiding conflic...

Greens/EFA Round up

Debriefing of the Strasbourg plenary week 24-27 October 2016

Greens/EFA priorities for the Strasbourg Plenary included: Breaches of democracy, rule of law, fundamental rights; Commission Work Programme; Corporate Tax package; Democracy and press freedom Hungary; Key debate on conclusions of European Council; Debate on situation of journalists in Turkey; EU budget 2017; 2016 Sakharov Prize winner; CETA trade deal on hold (Thursday)

European Council Conclusions

Put the brakes on CETA and re-think how we approach trade policy

Speaking after the European Council, the co-president of the Greens/EFA group, Philippe Lamberts, said: "The Commission and EU governments continue to ignore the unprecedented mobilization of citizens against trade agreements, such as CETA, which would only serve the interests of multinational corporations, as opposed to serving the general interest.

The Greens/EFA Co-Presidents' briefing

25.10.2016

LIVE press conference 25 October 10:30-10:50

Greens/EFA co-presidents Rebecca Harms and Philippe Lamberts present the key issues of the plenary session and of the European agenda for the Greens/EFA group

Conflicts of interests

European Parliament takes concrete steps in response to scandals

The European Parliament's Legal Affairs committee today adopted a report from rapporteur Pascal Durand (Greens/EFA) on European Commissioners' declarations of interests. The report, which originates from the inability of the parliament to properly check the financial interests of Miguel Arias Cañet...

Fix the ethics system

Molly Scott Cato

Stop the revolving doors. Politicians must work for the people, not for their own gain.