By Martin Banks - 24th November 2009
There are rumours about several current commissioners
Alter-EU
A leading NGO has voiced concern about the "very weak" code of conduct covering the professional activities of future and ex-commissioners.
The claim comes in the wake of a review of the rules over appropriate etiquette, recently announced by the executive's president Jose Manuel Barroso.
It is claimed that five years ago, the last time a team of commissioners was replaced, the approval procedure for post-commission employment plans proved "inadequate."
It is said, for example, that the one-year 'cooling-off' period was not respected in the case of health and consumer commissioner Pavel Telicka who "established a for-profit lobby consultancy firm within weeks of leaving the commission."
The claims are made in a report published on Tuesday by the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation in the EU (Alter-EU).
The Brussels-based NGO has outlined its concerns in a letter to Barroso.
The letter says, "We would like to ask you to indicate what your approach will be towards applications from current commissioners for approval of their future career plans.
"There are rumours about several current commissioners considering future (lobby) work for large corporations.
"We are keen to establish what you intend to do in the short term to ensure that there will be no cases of conflict of interest that would undermine public trust in the European institutions?
"To adequately deal with conflicts of interest both pre- and post public employment issues must be considered.
"We are aware that candidate commissioners will go through approval hearings in parliament.
"But we would also like to recall the May 2005 framework agreement, which mentions that "the president of the commission shall be fully responsible for identifying a conflict of interest which renders a member of the commission unable to perform her duties."
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