HomeWorldBrussels wants "high standards, clear rules applicable to all institutions"

Brussels wants “high standards, clear rules applicable to all institutions”

The European Commission presented this Thursday a proposal for the creation of a European authority that guarantees “high standards” of ethical conduct in the European institutions.

The measure presented by the Commissioner for Values ​​and Transparency, Věra Jourová, takes into account that “in recent months there have been some scandals” in the EU institutions, of which “Catargate” is an example.

Cases like this “remind everyone that there are loopholes in our systems,” said the commissioner, convinced that “if a scandal occurs, people across the EU will not make any distinction between the European institutions.”

That is why it defends ethical standards and conduct common to all European institutions. “I want the standards to be high, clear and applicable to all institutions [e] that is why I propose this groundbreaking: the first ethics authority in the European Union.”

“For the first time, it will bring together nine European institutions to define standards that the institutions will be obliged to apply internally”, declared the commissioner, specifying a set of areas of action, to guarantee transparency and ethical conduct in the European institutions. .

“Post-term and labor activities, declarations of interests and assets, gifts, accommodation and travel, transparency of meetings with stakeholders, attention to harassment, among others”, will be the object of the future authority.

“There are criminal issues such as corruption that are already illegal and there are authorities such as police, prosecutors and judges to deal with these issues. Catargate is an example of that. But as we all know, chance makes the thief. that can facilitate certain crimes,” he said.

According to the Lusa agency, the political groups of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D, which includes the PS), the Liberals (Renew Europe) and the Greens have already criticized the proposal, specifically regarding the question of investigation of cases .

The S&D group, the second largest in the European Parliament, said in a statement that it was “particularly disappointed with the fact that the new body envisaged in this proposal has neither investigative powers nor the ability to impose sanctions in case of violation of the rules. “.

The president of Renew Europe (the third largest) referred to the organization as “a bulldog without teeth”, adding Stéphane Séjourne that “Europe deserves better than incomplete proposals”.

The Green group, for its part, considered that the body is not independent, also rejecting the inability to investigate and punish, accusing Brussels of having presented “a discouraging proposal, after years of stalling.”

However, without reacting directly to these statements, the commissioner refutes the arguments of the parliamentary groups, guaranteeing that “the body will not be stripped of power, since there will be mechanisms to guarantee the effective application of the rules”.

“The organization will monitor its application and publicly communicate how each institution is handling the situation. For the first time, there will be transparency and public pressure on outliers,” said Věra Jourová.

Source: TSF

Stay Connected
16,985FansLike
2,458FollowersFollow
61,453SubscribersSubscribe
Must Read
Related News

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here