Activities of Daniel FREUND related to 2020/2133(INI)
Reports (1)
REPORT on strengthening transparency and integrity in the EU institutions by setting up an independent EU ethics body
Amendments (33)
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. Whereas citizens’ trust in public institutions and decision-making processes is a pillar of any democratic government and requires exemplarity, integrity, transparency, accountability as well as the highest standards of ethical behaviour;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
B b. Whereas the absence of undue influence of interest representatives, including through providing paid activities for Members of Parliament, gifts or travel invitations, creating expectations for future employment following Members’ termination of mandate and official’s termination of service, undue use of information or contacts is key to ensure democratic processes are not captured and citizens rights are fully respected;
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the shortcomings of the current EU ethics framework derive largely from the fact that it relies on a self- regulatory approach which has proven to lack the independence indispensable to a satisfactory implementation of the rules and lacks adequate human and financial resources and competences to verify information;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas, as a consequence, multiple cases of unethical conduct and their inadequate handling by the EU institutions have harmed the trust which European citizens place in the EU institutions and severely contributed to damaging the reputation of the European Union;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
D a. Whereas, according to the reports published by Transparency International more than 50% of ex-Commissioners and 30% of ex-Members work for organisations falling under the scope of the EU lobby register, 60% of the Members have declared outside activities, 31% of MEPs declared paid side jobs; Whereas, when not properly regulated, these situations can lead to conflict of interest, undue influence and regulatory capture;
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the current ethics standards framework appears to be highly fragmented, with different rules in different institutions, different processes and levels of enforcement even for the same EU staff regulations in different EU institutions, agencies and bodies, thus creating a complex system which is difficult for both EU citizens and for those who have to respect the rules to understand;
Amendment 33 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. Whereas the example of the “Haute Autorité pour la Transparence de la Vie Publique” in France demonstrates that a single and independent body responsible for the monitoring, enforcement and sanctioning of ethics rules applicable to public bodies is an effective powerful tool able to achieve a long-lasting reduction of unethical behaviour;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas the Meroni doctrine developed by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) allows for the delegation of EU institutions’ competences to external bodies, including competences that are not yet exercised;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Believes that a single independent EU ethics body is necessary to ensure the consistent and full implementation of ethics standards across the EU institutions to guarantee that public decisions are not captured by private interests but driven solely by democratic processes, taken in light of the common good and to regain and maintain citizens’ trust in the European institutions; ; proposes the conclusion of an interinstitutional agreement (IIA) based on Article 195 (TFEU) to set up an EU Ethics Body for Parliament and the Commission open to the participation of all EU institutions, agencies and bodies; recommends that the IIA contain the following provisions:
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – indent 2
Paragraph 2 – indent 2
- Parliament’'s Rules of Procedure: Rules 2, 10 (5 and 6), 11, 176(1), Annex I, (Articles 1 to 3, 4(6), 5 and 6 and8), Annex II,
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – indent 3
Paragraph 2 – indent 3
- the Commission’s Rules of Procedure: Article 9, its Code of Conduct, Article 2 and Articles 5-11to 13, and Annex II, and its Decision of 25 November 2014 on the publication of information on meetings held between Members of the Commission and organisations or self-employed individuals, and the same decision for Directors-General,
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 – indent 4
Paragraph 2 – indent 4
- the Staff Regulation’s Articles 11, 11(a)a, 12, 12(a)a, 12(b)b, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21(a)a, 22, 22(a)a, 22(c)c, 24, 26, 27 and 40, 43, 86, 90- 91a and Annex IX
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Reminds that when it comes to individuals covered by the staff regulation, the competence can be delegated to the Independent EU Ethics Body by making use of the enabling clauses in article 2(2) and or 9(1) and would concern the monitoring and enforcement of the ethical obligations while other professional obligations will continue to be enforced by the appointing authorities;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Insists that the IIA should be open to the participation of all EU institutions and bodies and reminds that co-legislators may decide to bind agencies through their founding regulation; believes that the IIA should allow the Ethics Body to conclude agreements with national authorities with a view to ensuring the exchange of information necessary for the performance of its tasks, for example tax information, land registers, data held by national ethics bodies;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Reminds that competences of the Independent EU Ethics Body over Members are without prejudice of sanctions and procedures foreseen in the Treaties, the Members’ statute, the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, and the protocol on the privileges and Immunities of the European Union;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
4 b. Reminds that the Independent EU Ethics Body competences would not interfere with the competence of the EU Ombudsman, the OLAF or the EU Public Prosecutor or the rights of EU citizens and institutions to address the European General Court or European Court of Justice;
Amendment 103 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that the participating institutions should entrust, within the framework of their respective procedural autonomy, the EU Ethics Body with autonomous monitoring powers over ethics standards applicable to them, as well as advisory, investigative and enforcement powers;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Considers that this autonomous monitoring capacity should include, among others, the verification of the veracity of the declaration of financial interests, , through inter alia a centralised collection of data, the handling of conflicts of interest, checks on transparency obligations and the verification of compliance with revolving doors rules and generally verification of compliance with all provisions of codes of conduct and applicable transparency, ethics and integrity rules;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Takes the view that the EU Ethics Body could also be given authority over the obligations imposed by the Transparency Register including additional formal obligation that might be imposed on EU institutions’ members and staff;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Believes that in relation to its enforcement powers,order to be fully efficient, the body should merge the roles of existing organs responsible for ethics; Considers that the body cshould take over from the Appointing Authority in dealing with staff ethics obligations, and that in relation to Members of Parliament or Commissioners, the body cshould be grantemerge monitoring, investigatory and enforcement powers within the limits of the provisions contained in the Treaties, and without prejudice to any additional mechanisms provided for in Parliament’s Rules of Procedure, in particular concerning termination of office;
Amendment 141 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Considers that the EU Ethics Body should be entrusted with advisory tasks in order to provide advice to any individual covered by its scope who wishes to request interpretation of an ethical standard in relation to appropriate conduct in a specific case; Considers that, in order to ensure consistent application of the ethical standards and predictability, advice should be binding for the Independent EU Ethics Body in its judgement on the same matter;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Believes that the decision on the absence of conflicts of interest of Commissioners-designate prior to hearings should remain a competence of Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs, while the EU Ethics Body should support the process with the publication of its analysis of each individual case and make its investigative capacities available to the European Parliament;
Amendment 165 #
13. Considers that its members must be independent, chosen on the basis of their competence, experience and professional qualities, as well as their personal integrity, have an impeccable record of ethical behaviour and provide a declaration of the absence of conflicts of interest; is of the opinion that the composition of the body should be gender-balanced; Considers that the members should be chosen for a period of six years;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Suggests that each institution choose these members in particular from among former judges of the CJEU, former or current members of highest courts of Member States, former Members of the European Parliament, former staff of the participating institutions and bodies, former EU Ombudsmen, and members of the ethics authorities in Member States; suggests further that the body elect a President and two Vice-Presidents from among its members; Suggests, in order to ensure broad support, that the Parliament elects the members of the body at the majority of its component members;
Amendment 175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Insists that the college be supported by a secretariat with the human, material and financial resources commensurate with its mandate and tasks; including an ethics officer, responsible for ethical training and offering advice within the Independent EU Ethics Body; Considers that the pooling of budget and personnel currently allocated to the various EU ethics bodies when merging them would allow to improve the efficiency of the use of resources and might reduce costs;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Considers that the procedure followed by the Independent EU Ethics Body should ensure the appropriate level of transparency while protecting legitimate confidentiality of certain aspects of individual cases; Believes that the Inter-institutional agreement should foresee procedural rules, referring to the existing acquis of principles of the existing EU ethics bodies, as well as to the EU’s common values (Art. 2 TEU), the rights of the concerned individual to be heard and to appeal, the obligation to collaborate and the publicity requirements;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 b (new)
Paragraph 15 b (new)
15 b. Insists that the Independent EU Ethics Body should have the power to start an investigation on its own initiative, based on information collected by itself or received from third parties, in particular from individuals, civil society organizations, the media and whistleblowers;
Amendment 186 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Proposes a two-step approach whereby, in the event that the EU Ethics Body becomes aware of a breach or possible breach of ethics rules, it first recommends, within a deadline, actions to put an end to the breach; considers that this first preventive step should ensure confidentiality and the right of the person to be heard; suggests that in the event that the individual concerned refuses to take the appropriate actions and the breach persists, the EU Ethics Body should make relevant information about the case publicly available and decide, if appropriate, on sanctions; considers that this two-step approach should apply provided that there are no reasonable grounds to believe that the individual acted in bad faith and recommends that intentional breach, gross negligence, the concealment of evidence and non- compliance with the obligation to cooperate should be, as such, subject to sanctions, even when the breach itself has ceased;
Amendment 191 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Believes that as a general rule, the Body should decide by simple majority of its members;
Amendment 195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Is of the opinion that one year after its establishment, the EU Eethics Bbody should publish an annual report containing both information about the fulfilment of its tasks and, whereall adopt a general assessment of its activities, including analysis of the functioning of the rules and procedures and the experience acquired in applying them (review clause). In particular, the EU ethics body should focus on the assessment of: - the effectiveness on the implementation of its mandate and delegated powers, - the monitoring competences over ethics standards, - the application and efficiency of procedures. The EU ethics body shall submit appropriate, recommendations for improving ethics standards; amendments, including, if necessary, proposal to amend its competences and to present it before the EP.
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Is of the opinion that the EU Ethics Body should publish an annual report containing both information about the fulfilment of its tasks and, where appropriate, recommendations for improving ethics standards; ; Recommends that the annual report describes the number of cases that were investigated, the institutions the individuals were coming from, the type of breaches concerned, the time the procedures took, the timeframe in which the breach was ended, the proportion of sanctions decided and recommendations;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Insists that the decisions of the EU Ethics Body should be legally binding, reviewable before the CJEU and for the recipient member, staff and institution and reviewable before the CJEU; Believes that the participating institutions should bind themselves to an obligation to fully cooperate in all procedures falling under the scope of the agreed IIA, in particular to communicate to the Independent EU Ethics Body all information and documents necessary to the proper scrutiny of ethics rules; Reminds that the body’s activities would be subject to possible complaints to the EU Ombudsman;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Believes that the improvement of integrity, transparency, accountability as well as the highest standards of ethical behaviour of the EU institutions and EU decision-making processes should be part of the topics discussed in the framework of the Conference on the Future of Europe;