Activities of Notis MARIAS related to 2016/2080(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Commissioners' declarations of interests - Guidelines (A8-0315/2016 - Pascal Durand) EL
Commissioners' declarations of interests - Guidelines (debate) EL
Amendments (22)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital Α
Recital Α
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas scrutiny of the declaration of financial interests of a Commissioner- designate by the committee responsible for legal affairs should consists not only of verifying that the declaration has been duly completed but also of assessing whether the content of the declaration is accurate and if a conflict of interests may be inferred; at the same, it is necessary to clarify immediately which financial interests and assets may lead to a conflict of interests in the performance of Commissioners’ duties;
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital Β
Recital Β
Β. whereas it is to be deplored that the Code of Conduct for Commissioners adopted in 2011 fails to address several of Parliament’s recommendations for improvements, in particular as regards the declarations of financial interests of Members of the Commission;
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas, in its above-mentioned resolution of 8 September 2015, Parliament deemed it important for the Committee on Legal Affairs to issue guidelines in the form of recommendations or an own- initiative report, with a view to facilitating reform of the procedures relating to Commissioners’ declarations of interests and for the shortcomings in the declarations of financial interests of active members to be addressed;
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas, pursuant to point 1.3 of the code of conduct for Commissioners on selflessness, integrity, transparency, honesty, responsibility and respect for the dignity of Parliament, the latter must declare any financial interest or asset which might create a conflict of interests in the performance of their duties, and whereas this also applies to any holdings of the Commissioner’s spouse or partner which might result in a conflict of interests;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the Code of Conduct for Commissioners adopted on 20 April 2011 (C (2011) 2904) regarding impartiality, integrity, transparency, diligence, probity, responsibility and discretion presents improvements over the preceding code adopted in 2004 as regards the financial declaration of interests since disclosure requirements were extended to Commissioners’ partners and because the declaration of interests needs to be revised when information changes and at least every year;
Amendment 13 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Regrets that the 2011 code of conduct has failed to address all the recommendations issued by Parliament’s Committee on Budgetary Control on 2 March 20111 and points out, in particular, that Commissioners are not required to declare all their financial interests or assets but only those interests or assets ‘which might create a conflict of interest in the performance of their duties’, that there is no requirement to declare debts and liabilities and that dependent children are not required to produce the same information as spouses; __________________ 1 Letter from Mr De Magistris, chair of the Committee on Budgetary Control, to Mr Lehne, Chair of the Conference of Committee Chairs.
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital K
Recital K
K. whereas the information on the form is in part inadequate, does not include a detailed definition of what constitutes a conflict of interests and does not enable Parliament to correctly evaluate either the existence of actual or potential conflicts of interests on the part of Commissioners-designate or their ability to carry out their mandate in line with the code of conduct for Commissioners;
Amendment 17 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas, pursuant to point 1.6 of the code of conduct for Commissioners, a Commissioner shall not deal with any matters within that involves her/his portfolio in which, she/he has any personal interest, in particular a family or financial interest which could impair her/his independence;
Amendment 19 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls for immediate clarification as to what financial interests and assets might lead to a conflict of interest in carrying out the duties of Commissioners;
Amendment 20 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 – introductory part
Paragraph 4 – introductory part
4. Points out thatExpresses concern regarding the updated study on ‘The Code of conduct for Commissioners - Improving effectiveness and efficiency’ (IP/D/CONT/IC/2014-053), which detected a number of deficiencies in the declarations of interests of the current Members of the Commission, mainly:
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the aim of scrutinising Commissioners' financial declarations is to ensure that the Commissioners-designate are able to fulfil their mandates completely independently, in accordance with Article 17(3) of the Treaty on European Union and with the code of conduct for Commissioners; considernotes, accordingly, that this should not be restricted to the appointment of the new Commission;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Takes the view that evaluating a possible conflict of interests must be based on objective factors and take into account the portfolio of the Commissioner- designate;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. RegDeplorets thate failure of the code of conduct fails to lay down any divestment requirements, despite the fact that such requirements armust be standard in any ethics regime;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Confirms that the Committee on Legal Affairs must carry out a substantive analysis of the declarations of financial interests by means of an in-depth examination aimed at assessing whether the content of the declaration made by a Commissioner-designate is accurate or whether a conflict of interests may be inferred and be able to propose to the President of the Commission the replacement of that Commissioner;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Takes the view, therefore, that in the absence of such confirmation or if the Committee on Legal Affairs identifies a conflict of interests, the procedure for appointing the Commissioner-designate shall be suspended automatically and at the same the Commissioner’s candidature must be excluded for a period of ten years;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 – point b
Paragraph 7 – point b
(b) if the Committee on Legal Affairs deems the declaration of financial interests of a Commissioner-designate to contain information which is incomplete or contradictory, or if there is a need for further information, it shall request this information fromask the Commissioner- designate and shall considerto supply this beinfore making its decisionmation within one week and interview him/her;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 – point c
Paragraph 7 – point c
(c) if the Committee on Legal Affairs identifies a conflict of interests based on the declaration of financial interests or the supplementary information supplied by the Commissioner-designate, it shall draw up recommendations aimed at resolving the conflict of interests; the recommendaimpose sanctions; the sanctions may include renouncing the financial interests in question and/or changes being made to the portfolthe resignation of the Commissioner-designate by the President of the Commission;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Underlines the obligation for all Members of the Commission to ensure that their declarations of interests are regularly updated, and calls on the Commission to inform Parliament immediately of any substantial changes;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Considers that any substantial change in the financial interests of a Commissioner during her/his term of office or any reshuffling of the allocation of responsibilities between Members of the Commission constitutes a new situation in terms of the possible existence of a conflict of interests; believes, therefore, that this situation should be subjected to scrutiny by Parliament in accordance with paragraph 7 of this resolution;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Considers that, in the event of a conflict of interests being identified during a Commissioner's term of office and of the Commission not following Parliament's recommendations for resolving the conflict of interests as set out in paragraph 7 of this resolution, the Committee on Legal Affairs mayust impose sanctions and make recommendations aimed at asking the President of the Commission to withdraw confidence in the Commissioner in question.
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 10 – point i
Paragraph 10 – point i
(i) that the Commission reports on an annual basis on the implementation of the Code of Conduct for Commissioners and provides for sanctions in the event ofcomplaint procedures and sanctions in the event of not only serious misconduct but also infringements of requirements, especially as regards the declaration of financial interests.