Revolving Door Increasingly in Sights of EU Institutions, Campaigners

Rules governing the revolving door between European Commission officials and members of European Parliament (MEP) and the private sector aren't tough enough, some experts said. Current officials pointed toward ongoing efforts to increase transparency, which some said aren't adequate. Corporate Europe Observatory (CEO) team member Vicky Cann said U.S. rules appear to be "more developed," possibly because of the different political system and the amount of money in play.

EU institutions have regulations but the lack of a register of where former EU officials go to work or a list of cases that have been examined for potential conflicts of interest makes it difficult for CEO, a campaign group that runs RevolvingDoorWatch, to monitor the situation, Cann said. Lawmakers and EC officials respond that the commission and European Parliament are taking some steps toward more openness. But Parliament itself needs to toughen its revolving door rules, which are also more lax than in the U.S., said an aide to an MEP who spearheaded a push to toughen revolving door limits.

The EC was asked to step up supervision of senior civil servants in revolving-door cases by European Ombudsman Emily O'Reilly in draft recommendations issued Sept. 23. Her inquiry arose from complaints from CEO, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace EU Unit, LobbyControl and Spinwatch. In response, O'Reilly looked into how the EC deals with conflicts that might arise when staffers leave or join it, and at how the commission interprets and applies the relevant rules. The investigation involved 54 cases, she said.

The probe found "certain deficiencies" in the way the EC implemented procedures, mostly regarding how decisions were explained and documented, O'Reilly's report said. She criticized the EC for not responding adequately to all of her questions, leading her to conclude that "there exists an instance of systemic maladministration." Employees leaving government are supposed to file an application with the EC, which the EC is then expected to review to determine if the potential new job poses conflict-of-interest risks. O'Reilly recommended the EC fully vet every application from a staffer to work outside the EC, set out the analysis in well-reasoned and well-documented decisions, and ensure that the conflict-of-interest rules are applied uniformly across the EC. O'Reilly also offered guidelines for further improvements. She asked the EC to respond to the recommendations by Dec. 31. The response date has now been extended, a spokeswoman said.

The ombudsman's action won cheers from the complainants, which are members of the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation. ALTER-EU operates the website Block the Revolving Door. More needs to be done, the groups said in a Sept. 23 news release. There are "ongoing concerns about the way in which the Commission handles the cases of incoming and outgoing officials," they said.

The issue grew hotter this year with the installation of a new EC. The ombudsman's recommendations were aimed at EU staff and officials, not commissioners, who are subject to different rules, CEO's Cann said. ALTER-EU approached new EC President Jean-Claude Juncker with several proposals. In a Nov. 1 letter, the alliance said the code of conduct for commissioners "is still too weak in a number of aspects." It said the period during which ex-commissioners must notify the EC of their new employment, and the ban on lobbying the EC, should be extended from 18 months to three years.

ALTER-EU also asked that the lobby ban be better defined and include direct and indirect lobbying, such as providing lobbying advice, and that the current ad hoc ethical committee be replaced by a professional, independent ethics panel to vet commissioners' proposed new roles. The alliance also sought reform of staff regulations to include a mandatory cooling-off period of at least two years for all EU institutional employees, Cann said. Currently non-commissioner civil servants have to inform their employers of any proposed new employment for two years after they leave, and former senior civil servants can't lobby former colleagues for 12 months.

The groups' position won support from 25 MEPs. A Nov. 1 letter led by Dennis de Jong of the Confederal Group of the European United Left/Nordic Green Left and the Netherlands urged Juncker to "put in place enhanced mechanisms to prevent a repeat of the revolving door scandals which dominated the end of the previous college of Commissioners in 2009-2010." Five of those departing 13 commissioners moved to industry jobs likely to involve lobbying, and "this created a lot of negative media attention and public concern," the MEPs said.

Juncker said the commissioners' code of conduct "should meet the highest ethical standards," but any change must be "assessed with due consideration to the issue at stake and the proportionality or feasibility of the means envisaged." Former commissioners are required to behave with integrity and discretion in deciding whether to accept certain appointments or benefits, he said. They must give notice of planned new occupations for 18 months after they leave the EC, a rule intended to avoid conflicts, not to "prohibit professional activities nor the use of professional experience," he wrote. For that reason, notification must be analyzed case by case, Juncker said. Extending the notification period would result in unnecessary costs and administrative burdens "without added value," he said.

Parliamentary Rules Needed?

De Jong isn't happy with the reply, his assistant Nina de Ridder said.

Juncker didn't address De Jong's proposals, de Ridder said. The MEP has set up an informal parliamentary group to push for action on transparency and ethics issues, she said, and the panel has strong support from the European Parliament political groups.

The rules for former MEPs are even less stringent than for ex-commissioners, de Ridder said. Ex-MEPs don't have to give notice of proposed new employment and there's no ban on lobbying for a certain time period, she said. The current code of conduct merely states that ex-lawmakers who engage in professional lobbying directly related to the EU decision-making process may not benefit from the facilities granted to former legislators, she said. MEPs should be subject to the same cooling-off period as ex-commissioners, de Ridder said.

Individual cases

The revolving door has touched officials who oversaw telecom and Internet issues.

Among the cases cited by transparency campaigners is that of Viviane Reding. Now an MEP, Reding is a former EU justice commissioner and before that information society and media commissioner. Minutes from an Oct. 30 EC meeting show that Reding was cleared to be a member of the Bertelsmann Foundation board of trustees. She was directed to avoid any conflicts of interest incompatibility with the commissioners' code of conduct, particularly when foundation projects involve requesting or obtaining EU co-financing, and to stay away from lobbying for 18 months.

CEO panned the approval on grounds that the foundation board "is closely interlinked with the global media and services company Bertelsmann." The company "is likely to benefit enormously" from Reding's political knowledge, because she brings insider know-how in the media, privacy and education sectors, all of which are of interest to Bertelsmann, CEO said. Reding was an official at the time the EC initiated trade talks with the U.S., an accord Bertelsmann is likely to gain from, CEO said. Reding didn't comment.

In an earlier case involving the information technology sector, CEO criticized the EC for approving a request by Per Hellström for a sabbatical with Apple. From 2007 to 2012, Hellström headed the EC competition directorate's antitrust unit dealing with information industries, Internet and consumer electronics, CEO said. "Apple has significant interests in the work of [Directorate General] competition" in the areas of e-books and patent licensing, CEO said. Under EU staff regulations, EC employees are barred from taking sabbaticals that involve lobbying or advocacy regarding the institutions and which could lead to a realm of possible conflict of interest, it said. The rules seem to ban direct lobbying, but indirect lobbying or providing strategic advice or insider knowledge to colleagues about how to approach the EC are arguably not covered, it said. Apple had no comment.

In a case involving a former MEP, CEO criticized Arlene McCarthy for joining a U.K. lobbying firm shortly after stepping down as a legislator after the May European Parliament elections. The firm has lobbied on the kinds of economic and monetary issues McCarthy worked on for the previous five years, although it's unclear whether she had any contact with those clients, CEO said. The problem is that when "an MEP leaves the European Parliament and immediately joins a lobby consultancy, the risk of conflicts of interests can be raised," and the code of conduct for MEPs is inadequate to regulate the revolving doors for former lawmakers," it said. McCarthy's firm, Sovereign Strategy, had no comment.

CEO also panned the decision by former MEP Erika Mann to become a lobbyist for Facebook when she left the European Parliament in 2009. The company had no comment. As a legislator, CEO said, Mann was a member of the Transatlantic Policy Network and a founder of the European Internet Foundation. Mann's move again highlighted the need for a cooling-off period between leaving Parliament and lobbying, CEO said.