THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION REVOLVING DOOR

Source: TI International

27 Commissioners have left the European Commission since the original appointment of the Barroso II Commission in 2009. Collectively they have since taken up 137 new positions. There have been a number of high-profile controversies, particularly over the last 12 months. Former European Commission President José Manuel Barroso joined the investment bank Goldman Sachs; former Digital Commissioner Neelie Kroes joined the board of Uber; and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, former Commissioner under Barroso from 2004-2010, allegedly broke the Code of Conduct by not disclosing a contract with Gamesa, a company she started working for the same month she left the Commission. Other Commissioners took new positions in a mining company, Uber, ArcelorMittal, Volkswagen, the Bank of America and many more.

These controversial cases are part of a wider picture of former Commissioners and senior officials taking up jobs in the private sector. Indeed, one third of former Commissioners who served in the Barroso II Commission have taken the revolving door to the private sector.

More than half of the former Commissioners are now involved with an organisation registered on the EU lobby register. Some of the Commission’s senior civil servants have made similar career changes. The current ethics framework includes an 18-month cooling-off period for European Commissioners and up to 24-months for EU officials.

For Commissioners, an Ad Hoc Ethics committee makes recommendations on individual cases, but final decision-making power lies with the College of Commissioners. This means that ethics violations and revolving door cases are assessed and judged by the sitting Commissioners. In many cases, they have been long-time colleagues. In their assessment, Commissioners will also take into account that they will one day face the judgement of their successors. Setting strict precedents might negatively influence their own career prospects.

There is also no clear and comprehensive definition of ‘conflicts of interest’. Previous rulings of the ad hoc ethical committee suggest a very narrow interpretation that is often at odds with the public perception and expectations.

Current Legal Framework for Commissioners and Senior Staff

In their post-mandate activities, Commissioners are bound by the Code of Conduct, which includes an 18-month cooling-off period, and the EU treaties that impose a lifelong obligation to act with integrity. Within the 18-month notification period an Ad hoc Ethical Committee, consisting of three members appointed by the President of the European Commission, assesses compliance and makes recommendations to the College of Commissioners that makes final decisions. The Committee has no permanent staff and few competences to investigate potential breaches of the Code of Conduct. Under the current Code of Conduct, former Commissioners have the right to pursue a professional career after the end of their mandate, as long as this does not put them in conflict with the interests of the EU. The Code covers the main situations of conflicts of interest that may affect former and current members of the Commission, including lobbying by a former Commissioner towards their former Commission services. According to the Code, during the first 18 months after leaving office, former Commissioners must inform the present Commission of activities they wish to pursue. If the current Commission deems it necessary, it will consult the Ad Hoc Ethics Committee, which will advise the college. Beyond the Code of Conduct, former Commissioners remain bound by the EU treaties stipulating they need to rule out all risks of conflicts of interest and behave with integrity and discretion when accepting certain appointments or benefits.

Senior staff of the Commission (Directors-General, Deputy Directors-General, Directors and Heads of Cabinet) are bound by the EU staff regulations. In line with Transparency International’s recommendations, the Commission has also included Special Advisors in this group. For all EU officials, there is a ban on lobbying activities for a period of up to 24 months in the policy area in which they have most recently worked. The regulations have undergone multiple rounds of revision, the latest dating back to 2009. Article 16(3) of the EU Staff Regulations prevents officials during a 12-month period from “engaging in lobbying or advocacy vis-à-vis staff of their former institution for their business, clients or employers on matters for which they were responsible during the last three years in the service.” The Appointing Authority can extend this ban on lobbying to 24 months “having regard to the interests of the service”.

Another potential source of conflicts of interest is that EU officials are entitled to take unpaid sabbatical for up to 15 years. There are currently a few worrying cases, such as the official that came from ExxonMobil to DG Energy to oversee relations with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), who is now leading Saudi Aramco’s corporate policy in Europe while on sabbatical from the Commission. This oversight should not simply be left to line managers.

The European Commission Revolving Door in Numbers

Since the Juncker Commission took office in November 2014, the 18-month cooling-off period, in which former Commissioners notify the Commission about their new jobs, has passed. During the initial 18 months, the Commission gave the green light to 114 new positions. TI’s research has identified an additional 23 positions that have been added since then. Many Commissioners work on several new activities. Former Commission President Barroso tops the ranking with an impressive 23 new activities. Out of the total 114 requests, 40 were brought before the Ad Hoc Ethical Committee to check if they might constitute a conflict of interest. The Commission has not opposed any of these appointments – apparently no conflicts of interest were found. For the two previous Commissions, the Ad hoc Ethical Committee delivered five negative opinions. On each occasion, the former Commissioner gave up the intention to engage in the activity before a negative ruling by the Commission was necessary. Until the ruling of the Barroso case, decisions made by the Ad hoc Ethical Committee were not published pro-actively and had to be requested

• There have been a total of 26 departing Barroso II Commissioners with a total of 117 post-Commission roles between them.
• Of these 117, 98 have been formally authorized of which 38 percent were considered by the Ad Hoc Ethical Committee.
• One in three (9 out of 26) outgoing Commissioners who left office in 2014 have gone through the ‘revolving door’ into roles in corporations or other organizations with links to big business

José Manuel Barroso

• Goldman Sachs International (GSI), Non-Executive Chairman
• International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity
• Bilderberg Meetings, Member of the Steering Committee
• European Business Summit (EBS), Honorary Chairman of the Honorary Committee
• Kofi Annan Foundation, Member of the Electoral Integrity Initaitive (EII)
• UEFA Foundation for Children, Member of the Board of Trustees

Vivian Reding

• Agfa Gevaert, Member of the Supervisory Board
• Bertelsmann Foundation, Member of the Board of Trustees
• Global Economic Symposium, Member of the Advisory Board
• Women in Parliaments Global Forum (WIP), Member of the Advisory Board
• UEFA Foundation for Children, Member of the Board of Trustees

Neelie Kroes

• Bank of America Merril Lynch, Advisor
• Startup Delta
• Open Data Institute, Non-executive member of the board of directors.
• SalesForce’s Member of Board of Directors,
• Uber, Member of  Public Policy Advisory Board

Joaquim Almunia

• Centre for European Reform, Member of the Advisory Board
• European Council on Foreign Relations(ECFR), Member
• European Policy Centre(EPC), Member of the Advisory Council
• Friends of Europe, Member of the Board of Trustees

Karel De Gucht

• ArcellorMittal, Member of the Board
• Proximus, Member the Board
• Merit Capital, Member of the Board
• CVC (Investment Fund), Member of the Board

Transtitional Allowance (Source: Die Zeit, October 2016)

Sixteen former European commissioners are currently receiving monthly payments from the Commission's coffers, even though several of them have already found new, well-paid jobs. Former Commissioners receive the transitional allowance for three years after leaving office. It amounts to between 40 percent and 65 percent of the salary the official held in office, but if the ex-Commissioner starts having income elsewhere, that will be deducted from the allowance. If the former Commissioner takes up any new gainful activity, the amount of the new job's salary, added together with the allowance, cannot exceed the remuneration as a member of the commission.

The list

The full list of ex-commissioners still receiving transitional allowance; their country of origin; and their portfolio during Barroso II:

1. Joaquin Almunia Aman (Spain, competition)
2. Laszlo Andor (Hungary, employment)
3. Tonio Borg (Malta, health)
4. Dacian Ciolos (Romania, agriculture)
5. Maria Damanaki (Greece, fisheries)
6. Karel De Gucht (Belgium, trade)
7. Jacek Dominik (Poland, budget)
8. Stefan Fuele (Czech Republic, enlargement)
9. Connie Hedegaard (Denmark, climate action)
10. Siim Kallas (Estonia, transport)
11. Janusz Lewandowski (Poland) 
12. Ferdinando Nelli Feroci (Italy, industry)
13. Andris Piebalgs (Latvia, development)
14. Janez Potocnik (Slovenia, environment)
15. Algirdas Semeta (Lithuania, taxation and customs)
16. Androulla Vassiliou (Cyprus, education)