COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION: PROPOSED CODE OF CONDUCT

Registered interest representatives interacting with the Council, whether on a single occasion or frequently shall behave in conformity with this Code of Conduct.

The registrants shall acknowledge the following set of rules and principles, and shall agree to comply with them. In particular, registrants shall:

1. in their relations with MEPs, members of the Commission or officials of any EU institution, always identify themselves by name, registration number, the entity or entities they work for or represent;
2. declare the interests and objectives they promote as well as specify the clients or members whom they represent and, where applicable, their registration number;
3. not obtain or try to obtain information or decisions dishonestly, by use of undue pressure, or by inappropriate behavior;
4. not misrepresent the effect of registration in such a way as to be likely to mislead anyone or cause prejudice to the Transparency Register or the EU institutions, or use the logos of the Union and any of the EU institutions without express authorization;
5. ensure that, to the best of their knowledge, information that they provide upon registration, and subsequently administer in the framework of their activities covered by the Transparency Register, is complete, up-to-date and not misleading, they agree for this information to be in the public domain?
6. not distribute documents obtained from the EU institutions to third parties for payment;
7. agree to refrain from using their registration in the Transparency Register for commercial and advertising purposes with regard to third parties;
8. respect and avoid any obstruction to the implementation of all rules, codes and practices pertaining to good governance and transparency established by the EU institutions, as made available on the Transparency Register’s website;
9. not induce MEPs, members of the Commission or officials of any EU institutions to contravene the rules and standards of behaviour applicable to them;
10. if employing former MEPs, members of the Commission or officials of any EU institutions, respect the obligations of those individuals to abide by the confidentiality requirements and rules applicable to them after leaving the respective institutions;
11. to the extent that they are engaged in a client-intermediary relationship: (i) ensure that all parties in such a relationship are registered in the Transparency Register, and (ii) as clients or intermediaries, allow for the relevant publication of the information concerning the relationship in the Transparency Register pursuant to Annex II to the Interinstitutional Agreement;
12. agree: (i) to submit in a complete and accurate way the information required upon registration (ii) to present, if requested , to the Secretariat of the Transparency Register the documents and any other supporting materials demonstrating their eligibility for registration and that the information submitted is accurate, and (iii) to cooperate sincerely and constructively with the Secretariat of the Transparency Register;
13. agree that they may be subject to investigations and, where applicable, measures provided for in Annex III to the Interinstitutional Agreement;
14. take appropriate steps to ensure that their employees engaged in activities covered by the Transparency Register are informed about the registrant’s commitments under this Code of Conduct;
15. inform whomever they represent in the framework of activities covered by the Interinstitutional Agreement of their obligations resulting from the code of conduct.
16. agree to respect, and avoid any obstruction of the pertinent rules, notably access and security rules and arrangements, established by the EU institutions.