Tuesday

19th Mar 2024

Survey: Half of EU staff 'don't know' ethics rules

  • The Court of Auditors ethics report also recommended that scrutiny of MEPs self-declarations of interest is increased - something the Parliament rejected (Photo: European Parliament)

EU staff need to be better informed about their institutions' rules on ethical behaviour, the European Court of Auditors said in a report published Friday (19 July).

Only about half of staff said in a survey they had either good or in-depth knowledge of their own institution's ethical framework, while less than half said their employer had given them any ethics training.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • 80 percent of staff members of the European Parliament said they had never attended any ethics trainings (Photo: European Parliament)

The auditors found, however, that the European Commission, the Council of the EU, and European Parliament had "to a large extent (...) established adequate ethical frameworks with room for improvement".

But it noted that rules alone were not enough.

"Instead, [EU institutions] must support their ambitions by developing an appropriate culture of integrity. Such a culture can only develop if the people working for the organisation are equipped with the necessary ethical skills and knowledge, and if they see the organisation's commitment to ethics," the report noted.

The court - which is not an actual court, but the EU's official audit body - conducted a survey among 798 staff members working at the three institutions, the EU's most important ones.

Staff at the commission were most confident about their knowledge of the ethical framework applicable within their institution: almost 60 percent said they had "good knowledge" of it.

By contrast, only 26 percent of those working in the European Parliament (EP) said the same.

Almost 17 percent of EP staff said they had never heard about an ethical framework, while 55 percent said that had heard about it but did not know much about it.

The staff who said they knew least about ethics also were less exposed to trainings about the issue.

Some 82 percent of EP staff said they had never attended any ethics courses, seminars, or sessions, while half of all commission staff and a third of council staff said they had.

Most respondents to the survey said they would recognise unethical conduct when they saw it, but almost 30 percent of EU staff said they would not feel safe reporting on an ethical issue.

MEPs' assistants

In particular assistants to MEPs were hesitant about reporting ethics issues.

The court theorised that this could be because assistants are often on temporary contracts, as well as depending "in terms of career prospects, on their MEP".

"Reluctance to report ethical issues may also result from a lack of knowledge about the relevant procedures and safeguards," the report said.

They were also asked what they thought of the statement "the ethical culture in my institution is strong".

More than 60 percent of commission staff agreed; 58 percent of council staff did; while less than 50 percent in the EU parliament agreed.

Almost one-in-three EU parliament respondents said they disagreed.

In response to the audit report, all three EU institutions said they were already planning or implementing efforts to improve knowledge of the rules on ethical behaviour.

Conflicts of interests

However, some of the court's other recommendations were rejected.

The court said that the parliament should increase their scrutiny of the conflicts of interest declarations of MEPs.

The Code of Conduct for MEPs established an Advisory Committee on the Conduct of Members, which can assess conflict of interest cases at the request of the parliament's president or the MEP in question.

"No other checks on the accuracy and completeness and/or assessment of the MEP's declarations are set out in the parliament's procedures," the court noted.

The court said that the "main safeguard" on the declarations of MEPs was that they were public and could receive "the attention of the stakeholders, the media and the wider public".

This is what happened when EUobserver reported earlier this month potential conflicts of interests among Brexit Party members and the newly appointed members of the parliament's agriculture committee.

"The lack of written standard procedure for checks on members' declarations creates a risk of obligations being interpreted inconsistently, and means that the institution is less likely to identify inaccuracies and other issues before they attract public attention, potentially jeopardising public trust," said the court.

But the EU parliament rejected the recommendation for additional checks.

"Any further-reaching requirements to check accuracy and completeness ex officio would entail the need for significant staff increases and/or investigative powers, none of which are available," said the parliament in its right-of-reply attached to the report.

It said such checks would require up to approximately 60 additional staff members.

"Also, it should be noted that parliament has no powers of investigation over MEPs, who are accountable to the voters, and must respect the free mandate," it added.

Investigation

Farmers among new MEPs deciding on EU farming money

Renew Europe MEP Asger Christensen, from Denmark, earns €20,000 per month as a farmer. He became a member of the agriculture committee, which could create a conflict of interest situation.

Conflicts of interest loom for Brexit Party MEPs

New Brexit Party MEP June Alison Mummery is the director of a company active in the fishing industry. She just joined the EU parliament's fisheries committee as a substitute member.

Commission tightens rules after Barrosogate

The European Commission has proposed tighter rules for its members after their term finishes, amid a long-lasting row over Jose Manuel Barroso's job at Goldman Sachs.

EU Parliament interpreters stage strike

Interpreters at the European Parliament are fed up with remote interpretation, citing auditory health issues given the poor quality of the online sessions.

More trust in EU than national governments amid pandemic

Europeans' support in their national governments has plummeted since the pandemic began, while the image of the EU and trust in the 27-nations bloc remains strong and steadily increasing, according to two new surveys.

Opinion

How the EU can raise its game in the Middle East

Could the EU repair its reputation and credibility by taking action on Gaza? EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell, Spain, Belgium and Ireland, have worked hard to repair the damage, but have faced political headwinds due to internal divisions.

Latest News

  1. Borrell: 'Israel provoking famine', urges more aid access
  2. Europol: Israel-Gaza galvanising Jihadist recruitment in Europe
  3. EU to agree Israeli-settler blacklist, Borrell says
  4. EU ministers keen to use Russian profits for Ukraine ammo
  5. Call to change EIB defence spending rules hits scepticism
  6. Potential legal avenues to prosecute Navalny's killers
  7. EU summit, Gaza, Ukraine, reforms in focus this WEEK
  8. The present and future dystopia of political micro-targeting ads

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us