Eight EU institutions and bodies have set up a new EU Body for Ethical Standards; A major step towards fostering a common culture of integrity and ethics; EU auditors’ 2019 report on ethical standards in EU institutions bears fruit
The European Court of Auditors – the EU’s financial watchdog – is one of the eight participating institutions and bodies in the interinstitutional body for ethical standards that signed the founding agreement in Brussels today. The new body will strengthen integrity, transparency and accountability in European decision-making. The EU’s external auditors had previously called for such action in a special audit report published in 2019 on the ethical frameworks of the largest EU institutions and policy makers.
The agreement on the ethics body has been reached by eight EU institutions and bodies: the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the EU, the European Central Bank, the European Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the European Committee of the Regions. The body will develop, update and interpret common minimum standards for ethical conduct, and publish reports on how these standards have been reflected in each signatory’s internal rules. This is a significant step towards fostering a common culture of integrity and ethics, including common minimum ethical standards to be developed by an inter-institutional body.
While the initial proposal was put forward by the Commission, the initiative follows the ECA’s report of 2019, in which the auditors recommended improving the ethical frameworks of the audited EU institutions: the Parliament, the Council and the Commission. The report also encouraged the audited institutions to work together to harmonise ethics-related issues, and make further efforts not only to share good practices, but also to improve awareness and perception of ethics and the culture of ethics.
ECA president Tony Murphy: “The principles of accountability, transparency and ethics stand as indispensable pillars of our Union, and are essential to its democratic, legitimate, and effective governance. This interinstitutional initiative demonstrates that there is a commitment to work together towards a common culture on ethics, which will also further increase citizens' trust in the EU institutions.”
ECA Member George Marius Hyzler, a lead negotiator: “We are very pleased that the negotiations have come to fruition. We are especially satisfied that the ECA’s previous recommendations for the harmonisation of standards and enhanced cooperation helped this important development, which will pave the way for the establishment of common ethical standards.”
ECA
© European Court of Auditors
Key
Hover over the blue highlighted
text to view the acronym meaning
Hover
over these icons for more information
Comments:
No Comments for this Article