Transparency, ethics, and integrity are non-negotiable for EU institutions, stated EESC President Oliver Röpke at the signature ceremony of the Ethics Body

On 15 May, EESC President Oliver Röpke participated in the official signature ceremony for the creation of the new Ethics Body, alongside the representative from seven other EU institutions and bodies, including European Commission Vice-President Věra Jourová, President of the Court of Justice of the EU Koen Lenaerts, President of the European Court of Auditors Tony Murphy, and Vice-President of the Committee of the Regions (CoR) Luca Menesini.

During the ceremony, President Röpke recalled that transparency, ethics, and integrity are non-negotiable for EU institutions. When taking office in April last year, he committed to boosting the transparency of the EESC’s work, including by supporting the EU Ethics Body. He welcomed the agreement reached by the eight EU institutions and bodies on the creation of the Ethics Body, noting that it represents a first step towards fostering a common culture of integrity and ethics across EU institutions and bodies. Negotiations on behalf of the EESC were led by EESC Vice-President Laurențiu Plosceanu, and the EESC Plenary adopted the agreement on 25 April [press release]. 

The new EU body will develop, update, and interpret common minimum standards for ethical conduct, and publish reports on how these standards have been reflected in the internal rules of each participating EU institution and body.

Apart from the EESC, the following seven EU institutions and bodies will be part of the new ethics body: the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank, the European Court of Auditors and the European Committee of the Regions.