Revolving doors

In January 2022, France will take on the rotating Presidency of the Council of the EU. Yet this Presidency has been prepared in close collaboration with the French corporate sector, and is setting a policy agenda that strongly reflects business demands. It looks set to be a captured presidency.

In January France will take over the Presidency of the EU Council for six months. But the early signs are worrying that this will be a pro-corporate presidency which prioritises a handful of corporate ‘champions’, and an ever greater role for big business in policy-making.

“The Ombudsman is concerned about the potential risk of conflicts of interest.” These concerns led the European Ombudsman’s office to launch an inquiry into the European Defence Agency’s handling of the request by its former Chief Executive to allow him to become a lobbyist for Airbus.

Several recent revolving door scandals show the weakness of EU staff rules on public officials taking up roles – particularly lobbying roles – in the private sector. Only one in two hundred applications for employment during the notification period or while on leave are rejected by the Commission services.

Civil society groups demand action from the European Commission on revolving doors. In a open letter they list proposals that follow on a case in the European Banking Authority, that showed how the Commission is responsible for loopholes.

A battle has been raging within the European Commission over the upcoming Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability, with industry lobbies actively feeding their Commission allies with ammunition. With two weeks to go before the final strategy is launched, the stakes could not be higher.

Internal documents reveal a real disregard for ethics rules at the European Banking Authority. Revolving door scandals include the Director’s move to a powerful finance lobby group, and a former big bank lobbyist as Chair.

After seeing his first pick for Commissioner rejected by the European Parliament due to concerns of conflict of interests, French President Macron seems to have doubled down with a potentially even more controversial nomination: Thierry Breton, CEO of Atos.

The European Banking Authority must reverse its decision to allow its Director Adam Farkas to take up a position with a powerful finance lobbygroup, AFME. A statement from 58 civil society organisations.

The Director of the European Banking Authority is set to become the new Chief Executive of one of the most powerful finance lobby groups in Europe. The move has been approved by the Authority with a decision that flies in the face of common sense and triggers all sorts of alarm bells over conflicts of interest .

We pay our taxes, so why don’t corporations? The Big Four are embedded in EU policy-making on tax avoidance and this report concludes that it is time to kick this industry out of EU anti-tax avoidance policy.

One third of the people who occupied top positions in the Directorate‑General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (DG FISMA) during the period 2008-2017 either came from the financial industry or went there after their time at the Commission.