ALTER-EU vote recommendation to members of European Parliament's Legal Affairs committee regarding the vote on Staff Regulation proposal
We believe that the current rules governing the 'revolving door' - when EU staff move between the EU institutions and the Brussels lobby industry creating the risk of conflicts of interest - are inadequate and in need of urgent reform. As a result, ALTER-EU considers that there should be:
• A mandatory cooling-off period of at least two years for all EU institution staff members entering new posts which involve lobbying or advising on lobbying, or any other role which provoke a conflict of interest with their work as an EU staff member;
• A ban on any EU institution staff member undertaking a sabbatical which involves lobbying, providing lobbying advice, or which provokes a conflict of interest with their work as an EU staff member;
• Full scrutiny of potential conflicts of interest when staff join the EU institutions. Where there is a potential conflict of interest between their old job and their new EU role, those persons must be recused from such handling matters;
• Transparency of 'revolving door' cases on EU institutions’ websites.
