The revolving door rules sound quite good. So what is the problem with them?

All of the current EU revolving door rules need substantial improvement.

ALTER-EU thinks that Commissioners should have a three year notification period and a three year cooling off period on lobbying roles and any other role which could provoke a conflict of interest. This would match their transitional allowance period (see other FAQ). Terms such as lobbying should be carefully defined and a fully independent ethics committee should oversee the rules and make judgements on specific cases.

For EU staff in 2014, the loophole in the rules concerning contract agents (who make up maybe 25 per cent of the Commission workforce) who are largely excluded from the revolving door rules should be tackled. Officials should have a two-year cooling-off period (three years for the most senior officials) on lobbying and any other role which could provoke a conflict of interest. Monitoring and enforcement of these rules also needs far greater attention.