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Public Ethics in European Administration: Integrity and Governance at the European Commission

European Union
Governance
Institutions
Andreea Nastase
Maastricht Universiteit
Andreea Nastase
Maastricht Universiteit

Abstract

During the past two decades, public organizations world-wide have implemented policies which target specifically the standards of conduct upheld by their members. In the European Union institutional system, the European Commission showcases most visibly this global movement towards the formalization and management of public ethics. After the dramatic resignation of the Santer Commission in March 1999, amidst accusations of fraud and misconduct, the so-called Kinnock reforms featured a number of measures to strengthen behavioral standards and individual responsibility. Continuing the change agenda, Commissioner Siim Kallas (2004-2009) launched the less extensive but well-publicized European Transparency Initiative, to which his successor, Maroš Šefčovič, has largely remained faithful. Ethics reforms are important, as they represent an integral part of the Commission’s wider bid to improve its democratic legitimacy, and address the crisis of public confidence in EU integration. With a focus of the administrative levels of the Commission, this paper takes stock of the developments briefly sketched above. It asks whether – and how – reforms in the area of public ethics have shaped Commission officials’ views regarding appropriate behaviour in public office. It demonstrates that this process of influence is subtle and full of contradictions. Specifically, the repeated waves of reforms have induced employees to discuss ethically-charged situations internally (with close colleagues and supervisors), while simultaneously (and somewhat paradoxically) the vast majority remain unconvinced of the utility of these interventions in their day-to-day work, as they consider ethics to be a matter of “common sense”. These findings call into question the current enthusiasm surrounding ethics policies, by demonstrating that their impact is more modest and uncertain than their popularity would suggest. At the same time (and on a brighter note), the paper shows that ethics has become a fundamental feature in the way the European Commission nowadays defines and practices democratic governance.