Duty of honesty and discretion for former Commission members
11.7.2016
Question for written answer E-005629-16
to the Commission
Rule 130
Stelios Kouloglou (GUE/NGL)
According to official figures, the average pension of a Commissioner after two terms in office is EUR 10 924.58. Just last week, former Commission President, Mr Jose Manuel Barroso, became non-executive chairman and director of Goldman Sachs International[1].
Pursuant to Article 245 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), Members of the Commission, ‘when entering upon their duties, give a solemn undertaking that, both during and after their term of office, they will respect the obligations arising therefrom and in particular their duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after they have ceased to hold office, of certain appointments or benefits’. The same is provided for in Article 1.2 of the Code of conduct for Commissioners[2].
In view of the above:
- 1.Does the Commission believe that the post occupied by Mr Barroso is in line with the spirit and the letter of the TFEU?
- 2.Does it intend to initiate the respective procedures to abolish the right of the former President to his pension?
- 3.Does it propose modifying the rules immediately to prevent former Commission members from occupying similar posts?