Answer given by Vice-President Jourová on behalf of the European Commission
24.8.2023
Members of the Commission attend meetings with stakeholders to broaden their information on a wide range of issues. T his means that they have the opportunity of meeting people with different perspectives on various policy issues and to take part in the debate and exchange of ideas.
The official site of the Bilderberg Group gives account of the participants and themes discussed in this meeting[1]. This information is available to the general public.
Since 2014, the Members of the Commission have been making information public on all meetings held by them and members of their cabinets with organisations or self-employed individuals, if they relate to policy-making and implementation in the EU on their respective websites, as well as in the profiles of the respective organisations in the Transparency Register[2].
Since 2018, the mission expenses of Members of the Commission are also made available to the public. In addition, the Members of the Commission publish information with regard to their agendas, and information regarding the meeting referred to by the Honourable Member was provided on the relevant Commission Members’ public calendars, within 15 days of the meeting having taken place.
In accordance with the Treaties[3], the Commission is independent and promotes the general interest of the EU.
The Commission has a strong ethical framework and governance structure in place to ensure that its Members and staff respect the highest ethical standards and that its decisions are not unduly influenced.
The Commission refers in this regard to its communication on Governance in the European Commission[4] which provides a comprehensive overview of the framework in place.
- [1] https://bilderbergmeetings.org/meetings/meeting-2023/press-release-2023
- [2] 2014/839/EU, Euratom: Commission Decision of 25 November 2014 on the publication of information on meetings held between Members of the Commission and organisations or self-employed individuals, OJ L 343, 28.11.2014, p. 22‐24.
- [3] Article 17 Treaty on European Union.
- [4] C(2020) 4240 final, https://commission.europa.eu/publications/governance-european-commission_en