Translation of "lignes directrices en matière d'éthique " (French → English) :

Q. whereas in 2013 the Ombudsman received numerous complaints relating to conflicts of interest or ‘revolving door’ practices involving senior figures moving between closely related public and private sector posts; whereas the EU administration must attach the utmost importance to exemplary ethical conduct; whereas the Ombudsman accordingly published a set of public service principles and ethical standards; whereas many NGOs maintain that the Commission is failing to deal with what they describe as systemic ’revolving door’ practices;

45. Invites the Commission to bear in mind the need to maintain an adequate balance between risks/benefits as regards the management of conflicts of interest, on one hand, and the objective to obtain the best possible scientific advice, on the other; considers that the proliferation of codes of conduct and ethical guidelines can not rule out conflicts of interest; takes the view that the adoption of codes of conduct and ethical guidelines is necessary, but not sufficient, and that the eradication of conflicts of interest can only be achieved through the implementation of simple and appropriate rules, and their effective enforcement, as ...[+++] part of a general culture of honesty, integrity and transparency;

44. Invites the Commission to bear in mind the need to maintain an adequate balance between risks/benefits as regards the management of conflicts of interest, on one hand, and the objective to obtain the best possible scientific advice, on the other; considers that the proliferation of codes of conduct and ethical guidelines can not rule out conflicts of interest; takes the view that the adoption of codes of conduct and ethical guidelines is necessary, but not sufficient, and that the eradication of conflicts of interest can only be achieved through the implementation of simple and appropriate rules, and their effective enforcement, as ...[+++] part of a general culture of honesty, integrity and transparency;

A second set of common rules entitled ‘the Second Guidelines for Good Practice’ was adopted at the meeting of the Forum on 24-25 September 2003 and the purpose of this Regulation is to lay down, on the basis of those Guidelines, basic principles and rules regarding network access and third party access services, congestion management, transparency, balancing and the trading of capacity rights.

In the Guidelines annexed to this Regulation, specific detailed implementing rules are defined on the basis of the second Guidelines for Good Practice.

Experience gained in the implementation and monitoring of a first set of Guidelines for Good Practice, adopted by the European Gas Regulatory Forum (the Forum) in 2002, demonstrates that in order to ensure the full implementation of the rules set out in the Guidelines in all Member States, and in order to provide a minimum guarantee of equal market access conditions in practice, it is necessary to provide for them to become legally enforceable.