WRITTEN QUESTION E-2930/98

by Heidi Hautala (V) to the Commission

(2 October 1998)

Subject: Secondary occupations of EU officials

According to information published in Finland, the Director-General of the Commission's Directorate-General for Research (DG XII), Jorma Routti, is a candidate for membership of the board of the new investment bank Conventum, which is to be listed in Helsinki. He considers that this secondary occupation would "promote connections between European research and the money markets".

The independence required of Commissioners under Article 157 of the Treaty of Rome may surely be regarded as a premise for the independence and impartiality of EU officials. During their period of office they are absolutely forbidden to undertake any other paid work or unpaid professional work, with the exception of lecturing without a fee. Commissioners are expected to be absolutely independent of national interests or of any other interests external to the Commission.

The secondary occupations of EU officials are governed by the Staff Regulations. EU officials are not permitted to have secondary occupations, and they require the permission of their superior before they accept any. A secondary occupation must not give rise to a relationship of dependence or jeopardise officials' impartiality. Particularly at Director-General level, this requirement may surely be regarded virtually as an outright ban on outside interests and secondary occupations analogous to that which applies to Commissioners.

The secondary occupations of EU officials should be considered, above all, in relation to their duties. EU officials are required, inter alia, to be impartial in relation to the Member States. Secondary occupations are particularly problematic if the field of activity in question is closely related to that of the relevant EU Directorate-General. Secondary occupations can easily give rise to conflicts of interest, which are further aggravated if they involve payment or other advantages.

EU officials have a strict duty to maintain confidentiality. Especially in the case of senior officials, a secondary occupation may confer a dual role which in the eyes of the outside world may become untenable, inter alia in connection with the duty of confidentiality.

Does the Commission consider it possible for an EU official who is a Director-General to sit on the board of a financial institution? How does the Commission monitor secondary occupations, and can it publish a list of them? How common is it, in any case, for Directors-General to pursue secondary occupations?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(30 October 1998)

According to Article 12, paragraph 3 of the Staff Regulations, an official wishing to engage in an outside activity, whether gainful or not, or to carry out any assignment outside the Communities, must obtain permission from the appointing authority. Permission shall be refused if the activity or assignment is such as to impair the official's independence or to be detrimental to the work of the Communities.

The Commission, in its decision of 7 May 1992, has outlined the criteria applicable to the requests for external activities of its officials and other agents. Under this decision, the appointing authority will take into account, when examining a request, the nature and the amount of work of the external activity as well as its possible impact on the productivity of the official in his service, the interest the activity might represent for the Communities, and the net income deriving from the activity.

In any case, external activities, whether they are paid or not, implying the exercise of so-called liberal professional activities or a position within a commercial company are not allowed. Furthermore, the maximum ceiling on the total net income for external activities of the official is ECU 3,500 per year. The amount received by the official over and above this ceiling is to be transferred to the Commission.

As far as the case mentioned by the Honourable Member is concerned, it should be noted that the person in question has announced the withdrawal of this application for the external activity.