Eu investigates on Barroso’ s role in Goldman Sachs
The European Commission, in response to growing pressure around the former European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, decided to conduct an investigation in respect of the new ethics commission that the Portuguese has agreed in Goldman Sachs last July.
The Community executive chairman Jean-Claude Juncker made the announcement through a letter of response to the request for clarification received a few days ago by the European Ombudsman, Emily O'Reilly. The Secretary-General of the Commission, tells Juncker, has sent a letter to Barroso "asking him to provide clarifications on its nine responsibilities and the terms of his contract, on which – still the President of the Commission – will ask the opinion of an ad hoc ethics committee" which however is not binding.
In contacts so far occurred, reports Juncker, Barroso "has confirmed its commitment to behave with integrity and discretion as well to the new position in Goldman Sachs," but Brussels wants anyway dispel all doubts since the case "involves a former President of the Commission". From the legal point of view, the note shows, the Portuguese did not break any rules as for former commissioners there is an obligation to notify all the positions it held for the 18 months following the termination of its activities in the institution, while the appointment of Barroso to Goldman Sachs came 20 months after the end of his tenure. Eighteen months remain, according to the Commission, a sufficiently long period to avoid conflicts of interest and has already been extended, reminds Juncker, compared to the period of one year until 2011. But not all of the former employees of the Commission's obligations end with the expiration of eighteen months.
Juncker also stressed that there is a "clear duty laid down in Article 245 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU to respect in particular the duty to behave with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after the cessation of their duties, of certain appointments or benefits ". Duty, "does not have a time limit and is valid in any case." This is why the Commission feels entitled to clarify the issue.
In any case, it still ensures the President of the Commission, in his new role "Barroso will be received at the Commission not as a former president but as a representative of interests and will be subject to the same rules as all other representatives of interest with respect to the transparency register ". Furthermore, promises even Juncker, "the Commission members and staff, when they meet Barroso, must comply with the existing rules on transparency and on contacts with representatives of interest groups."