LOBBYING IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. -‘REVOLVING DOOR’ AND ‘COOLING OFF’ PHENOMENA -
LOBBYING IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT. -‘REVOLVING DOOR’ AND ‘COOLING OFF’ PHENOMENA -

Summary/Abstract: Terms like ‘revolving door’ and ‘cooling-off’ are surrounding the world of EU Parliamentarians in search of protection, mainly to keep their image as good servants at the end of their careers. The “revolving door” – which appears to link the EU institutions directly to the private sector, allowing employees to move almost effortlessly between the two – is at the heart of the close relationship between the EU institutions and Brussels’ lobby industry. The existing legislation for these types of activities, damaging the EU transparency and public trust, is still limited to institutional codes of conduct. Of course, any revolving door restrictions put in place by the European Parliament will only work if they are enforced. According to transparency campaigners, this means empowering an independent entity under the auspices of the Parliament to look at whether potential conflicts of interest exist when ex-MEPs move into new professional roles.

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