Why the EU Ethics Body Matters for Transparency and Public Trust

Robust ethical and transparency standards are central to good governance, and they help prevent corruption and undue interference in the democratic process. Yet across the EU institutions those standards have long been uneven: because each institution has its own role and rules of procedure, most developed their own codes of conduct over the years. The EU ethics body, set up on 15 May 2024, is the first attempt to bring those separate frameworks closer together.

Photo by davide ragusa on Unsplash

What the ethics body is and why it was created

The ethics body is an independent body common to the EU institutions. It does two things: it introduces common ethical standards for those institutions, and it creates a forum where they can coordinate and exchange views on ethical questions. The aim is to foster integrity and citizens' trust in public institutions and democratic processes, while improving cooperation between bodies that previously worked in isolation.

Importantly, the body does not replace existing watchdogs. Its scope leaves untouched the powers of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the European Ombudsman. Each institution remains responsible for implementing the standards, monitoring compliance, and handling any breaches or sanction cases itself – and for making public how it applies the rules.

Who is covered and what standards apply

The body brings together the EU institutions as 'parties': the European Parliament, the Council of the EU, the European Commission, the Court of Justice (as an observer), the European Central Bank, the European Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the European Committee of the Regions. In December 2024, the President of the European Council announced he would request the European Council to join as well. The people actually covered are the political appointees – such as Members of the European Parliament, Commissioners and other senior office-holders – not the wider civil service.

The common standards reach into the areas where ethical risk is highest: the acceptance of gifts, awards, hospitality and travel from third parties; transparency around meetings with interest representatives; declarations of interests and assets; outside activities; and the post-mandate activities of former members. If you want to see how the EU frames the institutional side of its work more broadly, our ETIAS overview sits within that same landscape of EU rule-making.

How it works in practice

In operational terms the body has three main tasks: developing common minimum standards by consensus, holding exchanges of views on how internal rules align with those standards, and promoting cooperation on the conduct of its members. It is assisted by five independent experts who can, on request, give confidential opinions on whether declarations of interests meet the agreed minimum standards.

Its governance is deliberately shared. The body is composed of one representative and one alternate from each participating institution, appointed for up to five years, with the chair rotating annually. A joint secretariat of officials from each institution supports the work, and its composition is meant to ensure both gender balance and geographical diversity. To keep the process open, all key information – the body's composition, meeting calendars and agendas, the standards themselves and their updates, annual reports and institutional self-assessments – is published on its website.