Revolving Doors in Brussels

Abstract

Barroso, Kroes, De Gucht, … Many former EU Commissioners have offered controversial cases of revolving doors in the past years. What is appropriate for an ex-Commission president to do after retiring from Brussels? What are EU ethics? Those cases have been the occasion to underline the contradictions between rules and practice in the EU institutional framework. The current regime’s weaknesses have affected the reputation of EU institutions and officials, at a time when the ‘permissive consensus’ has come to an end. This panel intends to discuss the phenomenon of revolving doors, and more broadly of ethics, from the perspective of various disciplines: sociology (e.g. what is the background of people working in Brussels?), law (i.e. what are the current rules applying to these situations?), behavioural science (i.e. can behavioural science tell us how to deal with such situations?), political science and ethics (e.g. what is appropriate for an official to do after they retire from a top job?). This cross-discipline debate is particularly relevant in the broader debate of democracy in the EU and legitimacy of the EU institutions.

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