Reacting to the European Commission’s Ad-hoc Ethical Committee recommendation not to sanction former Commission President Barroso for joining Goldman Sachs International, Corporate Europe Observatory’s transparency campaigner Vicky Cann said:





“ The committee’s opinion that Barroso did not breach the EU Treaty when he joined Goldman Sachs as non-executive chairman and adviser flies in the face of the moral outrage expressed by citizens, MEPs, EU institution staff and the French President. The recommendation really highlights the weakness of the Commissioners’ Code of Conduct. Its 18-month cooling-off period is far too short to prevent conflicts of interest and the central notions of integrity and discretion are neither properly defined nor linked to concrete rules."





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"More than 200,000 citizens have criticised Barroso’s move to the banking giant because of its responsibility in the economic crisis, the Greek debt crisis and its brazen lobbying against EU financial regulation."





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