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Juncker seeks longer "cooling period" for outgoing commissioners

Xinhua, November 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday proposed to prolong "cooling off" period for outgoing commissioners.

In a letter to European Parliament President Martin Schulz seeking the Parliament's views, Juncker suggested extending the "cooling-off" period from the current 18 months to two years for former commissioners and to three years for the President of the Commission.

During "cooling-off" period, former commissioners need to inform the Commission of their intention to engage in an occupation after leaving office.

"I feel that our Code of Conduct should be tightened in order to set the highest ethical standards possible for cases of conflict of interest," Juncker said in the letter.

"Tighter rules are certainly not sufficient to bring about acceptable ethical behavior in all cases. But they are an indispensable starting point," he added. Enditem