The Law and Governance of the EU Public Ethics System

“This impressive volume should be a guide towards a more preventative and innovative approach to integrity matters in the EU and beyond. It is required reading not only for EU scholars but for all those who want to ensure that the European Union continues to develop from a standpoint of integrity and with the public interest at its core.”  

—Emily O’Reilly, European Ombudsman

“This is the first book to comprehensively study the law and governance of the EU public ethical system for both academic and practitioner audiences. It should be read, studied and understood by any policymaker in Europe and citizen who cares about public integrity within and across the continent.”

—Nick Aiossa, Director of Transparency International EU 

The questions at the core of this volume are the following: What are the ethics and integrity rules for the EU? How do they score compared to the integrity frameworks existing at the Member States’ level and in other democracies? How do we design these rules and ensure their enforcement in the EU? How do we improve the enforcement of EU integrity standards? Can an EU ethics system contribute to preventing or mitigating unethical conduct within the Union thus improving its democratic legitimacy? In addressing these questions, this edited volume provides a critical analysis of the existing 'EU ethical framework' while contextualising it within the unique transnational setting that characterises the EU public administration and its various institutions. 

Alberto Alemanno is Jean Monnet Professor of European Union Law at HEC Paris, France, and a visiting professor at the College of Europe in Bruges, Belgium. His research focuses on the democratization of the European Union and the role of citizens in EU integration at the level of agenda-setting, policy formation and law enforcement. He has established and leads The Good Lobby, a nonprofit whose mission is to equalize access to power, by enhancing the advocacy capacity of civil society while making corporate lobbying more ethical, responsible and sustainable.