Ethique et Reforme Administrative de la Commission Europeenne

This article examines the form of regulation of standards of conduct in the European Commission during the 2000-2004 Kinnock Reforms. The article questions whether officials and Commissioners have been subjected to different ethics regimes. The working hypothesis, that political sensitivities around the regulation of political actors might mean that politicians will tend to be subject to softer forms of ethics management than administrators, is not proven however. Commissioners and officials are both subject to a mix of compliance and softer integrity instruments, with the trend for all the Commission in favour of the increased use of softer instruments of ethical control.