Dublin, 20 March 2013
Transparency International Ireland welcomes safeguards agreed yesterday under the stewardship of the Irish EU Presidency to prevent conflicts of interest in the supervision of Eurozone banks by the European Central Bank.
The deal reached by negotiators from the European Parliament and the Irish EU Presidency will help to regulate the 'revolving door' between the ECB and the financial institutions it supervises.
Last week TI Ireland wrote to the Minister for Finance to express our concern that EU legislation aimed at transferring supervisory powers to the ECB did not adequately address the issue of conflicts of interest in financial supervision.
The interaction of officials with the businesses they regulate poses real and potential conflicts of interest in the public service. In particular, one of the primary concerns that Transparency International (TI) has highlighted in its research relates to the ‘revolving door’ that allows individuals to move freely from positions of public office to the private sector