This book is the first to examine how the European Commission has addressed concerns about its ethical standards since 1999. References to the European gravy train, to instances of nepotism or patronage, and even corruption and fraud are commonplace in the popular press. However, until now, there has been no study of the European institutions themselves to question the validity of these claims, or to explore the extent to which the European Commission has responded to and resolved such problems and/or criticism.

This book considers the European Commission’s administrative ethics in the context of the events leading up to the resignation of the College of Commissioners in March 1999, and the subsequent administrative reform led by Commissioner Neil Kinnock from 1999–2004. Insights from the field of administrative ethics are applied to the Commission’s response to accusations of an ethics problem within its organisational borders, adding a new perspective to existing research on the EU institutions.