Abstract
The paper discusses how civil servants in the European Commission face two
contradictory expectations regarding their loyalty. On the one hand, the Commission
is expected to be an independent arbiter defending the European interest against the
particular interests of member states. On the other hand a number of formal and
informal arrangements ensure national representation. The paper asks the question
how the Commission as an organization deals with this double demand and concludes
that the organization has resorted to a strategy of hypocrisy. The empirical evidence
further suggests that this strategy might be applicable on an institutional level but
that individual civil servants, at least rhetorically primarily sees themselves as
expected to be loyal towards the Commission and the European interest and not
towards national interests.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication date | 2007 |
| Number of pages | 28 |
| Publication status | Published - 2007 |
| Event | EGPA 2007, study group on Ethics and Integrity of Governance - Madrid, Spain Duration: 19 Sept 2007 → 21 Sept 2007 |
Conference
| Conference | EGPA 2007, study group on Ethics and Integrity of Governance |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Spain |
| City | Madrid |
| Period | 19/09/2007 → 21/09/2007 |