EU Statement on Agenda item 4: Report on the Activities of the Ethics Function

Chair,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States. Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine align themselves with this statement.
At the outset, the EU and its Member States would like to commend the work of the Chief of Ethics and her staff. Fostering and strengthening a culture of mutual respect, accountability, transparency and integrity will help create and sustain a safe working environment that empowers all staff members to deliver at their full potential. We warmly welcome the Agency’s commitment at all levels to continuously strengthen the Ethics Function and its mandate. We have noted the fluctuation in personnel available to support the Chief of Ethics and hope that the Ethic Functions is staffed in a stable manner to implement its mandate.
The EU and its Member States greatly appreciate the activities of the Ethics Function in its area of competence and continue to support the “speak-up” culture to address unacceptable behaviour. In this respect, the “Upstander” training of the Ethics Function continues to play a key role in effectively preventing and responding to micro-aggressions, harassment and sexual harassment. We believe that comprehensive internal training to prevent all forms of harassment is not only a key responsibility, but also a sharp tool to promote a culture of respect and safety for all Agency staff.
We note the continuous updates of the Agency’s Ethics intranet pages, including relevant training-related information. In addition, we appreciate the ongoing participation of the Ethics Function in all aspects of the Agency’s work, including in initiatives such as the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme.
The EU and its Member States encourage the continued “tone-at-the-top” approach promoted by the Ethics Function to send a strong signal of leadership commitment to an ethical work environment. The personal engagement of senior managers in
promoting this initiative demonstrates the importance of fostering a respectful work environment. Furthermore, the Agency’s Whistle-blower Policy, which protects staff from retaliation when reporting misconduct in good faith, is also crucial for ensuring transparency and accountability and addressing all acts of fraud and corruption in a determined manner.
We highly welcome the Ethics function’s first delivery of tailored, in-person training to the Department of Safeguards, focused on applying ethical standards in laboratory settings. This initiative demonstrates a strong example of programmatic support, with customized content developed in close collaboration with the requesting department to maximize relevance and participant engagement.
We commend the continued strong collaboration of the Ethics Function with key internal stakeholders, including the Division of Human Resources, the Office of Internal Oversight Services and the Office of Legal Affairs, developing and delivering new modules of the mandatory training programme for senior managers under the “Accountability in Managerial Action” initiative. In this regard, we particularly welcome the introduction of a dedicated module on performance management, reflecting tangible progress in strengthening managerial accountability and leadership capacity. Finally, we commend the publication of four “Everyday Ethics” guidance notes in 2025, dealing with topics of strong interest to the Agency staff. Providing staff with the necessary tools to intervene when encountering unacceptable behaviours is essential to fostering a safe and respectful workplace atmosphere.
The EU and its Member States commend the Ethics function for partnering with other ethics offices to make efficient use of shared resources. In collaboration with the ethics office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, it delivered tailored “ethics awareness” training to the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, strengthening both engagement and inter-agency cooperation.
In concluding, we reiterate that discrimination, racism, sexual harassment and abuse of power on any level are unacceptable. We therefore encourage the Chief of Ethics and the Ethics Function to sustain their efforts in fostering a culture of integrity, accountability and ethical behaviour.

Thank you, Chair.