Mr. Paolo Cesarini:

There is an arm's length relation. The code of practice is their own code of practice; the Commissioner has acted as a facilitator. Without the intervention of the Commission, the code of practice probably would not be there. However, the implementation of these principles remains entirely within the responsibility of the signatories to the code. The Commission has the very precise role of an independent oversighter - I do not know whether that word exists - to exercise oversight over the actions taken and then to take the appropriate steps on its own, using the powers that can be used in this tricky field, in order to ensure that the objectives that underpin the code are actually achieved.