A3-0248/94

Resolution on the staff policy of the Community institutions

The European Parliament,

-having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

-having regard to its resolution of 13 May 1992 on the staff policy of the Community institutions,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Budgets (A3-0248/94),

A.whereas the Treaty confers on it responsibility, as a branch of the budgetary authority, for authorizing the staff of each institution and all administrative appropriations,

B.whereas care must be taken to respect the budgetary constraints arising from the Financial Perspective attached to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 29 October 1993,

C.whereas there is a risk in the medium term, connected with the enlargement and increased responsibilities of the Community, that the administrative structures of the institutions may no longer be such as to enable them to operate efficiently with due respect being paid to the principle of subsidiarity,

D.whereas it is necessary to point out a certain number of measures which the institutions, and particularly the Commission and Parliament, will have to consider in order to improve their organization in the period after June 1994,

1.Considers it necessary that each Community institution should have to undergo a detailed evaluation of its secretariat on a regular basis (every two and a half years) to justify each post on its establishment plan in order to improve the efficiency of the services provided; considers also, however, that this evaluation should be updated annually;

2.Reiterates its position that any change to the Staff Regulations must preserve the autonomy and independence of the European civil service; considers it useful, however, for steps to be taken to reform the Staff Regulations to bring them more into line with the task of providing an administrative service for the European Union; this revision ought to eliminate certain distortions and introduce greater flexibility to allow more specialized staff to be recruited for a limited period, as temporary employees ('agents temporaires'), and to facilitate staff exchanges with national or regional civil services;

3.Regrets that the institutions of the Community have not set an example, following the Year of the Elderly, by eliminating age discrimination in recruitment while welcoming the recent announcement by the Commission of its intention to raise age limits for temporary staff;

4.Asks also that measures be taken to introduce factors which will motivate the staff, particularly by means of a system of staff reports which will give more importance to merit and thereby respect the case law of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance (cf. the Vainker case 1988 and the Marcato case 1990);

5.Believes that the institutions ought to cooperate more in order to achieve economies of scale and allow better coordination in the management of certain services which could be managed jointly; a report must be submitted to the Budgetary Authority by 1 May 1994;

6.Calls on the Commission to conduct a study of the economic costs entailed by the geographical dispersal of the seats of the institutions and Community agencies;

7.Calls on all the institutions to present, where appropriate, a comprehensive plan identifying those services which might usefully be privatized on the grounds of suitability, efficiency and economy; the institutions ought at the same time to indicate what provisions should be applied to staff affected by these measures (redeployment, interinstitutional mobility, voluntary redundancy, Articles 41 and 50 of the Staff Regulations, etc.);

8.Considers it equally indispensable that each institution should begin thinking about the impact of enlargement on its working procedures and be ready to present a restructuring plan in preparation for operations during the period after enlargement; suggestions for the Commission and Parliament are set out below;

9.Calls on all the Institutions to ensure a fair balance of sexes in all grades;

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10.With regard to the Commission, is pleased at the way the transfer of mini-budgets from part B to part A of the European Community budget has been handled; recalls, however, that this transfer will only have been completed once the mini-budgets relating to the structural funds and research have been returned;

11.Notes that despite the conversion of appropriations into approximately 1000 new posts the number of external staff employed by the Commission has not been reduced; considers that if no substantial cut in external staff beginning with the next financial year is possible, the whole of the conversion policy should be re-examined;

12.Calls on the Commission to ensure a fair geographical balance amongst its personnel and give up the practice of reserving senior posts for people of the same nationality; asks for a report to be drawn up on these problems for discussion in connection with enlargement;

13.Requests the Commission to present a discussion document on alternative ways of organizing its secretariat in a longer-term perspective which will

-allow the structure to continue to operate efficiently when new countries join the Community,

-ensure that the structure established does not make for duplication of work between directorates-general and that it can be managed by the Commissioners responsible,

-be more open to public scrutiny;

14.Asks the Commission to propose the concrete restructuring measures which emerge from the review necessary to avert the danger of a loss of efficiency which would be harmful to European unification; these proposals should be submitted before the investiture of the next President of the Commission by Parliament;

15.Is extremely worried about extending the Staff Regulations to cover part of the staff responsible for the Community's agencies; fears that the creation of a differentiated system at the outset will inevitably lead to a repetition of errors already committed in the past (e.g. JET); invites the Commission to submit special Staff Regulations for these agencies, which would apply to all staff working there, as soon as possible; also notes that the geographical dispersal of all these bodies results in poor management of human and financial resources;

16.Calls on the Commission likewise to submit a proposal defining the duties and the role of temporary employees ('agents temporaires') in the work of the institutions;

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17.With regard to the European Parliament, expresses satisfaction at the studies and thinking carried out within the Secretariat as part of the review of its departments; expects action to be taken during the next legislative term; requests the Secretary-General to submit by 30 September 1994 a comprehensive plan for restructuring departments particularly in order to meet the institution's new tasks and especially those resulting from the enlargement of the Community;

18.Notes that there are a large number of parliamentary bodies (65) which need organizational services (a secretariat, interpreters and a meeting room), with the inevitable risk of overlap which this entails; proposes that the improved management of human resources during Parliament's next term be achieved by, inter alia, cutting down the number of parliamentary bodies;

19.Notes that, since direct elections, Members have been provided with support principally from the Secretariat and the secretariats of the political groups; considers that individual support for Members should be strengthened during the period 1995-1999;

20.Considers that all existing projects (e.g. the Epicentre) ought to pay greater attention to providing improved support to individual Members and their assistants;

21.Calls on the Commission, in accordance with this approach, to insert the changes needed to acknowledge and define the role of assistants as soon as possible into the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the Communities; supports the temporary measures proposed by the College of Quaestors and the creation of a register of assistants; believes there is a need for better monitoring of expenditure intended for assistants;

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22.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and Commission.