Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-05-03-Speech-3-124"
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"en.20000503.7.3-124"2
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"Mr President, could I thank the honourable Members in all parts of the House for the constructive contributions they have made in the course of this debate. Perhaps I could risk some superficiality, because of the time, by trying to answer the specific questions raised.
I therefore asked the Director-General of Administration and Personnel to produce a draft for rules that would take into account best practice in the administrations of Member States and of other international public bodies and to give precision to procedures. Having such rules would obviously be the best means of ensuring transparency, consistency and practical guidance which would be in the interests of all parties, especially when, as Members have reminded us in the course of the debate, Member States and institutions are increasingly keen to encourage more exchange between national and EU administrations and between the public and private sectors. Naturally, when I have a proposal to make for new and improved arrangements, I will put them to my colleagues in the Commission and subsequently report them to this House and the other institutions for consideration.
Can I take the opportunity of Mr Sterckx’s contribution to underline the point that I made earlier, a point which he wisely acknowledges, that no one, in consideration of the broad geographical balance to which the Commission is committed, should try to take a still-photograph of the profile of the staff at the Commission and represent that as in any way a permanent state of affairs. A moving picture is the only one that tells the full story and the Commission is totally committed to ensuring that priority is given to merit and full and proper account is taken of geographical balance, which is essential in a multinational serving institution like the Commission.
On Mrs Hautala’s point, I would simply say that none of the appointments that have been announced today was the subject of a panel and there is a very straightforward legal reason for that. Mr David O’Sullivan, for instance, will take up his post by rotation as provided for under the Staff Regulations and equally as provided for under the Staff Regulations, Mr Ricardo Levi is a temporary official and moves with his post to his new position. So in legal, procedural and employment policy terms, the use of the panel system for promotion and appointment purposes was not required by the existing law in the case of appointments of that kind. I think that also responds to the point raised by Mrs Morgan on that subject.
The question was also raised of women’s appointments. Of the 25 very senior appointments that have been made by this Commission since last September, 4 have been of women officials. That to me is modest. Mrs Hautala and others will know of my ambitions in this respect. I would only say that since that is nearly 20% of the total number of appointments, we are on target for this year’s commitment to ensure that we achieve at least a 20% advance in the number of women who are appointed. In the course of the rest of the year I can say with certainty that velocity will at least be maintained. Obviously, I would like to see it exceeded because there are a large number of highly capable women, as Mrs Dybkjær pointed out to us, in the Commission, and we want to see that quality properly recognised.
So far as Mr Dell’Alba’s geographical excursion into islands and boot-shaped countries is concerned, as I say I am looking forward to answering his further question and doing so in great detail. It is significant that the island country, the larger island country, secured in the course of these months under this Commission no additional appointments at A1 level by promotion. The boot-shaped country obtained two such appointments – the boot-shaped country obtained 4 A2 promotions in this period and the big island obtained 5, of which, to the best of my knowledge, none came from Wales. I hope that is of some reassurance to Mr Dell’Alba.
Mrs Morgan, inevitably asks from the wilds of Wales ‘Why were there not any Welsh people?’ It is because, Mrs Morgan, whilst I am totally committed to geographical balance, this would mean in Wales having one North Walian and one South Walian or I would generate even more dissatisfaction in the country I love most. But Mrs Morgan did raise intriguing questions about the questions which have been put down; doubtlessly they will be pursued.
I would like to say to Mrs Dybkjær that in the comprehensive pursuit of our policy for equal opportunities, there will be evidence as the coming months and years pass, of us giving attention from the point of the invitation to applications, right through to initial appointment and promotions, to show that we are making serious efforts to secure substantial advances in the number of women of all ages and all grades who are employed in the Commission. I can only ask honourable Members to wait until the physical evidence is available. But if commitment and the strong and active dedication of members of the current College is anything to go by we will achieve success in all respects.
First of all Mr Harbour’s questions, which typically were perceptive and constructive, related to how far we thought that the commitment to the development of managerial skills and culture was being achieved. I will just stipulate one or two points that are evidence of progress. I would not claim they were perfect and this list is not exhaustive.
So far as training is concerned, which, as Mr Harbour knows, is fundamental to the kind of changes that we want to achieve, the comprehensive programme of training for all managers in the Commission which should continue over two years commences this month. Secondly we are already embarked on the process of collecting mission statements from every Directorate-General. Most have submitted theirs. There is also the establishment of task assessments which we will do through a series of pilot schemes that will affect around one quarter of the Directorate-Generals in the first instance and then the compilation of job descriptions which will be undertaken over the period up to the end of July this year.
The process of evaluation of staff, and that of course includes managers at all levels, is being refined and will be introduced. As Mr Harbour says, the role and activity of the Secretary-General in all of these activities and indeed in many others is crucial. I believe that Mr O’Sullivan has a very strong commitment to the direction set out by the White Paper and will be a notable successor to his extremely talented and committed predecessor, Mr Trojan, who will take up a new post from the end of this month.
So far as empowering managers is concerned, the best instance we can give is that from May 1 we inaugurated the new internal audit service, the central financial service and we will shortly be having the first meeting of the Audit Progress Committee. These are the first crucial steps in the decentralisation of financial control, which is of course critical to the empowerment of management at all levels in a money-handling institution. Mr Harbour will be familiar with my view that as a consequence of making that central and measurable change, subject continually to examination, we will get a reverberating change of culture in the wider managerial style and operation of the House.
Finally, he is right to stipulate that team leadership, team working and team building are all critical to the effective operation of modern managerial skills. We are nurturing that by the combination of structural change and supplementary training, evaluation and the appointment system. Obviously too, the consideration of probationary periods in contracts of appointment for managers will be a strong supplement to the direction which we want to take. But to do that comprehensively will require amendments to the Staff Regulations and I am looking forward to the cooperation of Parliament and the Council in gaining the changes in Community legislation which are necessary to facilitate that further development.
Mr van den Berg was correct, and indeed kind and generous, in re-asserting the fact that the Commission must be responsible for its appointments and its personnel policies. I presume that he will follow through his enquiry as to why this question was asked. I can only say that I welcome the opportunity to provide comprehensive information.
I am reminded that, in the hearings, correctly and forcefully, several Members of this House raised the question and indeed made assertive demands for de-flagging of senior posts, for the complete abandonment of formal or informal quotas and for the rotation of officials holding A1 and A2 posts. Those are principles that I not only agreed with at the time, together with my colleagues in the Commission, but have actively been seeking to put into effect ever since.
If I can come to the point relating to new standards and outside posts, a point also raised absolutely correctly by Mr Dell’Alba, who has a question down on these matters and I am looking forward to answering it, I should draw the attention of the House to the fact that in the course of giving my attention to a specific case, which related to the departure of my own Chef de Cabinet, Mr Andrew Cahn, it became very obvious to me that the current arrangements relating to authorising the movement of permanent and temporary officials to outside employment do not have adequate clarity or consistency. In practice, the course of action and rigorous scrutiny which I requested to be applied in the case of Mr Cahn meant that his case was dealt with very thoroughly and entirely properly. I do not believe, however, that the Commission, or indeed other institutions, should have to rely on individual motivation by officials or by Commissioners and on rather ad hoc means of applying principles, which are, to say the least, rather generalised."@en1
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