Training seen as key to staff policy reform

Date: 16/09/1999

By Gareth Harding

THE wise men's report calls for an in-depth reform of the Commission's staff policy to avoid confusion over political responsibility, ensure better management of EU policies and programmes and reduce the impact of national turf wars for key posts.

The authors of the report conclude that stagnation can only be prevented by a “dynamic careers policy” based on merit and mobility.

To ensure this outcome, life-long training of officials should be made obligatory, internal competitions for managerial staff considered and the current system of recruiting officials “thoroughly reviewed”.

In addition, says the report, the importance of national 'balance' should be lessened by strengthening the 'European' nature of the civil service and making national quotas more flexible.

In a clear warning to those who oppose radical change in the Commission, it also insists that the institution's powerful trade unions should “avoid any temptation to set up any kind of alternative hierarchy”.