7.

Believes that, as a service that is sui generis from an organisational and budgetary point of view, the EEAS must be incorporated into the Commission's administrative structure, as this would ensure full transparency; considers that the decision relating to the establishment of the EEAS should ensure in a legally binding manner, by means of the directorial powers of the VP/HR, that the Service – as laid down in the Treaty of Lisbon – is subject to the decisions of the Council in the traditional fields of external policy (CFSP and the common security and defence policy) and subject to the decisions of the College of Commissioners in the field of common external relations; believes that the EEAS should be constituted as follows: (a) all staff of the EEAS should have the same permanent or temporary status and the same rights and obligations irrespective of their origin, for example, there should be no difference between temporary and permanent officials as regards their duties or their position in the organisation chart; by virtue of their different origins, the status of temporary staff should be subject to the Staff Regulations of Officials of the EU, with the proviso that the authorities of origin second them to work at the EEAS in the interests of the service; (b) the powers of the appointing authority for the EEAS should be assigned to the VP/HR, ensuring that service instructions are issued in accordance with the responsibilities arising from the Treaty and that the VP/HR decides on staff appointments, promotions and terminations of service; (c) in the context of the instructions which follow from the responsibilities defined in the Treaties, EEAS staff should possess a certain objective independence, so that the service can perform its duties optimally; such independence could be ensured by appointments for a fixed period, such as five years, with the possibility of an extension, which could be reduced only if the member of staff concerned violates official obligations; (d) by analogy with precedents (5), responsibility for carrying out the duties of the appointing authority with regard to administering the employment of EEAS staff and implementing the decisions of the VP/HR concerning appointments, promotions and extension or termination of service should be assigned to the appropriate Commission Directorate-General; (e) secondment to the EEAS by national diplomatic services should be treated as an integral part of the career path within those services; (f) the decision on the setting-up of the EEAS should establish the organisational structure of the service, and should provide for the establishment plan to be adopted as a part of the budget of the Commission (administrative expenditure) in the course of the annual budget procedure, making it possible to build the Service in a structured manner, keeping pace with ascertained needs; (g) the creation of the EEAS requires an adjustment of the Interinstitutional Agreement on budgetary discipline and sound financial management (6), as provided for in point 4 and part II, point G thereof; the principle of the apportionment of operating and administrative expenditure (Article 41(2) of the Financial Regulation (7)) should be strictly respected; (h) in his or her absence, the VP/HR should decide on a substitute on a case-by-case basis and in the light of the duties to be performed on each occasion;