Joint Decision of the Commission and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

of XXX

creating inter-institutional joint committees for certain policies regarding local agents

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION AND THE HIGH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE UNION FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND SECURITY POLICY,

Having regard to the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union, and in particular Articles 120 and 121 thereof,

Having regard to the opinion of the Staff Committee of the European Commission and to that of the Staff Committee of the European External Action Service,

Whereas:

(1) Pursuant to the Communication to the Commission of 22 December 2010 on staff management in Union Delegations[1], the Commission and the European External Action Service (hereinafter: EEAS) closely coordinate their policies regarding local agents,

(2) The Framework Rules laying down the conditions of employment of local staff serving in non-member countries, adopted by the Commission on 21 November 1989[2], (hereinafter: Framework Rules) provide for two joint committees to be consulted on:

– the management of career progress (acceleration or deferral of an agent's advancement in step);

– the adoption of special and exceptional measures to facilitate the departure of the members of local staff in the event of the Commission’s activities in non-members countries being cut back or changed in the interests of the services.

(3) The Framework Rules provide for the possibility of supplementary or independent sickness insurance schemes. The Complementary Sickness Insurances Scheme of Local Agents (CSISLA) of the Commission and of the EEAS serving in a third country is funded by contributions of the Commission and the EEAS as well as of Local Agents. Decisions on the management of this scheme should, therefore, be taken following consultation of a joint committee,

(4) The need to establish joint committees not only applies to Commission agents, but equally to those of the EEAS, the latter needs to establish the joint committees provided for therein. In a spirit of close coordination and mutual assistance between the Commission and the EEAS the joint committees already existing at the level of the Commission should be transformed into inter-institutional joint committees,

(5) Commission Decision C(2005) 2665 of 15 July 2005 on improving social dialogue in the Commission through Joint Committees has laid down a legal framework for the operation of joint committees at the Commission, which should continue to guide the interpretation of the rules governing these committees, subject to a number of adaptations provided for in the new inter-institutional context, in particular regarding the committees' composition, the quorum required and the voting rights,

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

The following inter-institutional joint committees shall be involved at the central level in the continuous implementation, follow-up and scrutiny of policies concerning local staff employed by the Commission or by the EEAS and serving in a third country:

1. Joint Advisory Committee on career progress of local agents of the Commission or of the EEAS serving in a third country;

2. Joint Management Committee of the Complementary Sickness Insurance Scheme of local agents (CSISLA) of the Commission or of the EEAS serving in a third country;

3. Joint Advisory Committee on social measures in case of redundancies among local agents of the Commission or of the EEAS serving in a third country.

The rules governing the remit, the composition and the functioning of these committees are laid down in the Annexes I, II and III, which shall form integral parts of this Decision.

Article 2

The committees referred to in point 15, 16 and 35 of Annex III to Commission Decision C (2005) 2665 shall be dissolved.

Article 3

This Decision shall enter into force on the 1st day following its adoption by the Commission and by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Done at Brussels,

The High Representative of the Union for For the Commission Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Vice-President of the Commission Catherine Ashton Maroš ŠEFČOVIČ

[1] SEC (2010) 1622, Section 3.2., Administrative Notice 2-2011.

[2] Administrative Notices, Special Edition of 22.6.1990.

ANNEX 1

Inter-Institutional Joint Advisory Committee on Career Progress for Local Agents of the Commission or of the EEAS serving in a third country

to the

Joint Decision of the Commission and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

creating inter-institutional joint committees for certain policies regarding local agents

Article 1

1. In compliance with the provisions of Article 4, paragraph 4, of the Framework Rules, the committee shall compare the merits of the agents eligible for promotion on the basis of the lists of agents proposed for promotion by the authority empowered to conclude contracts of employment (hereinafter: AECC), and take into account the complaints lodged against non-inclusion on the lists. It shall then issue its recommendations regarding agents to be promoted, addressed to the AECC.

2. In compliance with the provisions of Article 4, paragraph 3, of the Framework Rules, the committee shall assess whether a decision on the deferment of the automatic advancement in step of a local agent is sufficiently justified by the unsatisfactory performance of that local agent. It shall then issue its recommendations to the AECC.

Article 2

1. The committee shall be composed of a president, a vice-president, eight members and eight alternates.

2. The president and vice-president shall be appointed alternately by the AECC of the Commission and by the AECC of the EEAS.

3. The AECC of the Commission and the AECC of the EEAS, the Central Staff Committee of the Commission and the Staff Committee of the EEAS shall each appoint two members and two alternates selected from their respective staff or members.

4. The terms of office of the president and the vice-president, members and alternates shall be for one year, starting with the entry into force of this decision. They shall be deemed to have been renewed, unless the body responsible for the appointment issues a notification to the contrary no later than one month before the expiry of the term of office.

5. The term of office of the president and of the vice-president shall not exceed four years.

6. The body responsible for an appointment may withdraw the appointee by appointing a successor.

7. The committee shall meet at least once per year.

Article 3

1. The president, or in his or her absence the vice-president, shall be entitled to vote.

2. Each member, or in his or her absence an alternate appointed by the same body, shall be entitled to vote.

3. Even when they are not entitled to vote, the vice-president and alternates may attend committee meetings as silent observers.

4. The committee decides on its opinions by a simple majority of those entitled to vote.

5. For the deliberations of the committee to be valid, the president or vice-president as well as one member or alternate appointed by each of the bodies referred to in Article 2, paragraph 3, need to be present.

Article 4

1. The president, the vice-president and the members and alternates of the committee shall carry out their duties and conduct themselves with the interests of the European Union in mind and shall not deal with a matter in which, directly or indirectly, they have any personal interest such as to impair their independence or to be seen by third parties as a possible source of impairment of their independence in that matter.

2. If the president, the vice-president or any member or alternate of the committee has a personal interest in a matter in the meaning of paragraph 1, he or she shall be replaced by the appropriate alternate member and refrain from participating in the work of the committee with regard to that matter.

3. The assessment of the personal interest is incumbent on the president or, in his or her absence, on the vice-president, and, as far as the president or vice-president is concerned, on the AECC of his or her institution of employment.

Article 5

1. The secretariat of the committee shall be provided by the division in charge of local staff at the EEAS.

2. The deliberations and documents of the committee shall be confidential.

Article 6

The committee shall adopt its rules of procedure by a majority of two thirds of the members who are entitled to vote. The president and the vice-president shall both be entitled to vote.

ANNEX 2

Inter-Institutional Joint Management Committee of the Complementary Sickness Insurance Scheme of Local Agents (CSISLA) of the Commission or of the EEAS serving in a third country

to the

Joint Decision of the Commission and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

creating inter-institutional joint committees for certain policies regarding local agents

Article 1

The committee shall

1. Examine the financial situation of the Scheme and deliver to the administration all useful information or recommendations regarding the Scheme;

2. Present an annual report on the status of the Scheme and transmit it to the administration before the 1st of July of each year;

3. Advise the administration on the level of contributions and services provided, particularly in case of substantial changes in the costs of medical services;

4. Advise the administration on ways to apply the rules for the management of the Scheme, notably as regards all issues directly or indirectly related to the coverage of medical costs and with a view to securing the uniform application of the rules;

5. Examine all appeals lodged by local staff against a decision concerning the sickness insurance Scheme which affects them adversely.

6. Meet at least twice per year; where possible, the sessions should be organised in the first and second semester of each year.

Article 2

1. The committee shall be composed of a president, a vice-president, eight members and eight alternates.

2. The president and vice-president shall be appointed alternately by the AECC of the Commission and by the AECC of the EEAS.

3. The AECC of the Commission and the AECC of the EEAS, the Central Staff Committee of the Commission and the Staff Committee of the EEAS shall each appoint two members and two alternates selected from their respective staff or members.

4. The terms of office of the president and the vice-president, members and alternates shall be for one year, starting with the entry into force of this decision. They shall be deemed to have been renewed, unless the body responsible for the appointment issues a notification to the contrary no later than one month before the expiry of the term of office.

5. The term of office of the president and of the vice-president shall not exceed four years.

6. The body responsible for an appointment may withdraw the appointee by appointing a successor.

Article 3

1. The president, or in his or her absence the vice-president, shall not cast a vote on decisions, except on procedural matters.

2. Each member, or in his or her absence an alternate appointed by the same body, shall be entitled to vote.

3. Even when they are not entitled to vote, the vice-president and alternates may attend committee meetings as silent observers.

4. The committee decides on its opinions by a simple majority of those entitled to vote.

5. For the deliberations of the committee to be valid, the president or vice-president as well as one member or alternate appointed by each of the bodies referred to in Article 2, paragraph 3, need to be present.

Article 4

1. The president, the vice-president and the members and alternates of the committee shall carry out their duties and conduct themselves with the interests of the European Union in mind and shall not deal with a matter in which, directly or indirectly, they have any personal interest such as to impair their independence or to be seen by third parties as a possible source of impairment of their independence in that matter.

2. If the president, the vice-president or any member or alternate of the committee has a personal interest in a matter in the meaning of paragraph 1, he or she shall be replaced by the appropriate alternate member and refrain from participating in the work of the committee with regard to that matter.

3. The assessment of the personal interest is incumbent on the president or, in his or her absence, on the vice-president, and, as far as the president or vice-president is concerned, on the AECC of his or her institution of employment.

Article 5

1. The secretariat of the committee shall be provided by the division in charge of local staff at the EEAS.

2. The deliberations and documents of the committee shall be treated with confidentiality in line with the general principles of data protection legislation in the European Union.

Article 6

The committee shall adopt its rules of procedure by a majority of two thirds of the members who are entitled to vote. The president and the vice-president shall both be entitled to vote.

ANNEX 3

Inter-Institutional Joint Advisory Committee on Social Measures in case of Redundancies among Local Agents of the Commission or of the EEAS serving in a third country

to the

Joint Decision of the Commission and the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy

creating inter-institutional joint committees for certain policies regarding local agents

Article 1

The committee shall be consulted before the implementation of any decision referred to in Article 18, paragraph 6, of the Framework Rules.

Article 2

1. The committee shall be composed of a president, a vice-president, eight members and eight alternates.

2. The president and vice-president shall be appointed alternately by the AECC of the Commission and by the AECC of the EEAS.

3. The AECC of the Commission and the AECC of the EEAS, the Central Staff Committee of the Commission and the Staff Committee of the EEAS shall each appoint two members and two alternates selected from their respective staff or members.

4. The terms of office of the president and the vice-president, members and alternates shall be for one year, starting with the entry into force of this decision. They shall be deemed to have been renewed, unless the body responsible for the appointment issues a notification to the contrary no later than one month before the expiry of the term of office.

5. The term of office of the president and of the vice-president shall not exceed four years.

6. The body responsible for an appointment may withdraw the appointee by appointing a successor.

Article 3

1. The president, or in his or her absence the vice-president, shall not cast a vote on decisions, except on procedural matters.

2. Each member, or in his or her absence an alternate appointed by the same body, shall be entitled to vote.

3. Even when they are not entitled to vote, the vice-president and alternates may attend committee meetings as silent observers.

4. The committee decides on its opinions by a simple majority of those entitled to vote.

5. For the deliberations of the committee to be valid, the president or vice-president as well as one member or alternate appointed by each of the bodies referred to in Article 2, paragraph 3, need to be present.

Article 4

1. The president, the vice-president and the members and alternates of the committee shall carry out their duties and conduct themselves with the interests of the European Union in mind and shall not deal with a matter in which, directly or indirectly, they have any personal interest such as to impair their independence or to be seen by third parties as a possible source of impairment of their independence in that matter.

2. If the president, the vice-president or any member or alternate of the committee has a personal interest in a matter in the meaning of paragraph 1, he or she shall be replaced by the appropriate alternate member and refrain from participating in the work of the committee with regard to that matter.

3. The assessment of the personal interest is incumbent on the president or, in his or her absence, on the vice-president, and, as far as the president or vice-president is concerned, on the AECC of his or her institution of employment.

Article 5

1. The secretariat of the committee shall be provided by the division in charge of local staff at the EEAS.

2. The deliberations and documents of the committee shall be confidential.

Article 6

The committee shall adopt its rules of procedure by a majority of two thirds of the members who are entitled to vote. The president and the vice-president shall both be entitled to vote.