ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
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COLLECTION RELIEE DES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM (77)368
Vol.1977/0122

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(
COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(77)368 final
Brussels ,22July 1977
COMMUNICATION OFTHE COMMISSION TOTHE COUNCIL
EXTERNAL REPRESENTATION -MEDIUM TERM POLICY
\ / '
ya
-42 ■"B
Sert -iaSe;ri'.«:' «
COM ,77)368final

EXTERNALREPRESENTATION -MEDIUM-TERM POLICY
I.INTRODUCTION
InrecentyearsthepresenceoftheCommunityininternational affairs
hasbecomeincreasingly substantial .Theplanningandimplementation of
Communitypolicyhasanaffectontheworldoutside,onnon-Community countries
andonthemajorinternational organizations .Itistimetotakestockof
thewayinwhichtheCommunityisrepresentedexternally ,toseehowfar
thepresentarrangements correspondtorealneedsandtoplotthewayahead.
Severalmonths°^o,andmorerecentlyduringthediscussions onthe
openingofCommissioruelegationsintheMaghrebcountries,theMemberStages
askedtheCommissionto'supplyanadequateoverallsurveyofthepolicy-he
Commissionintendstofollowinrespectofexternaldelegations .Therequest
coincidedwiththeCommission'sownintentions ;formorethanayear,the
Commissionhasbeengivingthoughttodefiningacoherentconceptionofit-
externalrepresentation .
Thispaper,whichembodiesthegeneralconclusionsoftheCorxiission Ts
reflections ,ispresentedasaninterimdocumentwhichwillbefollowedbefore
theendoftheyearbyainoredetailedreport'.'
Itdescribesthepresentsituation ,outlinestheproblemswhichthis
descriptionbringsoutandgivesanumberofguidelinesfortheEediu.T>-t®rai
programmefortheopeningofnewdelegations.
2.Theprésentsituation
TheofficeswhichtheCommissionhassetupovertheyearsinthird j
countriesweredesignedtoservedifferentpurposes.Theymaybedivided !
intothefollowingthreecategqri.es s j
a)delegationsconcernedmainlywithpolicyquestionsandnegotiations j
betweentheCommunityandthethirdcountriesorinternationalorganizations jj!
,ί
concerned,whichincludestheworkofpressandinformation.Such ,J,
delegationsarecapableofcovering -thewholerangeofactivitiesofthe j|l
Community;
:t.

They are established incountries whose relations with theCommunity
areofobvious importance such astheUnited States ,Japan andCanada ;they
maybeatthelevel ofawhole continent (South America )?they maybe
established toenable theCommission toplay itsrole inCommunity participation
inthework ofinternational organisations (GATT ,theOECD and .theU.N. ).
b)iress andinformation offices incertain other countries where there
exist nodelegations ofthetype described above (Turkey andGreece ).
These offices circulate information onrelations between theCommunity
and thenon-member countries andonCommunity objectives andactivities .
They also inform theCommission onopinion ontheCommunity inthecountry
concerned .
c)Delegations intheACPcountries ,established toapply theLome Convention ,
which have changed greatly since their inception .They were orginally offices
ofconsultant engineers from ,theMember States ,without anypolitical respon­
sibility ;inI964 .they took onthejobofdelegated supervision fortheEDP ,
their principal function being toprovide financial andtechnical control of
theexecution ofprojects financed bytheEDP .With theLome Convention they
changed again ,thedelegated supervisors becoming Delegates oftheCommission
asawhole ,covering allaspects ofcooperation .
Itwill beseen that theCommission hasadopted apragmatic approach to
themost imperative needs inthree distinct administrative fields :external
relations ,press andinformation ,andimplementation ofcooperation agreements .
Circumstances have ledtothecreation ofavery substantial network ,
which atpresent comprises some fity Delegations with anumber ofbranch
offices and other services .

Inthis paper ,theterm "external offices "isused todescribe posts
in -allthese three categories .
Alist ofexisting external offices setting outstaff isattached at
Annex I.
Historical circumstances andthedifferent approaches adopted in
opening theexternal offices have ledtoacertain amount ofdivergence in
thepractices followed ineach type ofoffice ,themethods they useandtheir
administrative structure .These divergences arelinked tothetype of
office involved andthetasks they have tocarry out .Byexamining the
problems which have arisen ,however ,ways ofimproving theorganization and
coordination ofthework done bytheexternal offices canbediscerned .
3.General analysis ofthefunctions ofExternal Representation
Thefollowing are tovarying degrees according tothecircumstances ,
thetasks performed bytheexternal offices :
–provide advice andlogistic support forofficials travelling tothehost
country onCommunity business
–actasaneasily recognisable point ofcontact inthehost country for
authorities orindividuals whowish tocommunicate with theCommunity
institutions
–provide information within thehost country onCommunity objectives and
activities
–report ondevelopments inthehost country ,andtheattitudes oropinion
ofthat country towards theCommunity
–assist intheexecution ofCommunity policies ;
–cooperate with theMissions ofMember States onmatter forwhich the
Commission iscompetent orwhen Community andMember States' responsibilities
areclosely associated ,forexample ininternational negotiations or
negotiations with international organizations ;
–ensure that missions ofMember States onthespot arekept fully informed
about theformulation andexecution ofCommunity policies ,.andencourage
coordination andcooperation with theMissions oftheNine

–implementonthespotallaspectsofcomprehensive cooperation agreements.
Itgoeswithoutsayingthatthesetasksarenotnecessarilyallperformed
atonce"bytheexternaloffices,buteachofficecarriesoutoneormoreof
themtodifferingextents.
4«Extenttoxifhichthesefunctionsareatpresentcarriedout"bythe
Commission'sexternaloffices
a)Itisclearfromthehistoricaldevelopmentoftheexternalofficesthat
theyhaveteensetuptocarryoutoneormoreofthesetasks,"butnot
necessarilyallofthem.TheexistenceofanACPDelegation ,forexampleis
essentially duetothenecessityofimplementing acomprehensive general
developmentcooperation agreement.ButonceaDelegationisestablished ,it
becomesthenaturalbodytoapproachwhenCommunityaffairsareinvolved.It
thereforehastotakeonmoregeneralfunctionsofexternalrepresentation .
Itgoeswithoutsaying,that,becauseofthenatureoftherelationship
betweentheCommunities andthehostcountries,someexternaloffices
particularly inACPcountrieswilldevotemostoftheirefforttothe
particularpurposeforwhichtheyweresetup,andthiswillcontinuetobe
thecase.Butingeneralitisnolongerpossibleforanexternalofficeto
devoteitselfentirelytothetasksforwhichitwasoriginallyestablished .
Whateveritsprincipalactivityeveryexternalofficemustbeequipped
intermsofstaffandsupportfromBrusselstobeabletoperformthemost
importantfunctionsofexternalrepresentation .
b)Inordertomakeeconomiesofpersonnelthroughamorerationaluseofthe
manpoweravailable,thepossibilityofcoveringoertainfunctionsonaregional
basisshouldbeexamined.
Infact,theCommissionhasalreadyadoptedaregionalapproachsothat
asingledelegationcanbeestablishedcoveringseveralcountries ,whichmore­
overformDartofalreadyexistingregionalentities(SouthAmerica).The

Commission will trytofollow this approach wherever possible indevelop ir.g
itsexternal network ,forexample inSouth-East Asia . '
.Itisclear that theregional approach cannot beapplied tocountries
with which theCommunity hasageneral cooperation agreement ,totheextent that
theexecution ofsuch acooperation agreement requires close relations with the
administration concerned ,particularly asregards financial andtechnical aid .
However ,insuitable political conditions (particularly regional
/
cooperation already inexistence among thecountries concerned ),&r.dif~r.e
scope ofcooperation programmes made itappropriate ,such anapproach has
been followed onacase bycase basis (Caribbean ,Pacific ,Common delegation
forBotswana ,Lesotho andSwaziland ).
5.Administrative problems ofthe external offices
a)Theexisting administrative relationships between external office staffs
andtheCommission represent avariety ofpractices according tothetyts
ofoffice involved .
TheCommission isstudying ways ofbringing about greater harmonization
ofthe internal administration ofthe different kinds ofoffices .
Thefinal document which theCommission hasundertaken topresent -io
theCouncil bytheendoftheyear will include astudy ofthis questicr ,
which needs more thorough examination .Particular attention will begi"ren
tothestudy ofstaff policy ,including thesystem ofrotation ,toestablishing
asystem ofinspection ofexternal offices ,andtoguidelines fortheex^erral
offices' property policy .
b)Certain problems canhowever beidentified atthis stage arising in~r.e
case oftheACPDelegations ;examples arethedevelopment ofthestatus of
theEAC ,thebeginnings ofastatutory link between theACPHeads of
Delegations andtheCommission ,androtation ofstaff between theCommissic ;:
departments andtheDelegations .

-6-
Development ofthe status ofthe EAC
Since 19^4 ,allstaff serving inACPDelegations areemployed on
contracts concluded with them "bytheEuropean Association forCooperation ,
anon-profit organization established under Belgian Law .
Thedevelopment oftherole oftheCommission Delegations intheAC?
countries most recently with thevery precise provisions oftheLome Convention ,
shows how disturbing itisthat the staff oftheDelegations intheACP
countries ,andespecially theDelegates themselves ,whose job isexternal
representation ofapublic authority ,still fore part ofastructure setup
under private law ,even ifonly inrespect oftheir conditions ofemployment .
Thenewstructure will take this consideration into account ,with aview
tomaintaining theadvantages offlexibility and independent administration
which have shown their value over fifteen years .
Establishment ofastatutory link between the Commission and the Heads of
ACP Delegations
Inview ofthenew function performed byHeads ofACP Delegations ,they
should have adirect statutory link with the Commission .
Inorder toestablish such alink thebudgetary authority agreed ,in
the1977 Budget ,tocreate tentemporary posts inthecareer brackets A5/4
anda/3.
Initspreliminary draft Budget for1978 ,theCommission asked fora
second instalment oftentemporary posts .
Secondment ofCommission staff toACP Delegations
TheCommission has proposed tha +-there should bethepossibility of
seconding Commission officials toACPDelegations .Inorder to
facilitate secondment ofthis kind ,thebudgetary authority ,during discussion
oftheBudget for1977 1agreed inprinciple tothecreation of34posts ,
subject totheresolution ofvarious policy ,fir_ancial andstaff regulations
problems .TheCommission isexamining these matters andwill shortly be
giving theinformation requested .

-7-
6.Improvement oftheoperation ofthe external offices
Afurther result ofthedifferent oonditions inwhich the external
offices have teen setuphasbeen that each office hastended toform
channels ofcommunication with thedepartment oftheCommission which
hasmost frequent occasion tog$.ve itinstructions .Thetwo-way flow of
information between Brussels andpost ,which should beoneofthemost
valuable benefits oftheexistence ofanexternal office ,hastherefore
notalways been puttofull use .Still less has itbeen feasible toplace
information acquired atthedisposal ofother Community institutions or
ofMember States ,whooften have alively interest init.
»
Inorder todraw thegreatest possible benefit from the external
offices ,improvements intheir operations will have tobemade .In
particular ,theflow ofinformation between Brussels andtheDelegations
will have tobeimproved andinformation obtained will have tobedistributed
more widely .Better internal coordination would encourage greater use of
thefacilities ofexternal offices bydepartments ,would allow application
ofcommon rules ofprocedure ,andprovide apoint ofcontact within the
Commission forthose with Community business whowish tomake use ofthe
facilities provided bytheoffices .
7.Access tothe facilities ofe'xt'ernal offices
Although attached to theCommission ,theexternal offices exist
tooarry outtasks ofexternal representation oftheCommunities asawhole .
They arenaturally dependent ontheCommission totheextent that the
execution ofCommunity policy isaCommission responsibility .TheCommission
is,however ,ready toshare their services with other Conrnrunity users as
required .Iheexternal offices have always provided facilities formembers
and staff ofthe other Institutions andwill continue todoso.Similar
facilities canbemade available toMember States ,ifthey sowish .
8.Relations with Mission ofMember States
Itisobvious that theclosest cooperation must exist between the
external offices andtheDiplomatic Missions oftheMember States inthird
counties .Toagreat extent this depends onclose personal contacts onthe
spot ,andpractices have grown upover theyears which onthewhole give
satisfaction .External offices canprovide aservice valuable toallby
stimulating coordination among theNine .
••/ ••

This cooperation could bereinforced byorganizing exchanges ofpersonnel ,
onashort –term basis ofsaythree-month tours ,between Commission officials
serving orlikely toserve inaDelegation anddiplomats ofMember States .
Astart has "already been made ontheCommission 'sside with short-term second­
ment ofofficials totheBritish High Commissions inNew Delhi andCanberra .
Similarly ,anumber ofofficials from theGerman Ministry ofCooperation have
been seconded toACPDelegations toserve forseveral years aseconomic
advisers .Anexchange system ofthis type should beputonaregular basis ,
within theframework oftheexisting system fortheexchange ofofficials
serving with theCommunity Institutions .
External offices could perform auseful task byregularly providing
Member States' Missions inthesame capital with information onCommunity
work andpolicy .TheCommission already uses this link toensure aregular
supply ofitspublications .This service should beextended toinclude the
regular provision ofmore sensitive information asthe .,means ofcommunication
astheCommission 'sdisposal improve .Astart hasbeen made with acypher
service .Member States arethemselves discussing ways ofsharing bag services ,
adevelopment inwhich theCommission hopes toshare .Asthecommunications
system develops and isrationalised ,more information canbesent toMissions
from Brussels via theexternal offices with aconsequent improvement in
efficiency through cutting down transmission time .
More generally ,relations between theCommission 'sexternal offices
andthecorresponding offices oftheMember States innon-Community countries
could bemade more complementary .Member States and theCommunity could well
reach theconclusion that itwould bepreferable forthem totrytoavoid
duplication .Anyformula which would help toachieve economies ofscale should
belooked at.Ofcourse the overall aim would not betoconfuse the different
interests androles oftheMember States' missions andtheexternal offices ,
buttoachieve adegree ofcomplementarity allowing theMember States andthe
Community tobeseen innonr-member countries asentities which arecertainly
distinct ,tutwhich carry -outtheir respective functions inclose collaboration .
9.CONCLUS 10"
Theaccount given ofthepresent situation andtheanalysis made ofthe
various problems arising make itpossible ,astheCouncil requested ,todiscern

-9-
theframework inwhich themedium-term programme fortheopening of
external delegations ,forwhich theCommission isseeking orwill be
seeking thenecessary budgetary authorization ,should beseen .
Inorder toavoid artificial expansion ofthenumber ofitsexternal
offices andtheir staff ,theCommission ^objective istomeet particular
needs forexternal representation asthey arrive .Three areas canbe
identified aslikely torequire coverage inthenext fewyears :
i)countries which arenotatpresent members oftheCommunity butwhich
maybeexpected toseek full membership orother close ties ofan
institutional nature ;
ii)somecountries with cooperation agreements with theComrrunity orwith
aidprogrammes which must beadministered onthesDot ;
iii)counties whose role inworld affairs issuch that direct relations
with theCommunity areindispensable .
Inapplication ofthese principles ,theCommission believes that at
thepresent stage theopening ofoffices inthefollowing areas canbe
foreseen :
a)Madrid andLisbon ;
b)theMaghreb countries ,theMashreq countries andIsrael (forwhich
proposals arealready before theCouncil );
c)South America ,where theCommission nowplans totransfer itsregional
representation toCaracas ,leaving asub-office inSantiago ;other sub-
offices might become necessary incountries such asMexico andBrazil
depending onthedevelopment ofcooperation with them ;
d)Asia ,where theCommission believes aregional delegation should beset
uptocover themembers ofASEAN ,other Asian countries such asIran and
India ,andAustralasia ,totheextent justified bythedevelopment of
relations vrith these countries ;
e)possibly Belgrade ;
f)inaddition ,theincreasingly close cooperation between theCommunity
andtheInternational Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA ),asshown bythe
conclusion oftheverification agreements of5April 1973 and6September
1976 andthecooperation agreement of1December 1975 »will make it
necessary fortheCommission ,aswell asMember States ,toberepresented
with the IAEA .

s
yANNEXI
Officials LocalStaff
I
AΒCTotaL 1:2.345Ι6_7δ90
.Total|
Geneva
including
Press5
15
.1111
2'3
2i«V3
11
13
1414.
5
Washington
includingPress ~7
1.2
mm9
1.5
.44
3I
I25
13
24
4310
66
22
144
23
Paris(Delegation OEC35)4329 1ι
1
NewYork
includingPress:4
.115
1•a2
2mm3
21
12
111|
1I10I
!
Ottawa
including
Press •3
'1115
12
.14
•1mm3
14
21ι
14;
i
5i
I
Santiagoincluding
Press4
i14
116 {
^!
*t
Tokyo
including
Press.4
113
12•-9
24
1-I4
3•6
32
mm1
Iι·7 5
!»!
Ankara(Press): .11132_122ι
7I
Athens(Press) ;21 T 12
«3 8;
i
••*

Ι··99u CommissionDelegations inACPcountries 2.
•• i
••
••■–■■■Hin-ww T, IfiT-TIagv.­
.• CompositionoftheDelegation
»l.'M
Country
■DelegateiExpatriatePersonnelr «■i•–«'
(LocalPersonnel 1
IAdvisers ITechnicali.StaffSecretaries3^Others1
–. ■·
Dutch
VestIndies (V3).*1(V4)2(^1+^5)2,8
Barbados ' (V3)2(A/4+
A/7>. *3 8
0mV'''*'
Bénin (V3)1(A/5)4(V3to
B/l)..5 16
Botswana-
Lesotho–
Swaziland•/(V3).3(2A/5+
1A/6).3(B/l-)/
*
414
Burundi (V3)3(A/7-6)1(VI)6 13
Cameroun
•*(V3)4(A/5)4(^2to^1)j.8 .16
CentralAfrica (V3)'3(A/7-6)•3'(3/2)
44 ■13
Congo (V4)3(A/7toV5)'«
2(V2+Vl).!.5
i'•18'
IvoryCoast (V3)6(A/7tô
A/5)<2(B) 4I
f*17
I
t
Ethiopia .(y3)4(A/6to
"A/4)i'* 418
Pacific (V3)2(A/7+
A/4)3i
9
Gabon (A/3)1(A/7) 3
#9
•.
'**
Cambia (A/3)1(Α)1 3TI
«j»'••.•V ••..1
Ghana (A/3)4(A/7to
A/5)1(Β/2)5 17
GuineeBissau
«(A/3) 1(B/l) 4

,\
•ψ·
%• "•• *••••3.
• ·ιι·ι■ΤΤIII.ΤΠΊΤΙΟί
CompostionoftheDelegationf'
Country
.DelegateIExpatriatePersonnel LocalPersonnel
IAdvisersITéchnical|StaffSecretaries3|Others
GuinéeConakry ••(V4)2(A/6to1.(3/1)1 11
Juyana. (A/4):".2(A/6+
V5R-3.11
[pperVolta (V4)5(V7-6)2(B) 6•»15
«
«
Kauritius (A/4)2(A/5-4).2(1/2)0
0
■3 10
Jamaica (A/3)3(A/6-•
•A/5)mm.3 10
[enya
S(A/3)3(A/5)2(l/l) •6 •12
Liberia' (V3)2(A/5)
«2 11 1
fadagasca (A/3)5(A/6to
A/4)2(B/2+
■•l/l).818•
wlawi (A/3)3(A/7tô
A/5)5I
!12
I
mi (A/3)3(A/6to
-A/5)4(FL/3to
■"B/l).518
'Pauritania•••.•
(A/.3)"•3(A/5to
'A/4)l-.(Vl)3 16'
figer (A/3)3(A/6to
A/4)4(B/2toVl).5
#15
1.
¿seria W3)I
!
Canda (A/3).
4(A/7to
A/5)21
11T
•^anda (A/3)3(A/5) 6 11

/·~·
*
·»• « ••• ♦«4.
CompositionoftheDelegationJu._.–,
Country
.•DelegateIExpatriatePersonnelLocalPersonnel
IAdvisersITéchnicalStaff'Secretarie iBOthers
Sénégal •'(V3);7(A/7to
hm2(Β/2)819
SierraLeone (A/3)•'
• •3(A/7to
V4)-.314
ii»
Somalia W3)4(A/7-
A/5)2(l/l).4 13
Sudan .(V3)4(A/6to
A/4)2(1/1)9
9
"414
i
Surinam (A/3)1(A/6)•.1(ï/D 3 12 i
Tanzania
•s(A/3)4(A/6to
A/5)3(B/3to
1/1).2 .10
Tchad (A/3)" to7
55(A
..A1(B/3)
*;3
I15
Togo (A/3)4(A/7to
•A/5)'H6 12
:Trinidadand
Tobago(A/4)3(A/6to
A/4);i(s/2)J3 12
Zaire (A/4)5(A/6to
-A/5)2(Vl)5•20
Zambia. (VÎV-■
*•3(A/6to
'A/5)L(B/1)3 11•
TOTAL 12455I165 505
i.–220- »^670
•:The."grades.showngretheapproximateequivalents .of)Commissiongpades.
•• •
\• * ,1.*/,