WRITTEN QUESTION E-2018/01

by Chris Davies (ELDR) to the Commission

(13 July 2001)

Subject: Experience of officials in External Affairs DG

How many individuals are employed within External Affairs DG with the status of Head of Unit or above?

How many of these individuals have served on EU delegations outside the European Union for continuous periods of more than one year?

What is the total length of EU service on delegations outside the European Union of each individual?

What plans does the Commission have to ensure that those employed in a senior capacity as Brussels-based administrators within External Affairs DG have greater practical experience of the work of EU delegations outside the European Union?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(11 October 2001)

The following staff by service at the level of Head of Unit or above are presently serving within the Relex family (made up of Directorates General External Relations (RELEX), Enlargement (ELARG), Development (DEV), TRADE, EuropeAid Co-operation Office (AIDCO), and Directorate Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO)).

RELEX: has 58 officials at the level of Head of Unit or above. Of those 16 served in the external representations of the Commission for more than one year (first the number of officials followed by the years they were posted abroad): two for 2,5, two for 3, one for 3,5, two for 4, one for 5, one for 7,5, two for 8, one for 9, two for 11, one for 14, and one for 19 years.

ELARG: has 20 officials at the level of Head of Unit or above. Of those four served in the external representations of the Commission for more than one year: one for 1, one for 3, one for 5 and one for 6 years.

DEV: has 31 officials at the level of Head of Unit or above. Of those 12 served in the external representations of the Commission for more than one year: one for 2,5, one for 3, one for 3,5, two for 4, one for 12, one for 14,5, one for 15, one for 17, one for 20,5, one for 23 and one for 27 years.

TRADE: has 28 officials at the level of Head of Unit or above. Of those six have served in the external representations of the Commission for more than one year: One for 2,5, two for 4, one for 6, one for 8, and one for 9,5 years.

AIDCO: has 62 officials at the level of Head of Unit or above. Of those 15 have served in the external representations of the Commission for more than one year: One for 2, one for 2,5, three for 4, one for 7,5, one for 9, one for 14, one for 16, three for 18 and three for 21 years.

ECHO: has 10 officials at the level of Head of Unit or above. Of those three have served in the external representations of the Commission: One for 3, one for 8 and one for 10 years

The Commission is aware of the need to ensure that management level staff at Headquarters benefit from the practical experience of serving outside the Union. By its decision of 25 March 1996(1) the Commission approved the broad outlines of the Report on the Longer Term Requirements of the Commission's External Service. The Report includes a recommendation that the Commission confirm [the ] principle [of] the obligation to serve away from headquarters for the staff of departments dealing with non-Community countries (). In its communication of 8 April 1997(2) the Commission confirmed that there is an obligation to serve outside the Union to be applied to all category A personnel in the Relex DGs and laid down the practical arrangements for giving effect to this requirement.

The obligation to serve outside the Union enables the Commission to meet the staffing requirements of Delegations, especially those where living conditions are less attractive. In particular it is a way of ensuring that the experience gained by officials better matches the requirements of the posts and vice versa, that there is a greater osmosis of the experience gained in the External Service and Headquarters.

(1) SEC(96) 554.

(2) SEC(97) 605.