WRITTEN QUESTION E-1958/99

by Gerhard Hager (NI) to the Commission

(5 November 1999)

Subject: Bureau de Stage

To enable young people from the Member States and candidate countries to familiarise themselves with the work of EU institutions, the Commission and the other Institutions offer them the opportunity of completing a practical training course in their respective departments. For the organisation of these courses and to make life easier for newcomers on arrival, the Commission has set up a Bureau de Stage.

Hitherto it has been customary for this office to help trainees from the European Parliament too in their search for accommodation etc. In recent weeks I have had a number of queries about why this assistance has been suspended, and why trainees from Parliament in particular have been treated in a very brusque manner and are no longer provided with the list of rented accommodation.

I should be glad if the Commission would inform me of the circumstances which led to this change of policy.

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(6 December 1999)

The assistance in finding accommodation for trainees to which the Honourable Member is referring is provided by the Reception Office (Bureau d'accueil et d'information) operated by the Directorate-General for Personnel and Administration.

The Reception Office provides initial assistance for newly recruited staff and trainees and helps them to settle (dealing with both the initial administrative requirements and practical matters relating to everyday life in Brussels).

The Reception Office is not an inter-Institutional service and, consequently, priority has been, and still is, given to providing a service for the staff of the Commission, together with their families and dependants. In the interests of providing a quality service and of maintaining good public relations on behalf of the European Institutions, the Reception Office strives to respond to all enquiries, whatever the source (whether from the Commission, the Parliament or the Council). However, greater co-operation between the Institutions will be necessary if a better service is desired.

One of the main services provided by the Reception Office is assistance in settling in Brussels, and particular help is given with the search for temporary accommodation (either for those whose stay in Brussels will be for a limited period only, as in the case of the trainees (stagiaires), or for purposes of establishing an initial contact pending a later decision on longer-term accommodation). In response to the demand for such services, the Reception Office has created a database which can be used to search quickly for information on the basis of a number of criteria. This database will soon be available on Europa Plus.

There has been no change of attitude on the part of the Commission, or on the part of the Reception Office, towards potential clients from other Institutions. Greater co-operation between the Institutions would, naturally, assist with providing a better service if that was considered by the Institutions to be a desirable objective.

The Commission does take that view and would, therefore, draw attention to the potential benefits of making the Reception Office more of an Inter-Institutional service.