WRITTEN QUESTION E-1922/01

by Fiorella Ghilardotti (PSE) and Giovanni Pittella (PSE) to the Commission

(29 June 2001)

Subject: Appointment of middle managers

The post of head of unit responsible for legal affairs in the Commission's Taxation and Customs Union DG has been vacant for nine months. An official has been doing the job in a temporary capacity for the whole of that time. The vacancy has been advertised, and, at the end of the selection procedure, three candidates were short-listed.

Can the Commission say:

- why the acting head of unit was not short-listed although he has been performing the duties to the satisfaction of the Director-General;

- why no candidate was selected from the short list once the selection procedure had been completed;

- what it will do to fill the post and whether it intends in the immediate future to relieve the acting head of unit of his duties, since he was not short-listed?

It is easy to see that, despite the Commission's numerous assurances on the subject of transparency, strange things are continuing to happen in middle management selection procedures, just as they have done in the past. For example, vacancies are held open for long periods until the desired candidates are available to fill them, and selection boards are only nominally independent but in fact susceptible to pressure from the Directors-General and the cabinets.

Bearing in mind that middle managers occupy a pivotal position within the administrative structure:

- what, in the opinion of the Commission, should be done to end a practice which makes the public as well as officials scoff at the assertion that heads of unit are appointed fairly and properly;

- does the Commission not believe that it should rethink its decision concerning appointment, since it concentrates the power to choose in the hands of the Directors-General with no guarantee of transparency?

Answer given by Mr Bolkestein on behalf of the Commission

(26 September 2001)

The procedure for publishing the vacant post referred to by the Honourable Members was set in motion as soon as possible but actual publication was held up by absence of the budget resources required for the level of the post whose publication had been requested.

As soon as the resources were made available, the vacancy notice was published in Vacancy Notices No 11 of 8 March 2001. The deadline for submitting applications was 22 March 2001.

Until the post was filled, the person concerned deputised in accordance with Article 24 of the Commission's Rules of Procedure; the person was not officially appointed Acting Head.

Nine applications were received in reply to the vacancy notice, including one from the deputising Head of Unit. These were examined by a preselection committee, which submitted a report to the Director-General of the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union. Next, the Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA) was informed. It submitted its opinion on 17 May 2001. The CCA concluded that two applications, which it listed in alphabetical order, should be considered.

The appointing authority appointed the new Head of Unit with effect from 1 July 2001. The new Head is one of the two officials put forward by the CCA.

The deputising Head was not one of the two persons recommended. Here it should be pointed out that the fact of carrying out the duties of a Deputy Head of Unit does not give the person concerned any priority over other applicants. It should be noted that the official concerned asked to be relieved of his duties in a memo dated 22 May 2001.

The Commission has informed Parliament of the details of the Commission's reforms of the middle management selection procedure which are intended to secure greater transparency, particularly by the institution of a selection panel. It was this procedure which was used here(1).

(1) Communication on appointing senior Commission officials (SEC(2000) 2305/05, 22.12.2000) and consultative document on middle management appointments (SEC(2001) 322/4, 28.2.2001).