WRITTEN QUESTION E-1939/02

by Armando Cossutta (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

(3 July 2002)

Subject: Cost of the Commission reform

On 1 March 2000, with the adoption of the White Paper on the reform of the Commission, the reform of the European Union's executive was officially launched. This is an ambitious project, particularly when seen in the light of the forthcoming enlargement of the Community.

The aim of the reform is to simplify the Commission's work and to make it more transparent and less onerous.

European taxpayers are wondering whether the reform which in practice will involve the partial abolition of the European civil service at this crucial moment when discussions on the future of Europe are in progress will at least be effective from an operational and economic point of view. Various premature measures (such as the privatisation of services) are already sending out discouraging signals.

1. How many Commission officials have been involved in the preparations for the reform?

2. What is the overall cost in man-hours of the work carried out by those officials?

3. What external staff have been involved in work relating to the reform or are currently engaged in such work, and in which sectors?

4. What is the overall cost of the external studies that were conducted with a view to the drafting of the reform proposal?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(9 August 2002)

For the specific purpose of preparing the Reform Strategy, the Commission decided, on 18 September 1999, to create the Task Force for Administrative Reform. At various times from October 1999, up to 8 A, 1 B and 2 C officials worked in the Task Force on a full time basis.

Up to the dissolution of the Task Force in September 2001, 155 person/month of A grade officials', 10 p/m of B grade officials' and 48 p/m of C grade officials' time were invested in its work. The overall cost was about 8 000 person hours. In addition, staff in all Commission Departments make a significant contribution to the preparation of Reform proposals and their implementation, alongside their normal duties.

In July 2000, after careful assessment in the Peer Group Review, the Commission decided to redeploy some 230 officials to facilitate the implementation of the Reform, particularly for the purposes of strengthening financial management and control, undertaking tasks associated with improved strategic planning and programming of resources, and meeting administrative consequences of these and other developments.

The work relating to the Reform has been and is being done by existing staff. No additional external staff (non-officials) have been recruited for Reform work.

The overall cost of external studies directly relating to drafting and development of Reform amounts to some EUR 510 000.

At the beginning of the Reform efforts, the Commission volunteered an undertaking that all of the costs of designing and implementing modernisation and Reform, including changes in career structure and in pay and allowances, would be met within the limits established for Heading V of the Financial Perspectives. This undertaking has been fulfilled.

The Honourable Member refers to what he calls the partial abolition of the European civil service and the privatisation of services. The Commission emphasises that there have been no such developments, premature or otherwise and no such discouraging signals have been sent. On the contrary, duties that were previously carried out by external contractors in the Technical Assistance Offices (TAO) are now being executed by staff employed directly by the Commission. That is the opposite of privatisation.

The Commission is encouraged by the fact that the substantial majority of the Parliament has supported the Reform process and encouraged the Commission to implement the primary changes. The negotiations with staff representatives on the proposed modifications to the Staff Regulations were very thorough and useful and those proposals are now before Parliament and Council. At all times, the Commission has shown its readiness to respond constructively to suggestions for improvement or refinement of Reform proposals made by Members of the European Parliament(1).

(1) i.e. Answer given by the Commission to written question E-1370/02 by Mrs Ghilardotti, Mr Pittella and Mrs Guy-Quint. See page 50.