WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2566/98 by Nikitas KAKLAMANIS to the Commission. Recruitment to the European Environment Agency (EEA)
Date: 1998-09-01
Institutions: European Parliament, KAKLAMANIS
Subjects: European Environment Agency, appointment of staff, competition (EU), nationality, recruitment, regulations for civil servants













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91998E2566

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2566/98 by Nikitas KAKLAMANIS to the Commission. Recruitment to the European Environment Agency (EEA)  


Official Journal C 135 , 14/05/1999 P. 0073 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-2566/98by Nikitas Kaklamanis (UPE) to the Commission(1 September 1998)Subject: Recruitment to the European Environment Agency (EEA)In replying to my Written Question E-1779/98(1) concerning the unacceptable situation regarding the spread of nationalities among the staff of the EEA, Commissioner Bjerregaard, who is normally highly circumspect, made a significant slip of the tongue - albeit unwittingly, I am sure - in saying that " ... there is no formal division of posts according to geographical or demographic criteria. On the contrary, recruitment is principally on merit ...". The obvious implication of this answer is that the Greeks and Irish have no merit since the EEA has deemed that only one Greek and one Irish national deserve to work at the Agency, whereas seven Belgian and seven Dutch nationals, for example, have been recruited as officials.At another point in her answer, Mrs Bjerregaard stresses that "In a small organization like the European Environment Agency, which is based in the north of Europe, there will inevitably be practical difficulties in reconciling the need for the best candidates and the need for a good geographical spread". The governing body of the EEA (which is constantly informing the members of the Committee on Budgets - through the Commission - of the reasons why funding for the EEA should be increased) and the Commission itself, know full well that the decentralized agencies do not exist to recruit officials from the geographical area in which they are located but to serve European citizens and not incite them by their practices and "open and transparent competitions", as Mrs Bjerregaard puts it. Recent experience with the legal bases of the EU budget, moreover, has shown that matters can become rather complicated when the procedures followed are not transparent.What practical measures has the Commission taken to enhance the transparency of the recruitment procedure at the EEA and to eliminate the imbalance in the spread of nationalities among its officials (not the national experts)?Answer given by Mrs Bjerregaard on behalf of the Commission(1 October 1998)The Honourable Member's conclusions on the reply to Written Question E-1779/98 were doubtless made "tongue-in-cheek", but nonetheless he will appreciate that recruitment on merit can only be on the basis of the applications received.The Honourable Member is aware that the Commission can only offer advice to the European environmental agency on how to conduct its recruitment, but the Commission does understand his concerns at the apparent difficulty in attracting the best candidates from Southern Europe to apply for posts. The Commission has informed the Agency of the Honourable Member's questions and will ask that the executive director consider possible remedies for future recruitment competitions.The Commission will continue to be represented in future selection procedures.(1) OJ C 50, 22.2.1999, p. 91.