WRITTEN QUESTION E-0558/00 by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission. Reassignment of Commission staff.
Date: 2000-02-29
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, competition policy, financial policy, monetary policy, personnel administration

C 374 E/106

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

28.12.2000

rectify these deficiencies and achieve a system which is fair, consistent, and not subject to undue delays.
The proposed setting up of an inter-institutional disciplinary board and the possibility for the administra-
tion to present its case to the disciplinary board are among the changes which will require amendments to
the Staff Regulations. Changes which do not require amendments to the Staff Regulations will also be
introduced. As the White Paper said (cid:145)clear rules will be set out in a handbook together with an explanation
of rights and obligations; guidelines will be developed for penalties related to the gravity of the offence; an
enlarged permanent secretariat for the disciplinary board will provide greater consistency; and disciplinary
decisions will be published (with names removed to protect confidentiality)(cid:146).

Developments such as these are sensible and necessary ways of modernising provisions in the Commission
and other Institutions and dismissal will certainly be retained as a penalty where such a course is justified
on the basis of objective evidence and effective procedures. The Commission is certain, however, that the
Honourable Member will agree that the overall effectiveness of disciplinary systems is best measured by the
degree to which they help to prevent indiscipline, rather than by the number of employees who are
dismissed.

(1) COM(2000) 10 final.

(2000/C 374 E/122)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0558/00

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(29 February 2000)

Subject: Reassignment of Commission staff

In view of the reduction in the workload of the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs,
given the successful conclusion of the third stage of monetary union, and in view of the very sharp
increase in the workload of the Directorate-General for Competitions, given the sharp increase in European
mergers and acquisitions, has the Commission taken any measures to reassign staff from the one to the
other? If not, why not?

Answer given by Mrs Schreyer on behalf of the Commission

(17 April 2000)

The preparation of the introduction of the euro on 1 February 1999 required intensive preparatory work
by the Directorate general for Economic and financial affairs (DG ECFIN) (1) in co-operation with other
Commission services.

Since the launch of the euro, an essential part of DG ECFIN(cid:146)s activities has been redirected towards
ensuring economic and monetary union (EMU)(cid:146)s smooth functioning. This reorientation has been
accompanied by an important modification of DG ECFIN(cid:146)s organizational structure in early 1999. Besides
the increased importance of economic policy co-ordination and multilateral surveillance (including the
Broad economic policy guidelines, the Stability and growth pact, excessive deficit procedure, Cardiff
process, Cologne process, etc.), the advent of the euro has also brought a number of other important
issues to the forefront, such as the integration of financial markets and the external aspects of EMU, all of
which have contributed to DG ECFIN(cid:146)s workload since 1999.

It should also be kept in mind that important parts of DG ECFIN(cid:146)s work are not directly (cid:145)euro-linked(cid:146). This
applies for instance to most of the activities of the directorate for international affairs, the economic
evaluation directorate (in charge of the economic analysis of the different Community policy areas), the
financial directorate (in charge of
the Financial
operations service in Luxembourg, etc. The Commission can not therefore concur with the view that the
introduction of the euro has decreased DG ECFIN(cid:146)s overall workload.

financial market analysis, capital movements, etc.),

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 374 E/107

The Commission is fully aware of the sustained increase in the number of cases to be dealt with in the
field of competition policy, in particular in the area of mergers. In order to face the growing workload, the
Commission has reinforced the Competition Directorate general with around 50 staff units since 1998.
However,
this reinforcement only partially meets the actual needs of DG Competition, despite the
motivation and commitment of its staff.

As done thus far, the Commission will continue to review critically its activities in order to shift resources
towards core activities and new political priorities. Once all the possibilities for reallocation of existing
human resources to priority areas are exhausted, the Commission will request additional human resources
from the budget authority.

(1) Total ECFIN staff (permanent officials and temporary agents) amounts to 316 in Brussels and 108 in Luxembourg

and represents about 2,1 % of total Commission staff.

(2000/C 374 E/123)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0559/00

by Christopher Huhne (ELDR) to the Commission

(29 February 2000)

Subject: Direct foreign investment

What was the total of direct foreign investment in each of the Member States in each of the last five years?
What was the breakdown of direct foreign investment by other Member States of the European Union and
by third countries, and what was the amount in each case from Japan and the United States?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(19 April 2000)

The answers to the questions put by the Honourable Member are to be found in three statistical tables sent
direct to the Honourable Member and Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat.

Table 1 gives the foreign direct investment (FDI) in all the Member States from 1994 to 1999 as well as
the FDI undertaken by the various Member States during the same period.

Table 2 gives the FDI for 1998 undertaken in each Member State by (a) the other Member States (overall
figures) and (b) all third countries (overall figures). The specific figures for the FDI in each Member State by
Japan and the United States are also given.

Table 3 sets out in detail the FDI in each Member State by each of the other Member States.

Given the interest shown by the Honourable Member in foreign direct investment in the Community, it
seems appropriate to bring to his attention the recent publication by Eurostat of a book containing the
investment yearbook 1999 (cid:129) Data
(European Union direct
most recent statistics on the matter
1988-1998. Theme 2: Economy and Finance) (1).

(1)

ISBN 92-828-8310-8.