WRITTEN QUESTION E-1403/00 by Jeffrey Titford (EDD) to the Commission. Creating dual posts for Directors-General and their staff.
Date: 2000-05-05
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commissioner, appointment of staff

C 89 E/38

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.3.2001

Respect for sustainable development has been integrated as a general horizontal principle in the CSF and
will therefore apply to all operational programmes adopted under the CSF.
It will also contain the
deadlines before which the German authorities have to submit their proposals for the definition of Natura
2000 sites. Measures with possible negative consequences on the areas protected by Natura 2000 are
explicitly excluded from support from the structural funds.

The German authorities commit themselves explicitly to take all the necessary measures to guarantee that
Community regulations on the environment and sustainable development are respected. These include in
particular the directives on environmental impact assessment.

Every decision of the Commission concerning structural funds assistance is taken on the basis of Council
Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the structural funds (1).
This regulation also contains provisions on the rules and procedures for ensuring compliance with the
regulation itself.

(1) OJ L 161, 26.6.1999.

(2001/C 89 E/035)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1403/00

by Jeffrey Titford (EDD) to the Commission

(5 May 2000)

Subject: Creating dual posts for Directors-General and their staff

In Paul Van Buitenen(cid:146)s recent book (cid:145)Blowing the Whistle(cid:146), Mr Van Buitenen gives examples of where two
EU countries were lobbying for their candidate to get a Director-General(cid:146)s job, and where the only way
agreement could be reached was by dividing the job in two.

How many times has this happened?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(10 July 2000)

The Commission(cid:146)s rules and procedures relating to high-level appointments are based on the Articles of
the Staff Regulations governing recruitment and promotion and are set out in Commission decisions
SEC(1999) 1485 and SEC(1999) 1876.

Under those rules, appointments to Director-general are on merit and the process includes mandatory
reference to qualifications and professional and managerial experience. In keeping with the Staff Regula-
tions and Commission decisions, the Commission takes account of the need for broad (cid:145)geographical
balance(cid:146) at all levels of staff in order to ensure that the Institution reflects the multinational character of the
Union, and of the commitment to the promotion of equal opportunities.

The Commission is aware of only one case in which a Directorate general (cid:129) and, accordingly, the Director
general(cid:146)s post (cid:129) was (cid:145)divided in two(cid:146): In 1995 a decision was made to attribute the responsibility for
External relations to two separate Directorates-general. The decision was adopted on the objective grounds
that it was evident that the diversity and complexity of the tasks that had developed over previous years,
together with a necessary geographical division of External relations responsibilities, made it inappropriate
for all of the relevant responsibilities to continue to be dealt with by a single Directorate general.