WRITTEN QUESTION E-4004/00 by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Reform of the Commission.
Date: 2000-12-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, administrative reform, administrator, cessation of trading, institutional reform, job description, operation of the Institutions, recruitment

C 187 E/106

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

3.7.2001

As regards the specific case of (cid:145)origin marking(cid:146), the Court of Justice has ruled that the labelling of national
origins of products produced within the Community (such as (cid:145)made in [Member State](cid:146)) must not be made
mandatory within the Community, since this would have to be considered a measure having an effect
equivalent to a quantitative restriction prohibited by Article 28 (ex Article 30) of the EC Treaty (3).

However, Community operators are free to indicate, on a voluntary basis, the national origin of their
product, or specify that their product has been (cid:145)made in EU(cid:146). They may also use the (cid:145)made in EU(cid:146) marking
if the product has been manufactured in more than one Member State.

The value of further mandatory labelling requirements at Community level has not yet been established
and remains a controversial issue among the different actors concerned. In any event, any such labelling
requirements would have to comply with World trade organisation (WTO) requirements and, in particular,
not be contrary to the obligation of national treatment.

While endeavouring to keep mandatory administrative requirements to a minimum, the Commission is
planning to examine, together with interested parties, ways of improving the existing labelling regime.

(1) OJ L 32, 3.2.1997.
(2) OJ L 169, 27.6.1997.
(3) Case 207/83.

(2001/C 187 E/113)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4004/00

by Juan Naranjo Escobar (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(21 December 2000)

Subject: Reform of the Commission

On 30 November last, the European Parliament adopted its four reports on the White Paper on the reform
of the Commission, forwarded to it on 13 March. Parliament is thus making a very positive contribution
to the reform of the Commission(cid:146)s organisational structure and working methods, without undermining
the autonomy which the Commission, like all the Union institutions, enjoys as a matter of principle when
it comes to equipping itself with the requisite wherewithal to deal as effectively as possible with the tasks
and duties assigned to it by the Treaties.

Taking due account of the Commission(cid:146)s right to autonomy and, at the same time, of Parliament(cid:146)s
obligation to exercise scrutiny over the Commission, what is the Commission(cid:146)s estimated deadline for
providing Parliament with descriptions of the duties of all A1 and A2 grade officials? When will it provide
Parliament with the provisional staff plan showing all movements of staff such as retirements, early
retirements, internal transfers, hiring of new staff, etc., for the period during which the administrative
reform is being implemented? And finally, when does the Commission expect the internal audit service to
become 100 % operational, so that the audit reports will be available as quickly as possible and with
a certain degree of regularity?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(21 February 2001)

The (cid:145)job descriptions(cid:146) pilot exercise launched in the summer applies to all posts, including A1 and A2
posts. The complex task of evaluating this pilot phase for all posts at the Commission, originally scheduled
for November 2000, has not yet been completed.

It is expected that it will be finalised in March 2001, and, following that, final guidelines will be drawn up
for job descriptions and the setting of objectives, which will enable the entire exercise to be concluded by
the end of the summer at the latest.

3.7.2001

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 187 E/107

The number of posts for Commission staff authorised in the 2000 budget was 17 087 in the operating
budget, 2 080 for the Joint Research Centre and 1 624 for indirect actions.

The 2001 budget provides for an additional 400 posts, to which should be added 100 posts to be funded
by converting appropriations for external personnel into permanent posts, making a total of 500 additional
posts in the operating budget. The indicative breakdown of authorised posts by policy area is shown in
the 2001 budget for the Commission (Chapter A-11 (cid:145)Staff in active employment(cid:146)).

(dØgagement) under
The Commission has proposed an ad hoc
which 600 officials would definitively leave the service of the Commission in 2001-02. The Commission
would keep only 43 out of every 100 posts thus freed, making a net reduction of 57 posts occupied for
every 100 officials terminating their service.

termination-of-service

scheme

The actual number of posts occupied will depend on recruitment to the new posts requested and the
number of departures. The latter is estimated as follows:

Estimated number of departures

Officials retiring at 65

Other departures (retirement at 60-65, invalidity,
transfer to another Institution, etc.)

Total number of departures

2001

105

465

570

2002

100

480

580

2003

95

495

590

2004

95

495

590

2005

95

495

590

These are indicative estimates in the very nature of such matters: the precise dates of departure cannot be
determined in advance.

Taking into account the additions to the posts authorised for 2001 and the above-mentioned termination-
of-service exercise, the estimated recruitment requirement comes to circa 1 200 in 2001 and slightly less
than that in 2002.

The Commission would point out that it recruited a total of 1 110 people in 1997, 1 030 in 1998 and 950
in 1999.

It is accordingly expected that the recruitment targets will be met.

The Commission formally created the new Internal Audit Service (IAS) service on 11 April 2000 and
adopted an organisation chart (1). By 1 May 2000 all the necessary steps had been taken with regard to
logistics, administrative appropriations and Information Technology (IT) equipment, the basic methodology
had been determined and the first 18 members of audit staff had been selected. The Internal Audit Service
was fully operational
two Audit Supervisors (A3)
and 18 auditors.

in mid-September 2000 with a Director

(A2),

Following a full procedure of advertisement and selection, the Commission appointed the new Head of the
IAS, Mr Jules Muis (A1), on 21 December 2000. He is likely to take up his duties towards the end of March
2001. The IAS will reach its full staffing level of 80 in the course of 2001 once suitable candidates have
been selected through an open competition which is currently under preparation. The three remaining
Audit Supervisor posts are expected to be filled by September 2001.

From April 2001 onwards the IAS will move towards an approach based on risk assessments while at the
same time carrying out a complete cycle of in-depth audits of the Commission(cid:146)s internal control systems.
The IAS expects to complete this cycle by the end of 2002 (2).

(1) SEC(2000) 560.
(2) Not including the above-mentioned termination-of-service scheme.