WRITTEN QUESTION P-2537/01 by Roberto Bigliardo (TDI) to the Commission. The number of Italian directors-general at the Commission.
Date: 2001-09-13
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: European Commission, European official, Italy, administrator, appointment of staff, equal treatment, power to appoint

C 93 E/154

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

18.4.2002

The sixth research framework programme for the year 2002-2006 mentioned by the Honourable Member
has yet to be adopted by the Parliament and Council. The Commission’s proposal aims to improve the
European science base and competitiveness through concrete collaborative research activities, focused on
tangible results, even more than is the case with the current Framework Programme, thanks to the strong
focus on selected research priorities and the use of more effective implementation instruments.

(1) OJ 17, 6.10.1958.
(2) Case T 120/99 of 12 July 2001.

(2002/C 93 E/183)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2537/01

by Roberto Bigliardo (TDI) to the Commission

(13 September 2001)

Subject: The number of Italian directors-general at the Commission

What binding rules does the Commission intend to adopt in respect of the appointment of directors-
general, which, according to existing practice, should reflect the geographical balance within the EU?

When the most recent appointments were made, France was given seven directors-general and the United
Kingdom six, while Italy 6 a country of the same importance, the same population and the same number
of representatives within the EU 6 was given only two, together with four deputy directors-general.

How does the Commission explain this conspicuous geographical imbalance?

How does it intend to ensure that such posts are allocated in a more equitable manner, showing due
respect for Italy’s rights as a major Member State?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(15 October 2001)

Appointments to senior positions in the Commission are not made in the manner inferred in the
Honourable Member’s question. No Member State is ‘given’ a Director Generalship or a Deputy Director
Generalship.

The Commission fills its vacant posts in accordance with the provisions laid down in the Staff Regulations,
Article 27 of which provides that ‘recruitment shall be directed to securing for the institution the services
of officials of the highest standard of ability, efficiency and integrity, recruited on the broadest possible
geographical basis (…)’ and that ‘no posts shall be reserved for nationals of any specific Member State’.

Accordingly, no nationality is entitled to a fixed quota of posts at any level whatsoever. However, to reflect
the essential and valuable cultural diversity of the Union, the Commission aims to maintain a broad
geographical balance in order to ensure the presence of all Member State nationalities at all levels within
the Institution.

In 1999, the Commission reviewed the procedures for appointing senior staff with a view to selecting, on
the basis of transparent procedures, those candidates who show themselves to be the best qualified for the
post to which an appointment is being made. In the decisions which it adopted at its first meeting, held on
18 September 1999, the Commission emphasised inter alia that ‘the nationality of the outgoing post-
holder should not be a factor in the appointment of the new occupant of the post’. It also adopted rules of
conduct for appointments to posts in grades A1 and A2,
improving the procedures followed by the
Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA). This Committee is responsible for the technical selection
procedure, which is based on the principle of excellence, its role being to make available to the Appointing
Authority (the Commission) a list of the candidates who, on the strength of their merits, are qualified to fill
the published post. The Appointing Authority, after comparing the respective merits of the qualified
candidates, then makes a selection, complying with the principle that officials of all ranks should be
recruited on the broadest possible geographical basis, and adhering to a policy of equal opportunities for
men and women, as enshrined in the Amsterdam Treaty.

18.4.2002

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 93 E/155

In this context, it is noted that in addition to two Directors General and four Deputy Directors General,
two Heads of Services at A2 level are currently Italian nationals. Furthermore, the Commission has recently
nominated an Italian national as Deputy Director General (who has not yet taken up the new function, this
date is to be fixed).

(2002/C 93 E/184)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-2545/01

by Graham Watson (ELDR) to the Commission

(19 September 2001)

Subject: Threat to Christian Community in Indonesia

Is the Commission aware of the plight of 28 000 internally displaced Christians in the town of Tentena in
the Moluccas?

Will the EU bring pressure to bear on the Indonesian Government to use its forces to prevent violence
against these people by Muslim Jihad fighters?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(24 October 2001)

The Commission assures the Honourable Member that it remains very concerned about the continuing
human rights problems in the Moluccas, and indeed elsewhere in Indonesia, and is monitoring the
situation in the archipelago closely and raising the problem actively within the framework of its relations
with Indonesia. The Commission continues to encourage the Indonesian authorities to bring to justice
those individuals responsible for these abuses. There is an important role for quiet diplomacy in this
context 6 including demarches at the highest level (1). It is encouraging that one of the first actions of
Mrs Megawati Sukarnoputri, the new President of Indonesia, has been to acknowledge and apologise for
the past human rights abuses by the Indonesian authorities.

Like the majority of the international community, the Commission considers that the conflict in the
Moluccas is primarily an internal matter for Indonesia, and that it should be addressed first and foremost
by the Indonesian government, and by civil society organisations, the religious communities and other
institutions. A number of religious leaders have begun a process of social reconciliation.

The Commission continues to follow this question as closely as possible. While it has not been asked by
the Indonesian government to provide an investigative team to report on the causes of the conflict, still the
Commission has participated in two fact-finding missions (in late 2000 and early 2001) to the area. The
population of the Moluccas is suffering very heavily from the present situation. While it is very difficult to
assess the exact extent of violence in the Moluccas, as any verification of sources, however credible, is
difficult, it is, unfortunately safe to assume that the losses of life, injuries and displacements are very grave.
Since March 1999 €4 600 000 has been spent in the Moluccas to alleviate the effects of these events (2).

(1) The Union has taken the opportunity of its political dialogue with Indonesia to voice its concerns, and has
encouraged the Indonesian authorities to continue their efforts to restore security, prevent further violence and find
solutions to regional disputes through dialogue rather than by force. Indonesia has been encouraged to do so by the
Union Presidency statements of 28 November 2000 and 8 March 2001, reinforced by the formal Conclusions of
the full General Affairs Council of 14/15 May 2001.
From the outset of the conflict, only humanitarian assistance has been permitted from outside Indonesia. Since
1999, the European Community’s Humanitarian Office (ECHO) has intervened in the Moluccas, in so far as the
precarious security situation has permitted, to ease the humanitarian tragedy. Assistance has been provided through
non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to the victims of the conflict,
including internally displaced persons.
Between March 1999 and July 2001 €4 600 000 has been spent on these actions.

(2)