WRITTEN QUESTION P-0280/04 by Rijk van Dam (EDD) to the Commission. European Commission representation in Delhi.
Date: 2004-01-30
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Commission Delegation, European Commission, India, administration of the Institutions, administrative expenditure (EU), interinstitutional relations (EU), property leasing

C 84 E/350

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

3.4.2004

(2004/C 84 E/0407)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0280/04

by Rijk van Dam (EDD) to the Commission

(30 January 2004)

Subject: European Commission representation in Delhi

During a mission with the European Parliament Delegation for relations with the Member States of
ASEAN, south-east Asia and the Republic of Korea, I chanced upon the extraordinary accommodation of
half the staff of the European Commission representation in Delhi.

That prompts me to ask the following questions:

1. By how many persons has the staff of the European Commission representation in Delhi increased
since ‘deconcentration’? What is the justification for that increase? For what specific tasks were new
staff recruited?

2.

Since what date has the European Commission representation been renting the fifth floor of the
Taj Mahal Hotel, how many square metres are being rented there, and what is the monthly rental?

3. Does the Commission feel that it is making a good impression on its relations with India and on the

citizens of Delhi by renting a floor in a five-star luxury hotel?

4. By what date will the Commission terminate its lease and move to premises which are appropriate for

diplomatic relations and, hence, significantly less expensive?

5. Will

the Commission give an overview of

representations which have rented additional
its
accommodation since deconcentration and indicate the additional cost, broken down by represen-
tation?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(16 March 2004)

1.
The Commission would firstly like to recall the basic principle of devolution, namely that ‘anything
that can be better managed and decided on the spot, close to what is happening on the ground, should not
be managed or decided in Brussels. Deconcentration [SIC] therefore involves conferring on the Delegations
the powers of technical, financial and contractual management for implementing Community aid that were
formerly held by the Headquarters’. To enable them to meet their new responsibilities, the Delegations
must be strengthened, especially in terms of human resources.

In the case of India, the main areas involved are the following: trade and development of the private sector,
civil society, NGO (non-governmental organisation) projects and operations, institutional support, human
rights, refugees, reconstruction (e.g. Gujarat), environment and natural resources, social sectors such as
health, education and gender issues.

It should be noted that the Delegation in India also has regional responsibilities (Nepal, Sri Lanka and
Bhutan). It therefore takes on full financial and contractual responsibilities for the various countries it
covers. This is reflected in the number of staff.

Before devolution started in 2001, the Delegation in India consisted of 39 permanent posts, not including
those of detached national officials and young experts, which derive from partnership with the Member
States and are not permanent resources. In the wake of devolution, the Delegation in India now consists of
81 posts.

The 42 extra posts are broken down as follows:

(cid:1) 30 posts for the devolution of aid management (5 officials, 13 local agents, 11 local technical

assistance agents (ALATs) and 1 individual expert); (+ 30)

(cid:1) 3 local agent posts in the administration section to deal with the increased management burden

associated with an increase in staff (1 local agent and 2 ALATs); (+ 3)

(cid:1) 6 posts associated with the internalisation of technical assistance (2 local agents and 4 ALATs); (+ 6)

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Official Journal of the European Union

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(cid:1) 4 posts (3 officials and 1 ALAT) created through redeployment of existing resources for reinforced
monitoring of trade (1A) and political issues (1A + 1 ALAT) and for aid management (1A); (+ 4);

(cid:1) on the other hand, 1 A-official post was redeployed from the Delegation in India for the opening of

the Delegation in Kathmandu; (− 1).

2.
Several temporary solutions were examined to accommodate the additional staff. Of these, the most
favourable was renting 31 rooms (1 308 m2) at the Taj Mahal Hotel. Compared to other proposals, its
advantages were the absence of heavy investment in the installations and refurbishing of small temporary
offices, and, compared with the other hotels analysed, it provided the cheapest solution. The monthly
rent is INR 1 953 000 (EUR 34 036 equivalent to EUR 26 per m2 a month), including electricity, air-
conditioning and heating, housekeeping and regular maintenance, and it is located at 500 m from the
main Delegation’s premises. This compares favourably with the rent paid at present for the Delegation’s
main building (65 Golf Links) which is EUR 29 700 for 837 m2 (equivalent to EUR 35,5 per m2 a month),
excluding any operational or overhead expenses.

The lease contract started on 15 May 2002 for a six-month (renewable) period. A new contract started on
16 February 2003 under the same conditions, and has been renewed since.

3.
The renting of offices at the Taj Mahal Hotel is a temporary and provisional installation of part of the
Delegation’s staff. The main Delegation building, unsuitable for the present size of the Delegation, is still at
65 Golf Links.

4.
The temporary solution of renting additional offices at the Taj Mahal Hotel was foreseen to last
six months, i.e. until 15 August 2003. However, the difficulties existing in the real estate market, which
have increased because of Indo-Pakistani tensions, has made the research even more difficult, and the lease
was renewed for a further six months, i.e. until 15 February 2004. The last proposal for a permanent
solution identified at the end of 2003 was turned down because of security concerns of the building.

As the devolution exercise is still ongoing, it is not possible to provide details of the total costs
5.
concerned. Only when the whole process is finished will the Commission be able to give precise figures
concerning the actual budgetary impact of the increase of its staff in Delegations. As the Commission does
not rent separate office premises solely for devolution purposes, in many cases the increase in office space
requirements is covered through an extension of the building already rented.

(2004/C 84 E/0408)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0282/04

by Paulo Casaca (PSE) to the Commission

(30 January 2004)

Subject: Identification of the outermost regions on official Community maps

Article 299(2) of the Treaty identifies the outermost regions, which, naturally, are not to be confused with
the overseas countries and territories referred to in Article 299(3) and listed in Annex II, or with other
regions or countries having a different status and referred to elsewhere.

Nonetheless, the Official Publications Service of the European Communities, was still, in 2003 and under
the Commission’s copyright, perpetuating the error of referring to the outermost regions as ‘non-
continental and overseas territories of the Member States’’.

In the case of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (mentioned only summarily as ‘the Azores’), one of
the outermost regions with a geographical
location outside Europe, not one of the islands is actually
named, and the only town mentioned is Ponta Delgada: the historic towns of Angra do Heroísmo and
Horta are passed over.