Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL introducing, on the occasion of the accession of Croatia, special temporary measures for the recruitment of officials and temporary staff of the European Union
Date: 2012-08-17
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Croatia, European official, accession to the European Union, recruitment, servant (EU)

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Brussels, 17.8.2012  
COM(2012) 377 final 

2012/0224 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

introducing, on the occasion of the accession of Croatia, special temporary measures for 
the recruitment of officials and temporary staff of the European Union 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
  
 
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM 

1. 

CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL 

The attached draft of this Regulation concerns recruitment issues arising from the accession of 
Croatia to the European Union on 1 July 2013. 

In previous enlargements, specific measures were adopted to recruit nationals of the countries 
that were joining the Union. This required a Council Regulation temporarily derogating from 
the relevant provisions of the Staff Regulations1 concerning recruitment. 

The main features of the proposal are: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

The  proposed  expiry  date  for  the  derogation  from  the  Staff  Regulations  is  30  June 
2018.  

The  Regulation  provides  for  the  organisation  of  competitions  for  the  selection  of 
officials from Croatia on a national basis.  

Competitions for Croatian nationals may be held, and lists of successful candidates 
drawn  up,  before  the  accession  of  that  country  to  the  Union.  However,  a  country 
must  have  joined  the  Union  before  its  nationals  may  be  appointed  as  officials  to  a 
post with the Institutions. 

The Institutions have the possibility of derogating from the requirement to advertise 
vacant posts within the Institutions. They may, however, publish vacant posts if they 
so wish.  

Each Institution will determine the number of officials and temporary staff from the candidate 
country to be recruited under this derogation Regulation. 

2. 

RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND 
IMPACT ASSESSMENTS 

Not applicable. 

3. 

LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE PROPOSAL 

A derogation from Article 4(2) and (3), Article 7(1), Article 27, and Article 29(1)(a) and (b) 
of the Staff Regulations is proposed, as is a derogation from the Conditions of Employment of 
Other  Servants  of  the  European  Union  in  so  far  as  they  provide  for  application  of  these 
provisions of the Staff Regulations to the recruitment of temporary staff. 

1 

EN 

For the case of the 2004 enlargement, see OJ L 67, 5.3.2004, p. 1. 
For the case of the 2007 enlargement, see OJ L 335, 1.12.2006, p. 5. 

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2012/0224 (COD) 

Proposal for a 

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL 

introducing, on the occasion of the accession of Croatia, special temporary measures for 
the recruitment of officials and temporary staff of the European Union 

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  on  the  Functioning  of  the  European  Union,  and  in  particular 
Article 336 thereof, 

Having  regard  to  the  proposal  from  the  European  Commission,  submitted  following 
consultations with the Staff Regulations Committee, 

After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national Parliaments, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Justice2, 

Having regard to the opinion of the Court of Auditors3, 

Acting in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, 

Whereas: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

On  the  occasion  of  the  accession  of  Croatia  on  1  July  2013,  special  temporary 
measures should be adopted to derogate from the Staff Regulations of Officials of the 
European Union (hereinafter Staff Regulations) and the Conditions of Employment of 
Other Servants of the European Union (hereinafter Conditions of Employment).  

Given the relative size of the country acceding and the number of persons potentially 
involved,  these  measures,  albeit  temporary,  should  remain  in  force  for  a  substantial 
period. 30 June 2018 appears to be the most suitable expiry date in this regard. 

Given the need to make the planned recruitments as soon as possible after accession, 
this Regulation should be adopted before the actual accession date, 

2 
3 

OJ C , , p. . 
OJ C , , p. . 

EN 

3 

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HAVE ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:  

Article 1 

1. 

2. 

1. 

2. 

Notwithstanding  Article  4(2)  and  (3),  Article  7(1),  Article  27  and  Article  29(1)(a) 
and (b) of the Staff Regulations, vacant posts may be filled from the actual date of 
accession  of  the  country  concerned  until  30  June  2018  by  the  appointment  of 
Croatian  nationals,  within  the  limit  of  the  number  of  posts  allotted  and  taking  into 
account the budgetary discussions. 

Appointments shall be made from the actual date of accession and, except for senior 
officials  (Directors-General  or  their  equivalent  in  grade  AD 16  or  AD 15  and 
Directors  or  their  equivalent  in  grade  AD 15  or  AD 14),  following  competitions 
based on either qualifications or tests, or both qualifications and tests, organised as 
specified in Annex III to the Staff Regulations. 

Article 2 

The  derogation  in  Article  1(1)  of  this  Regulation  applies  mutatis  mutandis  to  the 
recruitment of Croatian nationals as temporary staff. 

Appointments shall be made from the actual date of accession. 

This  Regulation  shall  enter  into  force  on  the  day  following  that  of  its  publication  in  the 
Official Journal of the European Union. 

Article 3 

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 

Done at Brussels,  

For the European Parliament 
The President 

For the Council 
The President 

EN 

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