REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION on the use of contract staff in 2015
Date: 2017-06-22
Institutions: Directorate-General for Human Resources and Security, European Commission
Subjects: EU statistics, contract staff, employment statistics, servant (EU), staff regulations (EU)

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 22.6.2017  COM(2017) 334 final   REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION on the use of contract staff in 2015  
 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

5.1. 

5.2. 

Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 

Trend in contract staff numbers in the Commission since 2004 .................................. 5 

Breakdown by gender and by function group of Commission's contract staff ............ 7 

Breakdown by nationality of Commission's contract staff .......................................... 9 

Breakdown by DG of Commission's contract staff .................................................... 14 

Breakdown by gender and by DG .............................................................................. 15 

Breakdown by contract type....................................................................................... 16 

5.2.1  Contract staff 3a ......................................................................................................... 16 

5.2.2  Contract staff 3b ......................................................................................................... 17 

6. 

6.1. 

Breakdown of contract staff between the other institutions and agencies ................. 18 

Breakdown of contract staff among the other institutions ......................................... 19 

6.1.1  Breakdown by gender and by function group in the other institutions ...................... 20 

6.1.2  Breakdown by nationality in the other institutions .................................................... 20 

6.2. 

Breakdown of contract staff in the agencies .............................................................. 21 

6.2.1  Breakdown by gender and by function group in the agencies ................................... 22 

6.2.2  Breakdown by nationality in the agencies ................................................................. 24 

2 

 
 
 
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION 

This report fulfils the obligation arising from Article 79(3) of the Conditions of Employment of Other 
Servants of the European Union (CEOS), which provides that ‘the Commission shall provide a yearly 
report  on  the  use  of  contract  staff  including  numbers  of  staff,  level  and  type  of  posts,  geographical 
balance and budgetary resources per function group’. It offers a detailed snapshot of the contract staff 
employed in the European institutions at 31 December 2015. 

This report includes data for 55 different entities: a) 10 European institutions (including the European 
External  Action  Service  (EEAS),  in  operation  since  1 January  2011);  and  b)  45  agencies  or  Joint 
Undertakings  as  defined  in  Article  1(a)  of  the  Staff Regulations.  The  data  for  the  Commission  are 
more  detailed  and  include  staff  financed  from  operational  and  research  lines,  plus  staff  working  in 
administrative offices, delegations, representations and the Joint Research Centre (JRC). 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  the  budgetary  data  (sent  each  year  with  the  draft  budget  to  the  Budgetary 
Authority  -  Working  Document,  parts  II  and  III)  show  contract  staff  numbers  at  the  time  when  the 
draft budget is presented (including contract staff recruited using assigned revenue), i.e.: a statement of 
the position at 1 April of year N-1 (where N is the year of the draft budget), budgetary implementation 
in year N-2 and requests for appropriations with estimates of full-time equivalents (FTE) for year N. 
This is why some differences appear in the numbers for contract staff, depending on the data source. 
Since  several  budget  lines  include  appropriations  for  external  personnel  without  establishing  a 
distinction  between  the  diffferent  categories  of  that  personnel,  the  budget  figures  convey  the  best 
possible estimates based on the likely average costs and the repartition between categories.  

The category of contract staff was created in 2004 as part of the reform of the Staff Regulations. Since 
then,  contract  staff  have  made  a  useful  contribution  to  the  work  of  the  institutions  by  carrying  out 
administrative support activities at a lower cost and by bringing in skills not always readily available 
within the institutions. 

Articles 3a and 3b of the CEOS define the role of contract staff and functions that they may perform.  

Contract staff 3a can be engaged, on either a part time or full-time basis in a post not included in the 
establishment plan:  

 

 

for the Institutions' services: to carry out exclusively manual or administrative support tasks in 
function group I,  
for the EU Representations and Delegations, the Agencies  and other entities: to  perform the 
functions specified in Article 80.2 of the CEOS in function groups I, II, III and IV.  

This staff benefit from a contract that can be converted into a contract of indefinite duration, after a 
first renewal. 

Contract staff 3b type are employed: 

 

 

to perform tasks other than those referred to in article 3a of the CEOS in a post not included in 
the establishment plan, or 
to replace an official or temporary staff member who is temporarily unable to perform his or 
her duties.  

This staff are engaged for short periods, from a minimum of 3 months to a maximum of 6 years. 

3 

 
 
 
Article  80  of  the  CEOS  establishes  a  link  between  each  function  group  (FG)  and  the  duties  that 
contract staff may perform: 

Function 
group 

Grade 

Tasks 

IV 

13 to 18 

Administrative, advisory, linguistic and equivalent technical tasks, 
performed under the supervision of officials or temporary staff 

III 

8 to 12 

Executive tasks, drafting, accountancy and other equivalent technical tasks, 
performed under the supervision of officials or temporary staff 

II 

I 

4 to 7 

Clerical and secretarial tasks, office management and other equivalent 
tasks, performed under the supervision of officials or temporary staff 

1 to 3 

Manual and administrative support service tasks, performed under the 
supervision of officials or temporary staff. 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
2. 

TREND IN CONTRACT STAFF NUMBERS IN THE COMMISSION SINCE 2004 

On 31 december 2015, 45 Agencies or Joint undertakings and 10 Institutions were employing around 
11  700  contract  staff  members.  This  total  represents  an  increase  of  5.6%  compared  to  2014.  About 
57 % of contract agents were employed by the Commission in 2015, against 58 % in 2014 and 2013. 
This relative decrease in the share of Commission's contract staff is attributable to the higher increase 
verified in other institutions and agencies: +8.9% against +3.3% for the Commission. 

The breakdown between institutions and agencies is examined further down in this report. 

The trend within the Commission since 2004 is as follows1: 

Table 1  

Trend within the Commission 

7000

6000

5000

4000

3000

2000

1000

0

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

The  initial  rise  in  contract  staff  numbers  working  at  the  Commission  is  due  to  a)  the  mere 
implementation  of  the  2004  statutory  provisions,  implying  the  gradual  replacement  of  the  former 
categories of auxiliary staff (nearly 3 000 in 2003) and D-level officials and temporary agents, and b) 
the conversion of permanent official posts into appropriations for contract staff in the administrative 
offices.  

Furthermore,  contract  staff  were  also  taken  on  as  temporary  replacements  for  permanent  staff,  as 
provided for in Article 3b of the CEOS, in order to ensure effective business continuity. 

For the abovementioned reasons, contract staff numbers grew each year up to 2009. 

From 2010 to 2013, the number of contract staff remained stable, with a slight decrease due to several 
concurrent  reasons  (e.g.,  delay  in  finalisation  of  the  lists  of  suitable  candidates  in  2010,  transfer  of 
staff to the EEAS at the time of its creation,  etc.)  

1 Source: Commission HR analytics platform. 

5 

2005200620072008200920102011201220132014201527874966549457566018597959775921580764406652 
 
 
 
                                                            
As  of  2014,  with  the  entry  into  force  of  the  new  Staff  Regulations,  the  term  of  employment  of  3b 
contract staff has been extented to a maximum of six years. This implied that many contract staff who 
had already completed three years of service and were actually continuing to work for the Commission 
as agency staff were able to be re-engaged for a further contractual period, allowing the Commission 
to  benefit  from  contract  staff  already  trained  and  operational.  This  increased  the  number  of  contract 
staff,  while  reducing  the  number  of  interim  agency  staff2  (paid  upon  the  same  budgetary 
appropriations).  

In 2015, the small increase of contract staff in the Commission is mainly due to a change in the Joint 
Research Center's policy for engagement of non-permanent scientific staff, from grant holders under 
national law contracts to contract agents FGIV. 

2 In particular, the number of agency staff fell from 415 on 1 July 2013 to 171 on 1 July 2015. 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
3. 

BREAKDOWN  BY  GENDER  AND  BY  FUNCTION  GROUP  OF COMMISSION'S  CONTRACT 
STAFF 

The breakdown of contract staff  by gender, function group and grade is shown in the table below. 

Table 2A  

Breakdown by gender, FG and grade in 20153 

1000

900

800

700

600

500

400

300

200

100

0

M F

3 Source: Commission HR analytics platform. 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Table 2B 

On  31  December  2015,  6  652  contract  staff  were  serving  at  the  Commission.  The  largest  function 
group is FGII, accounting for almost 37 % of contract staff in 2015 - a small decrease compared with 
the share attained in the previous year, 39%. Most staff in this group carry out secretarial or similar 
duties, while others are responsible for childcare.  

The overall split between men and women has remained stable over the years. In 2015, gender balance 
was achieved in FGIV. The gender breakdown in the other FGs has been stable since 2011. We find a 
much larger proportion of women in FGII (83.5 % in 2015) and, to a lesser extent, in FGIII (60 % in 
2015). In FGI, in contrast, men predominate (63.7 % in 2015). 

8 

2015TOTAL%FGIV18 6567,7% 3132,3% 964,5%FGIV17 9766,9% 4833,1% 1456,7%FGIV16 20859,4% 14240,6% 35016,2%FGIV15 35049,1% 36350,9% 71333,1%FGIV14 30042,1% 41257,9% 71233,0%FGIV13 5941,8% 8258,2% 1416,5%GFIV107950,0%107850,0%215732,4%FGIII12 2252,4% 2047,6% 420,9%FGIII11 5749,1% 5950,9% 1162,6%FGIII10 11840,7% 17259,3% 2906,5%FGIII09 18036,1% 31863,9% 49811,1%FGIII08 10138,5% 16161,5% 2625,8%FGIII 47839,6% 73060,4%1 20818,2%FGII07 2213,6% 14086,4% 1623,6%FGII06 9813,4% 63486,6% 73216,3%FGII05 19118,2% 86181,8%1 05223,4%FGII04 9518,6% 41581,4% 51011,3%FGII 40616,5%2 05083,5%2 45636,9%FGI03 10769,9% 4630,1% 1533,4%FGI02 36662,2% 22237,8% 58813,1%FGI01 5662,2% 3437,8% 902,0%FGI 52963,7% 30236,3% 83112,5%2 49237,5%4 16062,5%6 652100,0%FGITOTALMFFGIVFGIIIFGII 
 
 
4. 

BREAKDOWN BY NATIONALITY OF COMMISSION'S CONTRACT STAFF 

It is worth noting that, as per officials and temporary agents, engagement of contract staff is carried 
out on the basis of the required profile and the applicants' abilities and language knowledge, without 
any definition of national quotas. 

In 2015, all Member States were represented in all function groups with the exception of Austrians in 
FGI. Nationalities most represented among contract staff are, in descending order, Belgians, Italians, 
French,  Spaniards  and  Romanians,  followed  by  Greeks  and  Poles.  The  share  of  the  first  four 
nationalities has been the same since 2005 (around 60%). The UK and Germany, like Poland and the 
Netherlands,  are  rather  under-represented  in  relation  to  their  population.  Conversely,  Belgium  and 
Italy are over-represented in relation to their population.  

Following the accession of Croatia to the European Union, on 1 July 2013, 42 Croatian contract staff 
worked at the Commission on 31 December 2015. 

The  breakdown  by  nationality  is  influenced  by  a  combination  of  factors,  in  particular  geographical 
proximity  to  the  location  of  the  European  institution’s  headquarters  (for  the  Commission,  mainly 
Brussels, Luxembourg and Ispra), salary levels and the duration of the proposed contracts. Candidates 
are more likely to accept a post with a fixed-term contract if they are resident at or near the site of the 
institution  offering  them  a  job.  Indeed,  it  can  be  hard  for  candidates  with  families  to  leave  their 
countries  of  origin  and  set  up  home  at  the  institution’s  headquarters  for  a  relatively  short  period  of 
time (on the basis of the general implementing provisions adopted on the basis of the article 79.2 of 
the CEOS, the duration of the first contract is of just one year). As reported in the tables below, this is 
in particular true for contract staff FGI and FGII, while contract staff FGIV have a less geographically 
imbalanced composition.  

Table 3A  

Breakdown by nationality and gender of Commission's contract staff in 20154 

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0

BE IT FR ES RO EL PL DE PT BG UK HU NL LT SK FI AT CZ SE IE Sl HR LV EE DK CY MT LU

4 Source: Commission HR analytics platform. 

9 

M

F

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Table 3B 

10 

2015TOTAL%AT2851,9%2648,1%540,8%BE43032,3%90167,7%1.33120,0%BG6639,5%10160,5%1672,5%CY1344,8%1655,2%290,4%CZ1630,8%3669,2%520,8%DE9741,6%13658,4%2333,5%DK1550,0%1550,0%300,5%EE1029,4%2470,6%340,5%EL14443,6%18656,4%3305,0%ES24639,1%38360,9%6299,5%FI2641,9%3658,1%620,9%FR30236,8%51863,2%82012,3%HR1228,6%3071,4%420,6%HU3934,5%7465,5%1131,7%IE2142,9%2857,1%490,7%IT53641,7%74858,3%1.28419,3%LT3038,0%4962,0%791,2%LU466,7%233,3%60,1%LV1435,0%2665,0%400,6%MT327,3%872,7%110,2%NL3745,1%4554,9%821,2%PL8832,4%18467,6%2724,1%PT8441,0%12159,0%2053,1%RO11429,4%27470,6%3885,8%SE1834,6%3465,4%520,8%SK2335,9%4164,1%641,0%Sl2147,7%2352,3%440,7%UK4935,5%8964,5%1382,1%Other650,0%650,0%120,2%TOTAL2.49237,5%4.16062,5%6.652100,0%MF 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table 4 below gives an analytical breakdown by FG, nationality and gender.  

Table 4  

Contract staff by gender, function group and nationality5 

FGIV 

5 Source: Commission HR analytics platform. 

11 

2015TOTAL%AT1441,2%2058,8%341,6%BE11155,2%9044,8%2019,3%BG1929,2%4670,8%653,0%CY642,9%857,1%140,6%CZ741,2%1058,8%170,8%DE7351,0%7049,0%1436,6%DK642,9%857,1%140,6%EE538,5%861,5%130,6%EL5556,1%4343,9%984,5%ES11248,5%11951,5%23110,7%FI1242,9%1657,1%281,3%FR19256,1%15043,9%34215,9%HR1161,1%738,9%180,8%HU1946,3%2253,7%411,9%IE945,0%1155,0%200,9%IT23954,6%19945,4%43820,3%LT840,0%1260,0%200,9%LU0,0%2100,0%20,1%LV333,3%666,7%90,4%MT240,0%360,0%50,2%NL2356,1%1843,9%411,9%PL1522,4%5277,6%673,1%PT2536,2%4463,8%693,2%RO3443,0%4557,0%793,7%SE1451,9%1348,1%271,3%SK1040,0%1560,0%251,2%Sl631,6%1368,4%190,9%UK4365,2%2334,8%663,1%Other654,5%545,5%110,5%Total107950,0%107850,0%2157100,0%FM 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
FGIII 

12 

2015TOTAL%AT440,0% 660,0%100,8%BE8756,5% 6743,5%15412,7%BG3280,0% 820,0%403,3%CY250,0% 250,0%40,3%CZ777,8% 222,2%90,7%DE3066,7% 1533,3%453,7%DK228,6% 571,4%70,6%EE583,3% 116,7%60,5%EL4552,3% 4147,7%867,1%ES7763,6% 4436,4%12110,0%FI555,6% 444,4%90,7%FR7856,9% 5943,1%13711,3%HR1076,9% 323,1%131,1%HU1765,4% 934,6%262,2%IE342,9% 457,1%70,6%IT13356,4% 10343,6%23619,5%LT1352,0% 1248,0%252,1%LU1100,0% 0,0%10,1%LV969,2% 430,8%131,1%MT1100,0% 0,0%10,1%NL535,7% 964,3%141,2%PL4074,1% 1425,9%544,5%PT2066,7% 1033,3%302,5%RO6668,0% 3132,0%978,0%SE1173,3% 426,7%151,2%SK763,6% 436,4%110,9%Sl666,7% 333,3%90,7%UK1450,0% 1450,0%282,3%Other0 00,0%Total73060,4% 47839,6%1208100,0%F M 
 
 
 
 
 
FGII 

13 

2015TOTAL%AT 880,0% 220,0%100,4%BE 59388,4% 7811,6%67127,3%BG 5083,3% 1016,7%602,4%CY 880,0% 220,0%100,4%CZ 2187,5% 312,5%241,0%DE 3280,0% 820,0%401,6%DK 685,7% 114,3%70,3%EE 13100,0% 0,0%130,5%EL 7168,3% 3331,7%1044,2%ES 16882,0% 3718,0%2058,3%FI 1890,0% 210,0%200,8%FR 22282,8% 4617,2%26810,9%HR 990,0% 110,0%100,4%HU 3788,1% 511,9%421,7%IE 1593,8% 16,3%160,7%IT 31578,8% 8521,3%40016,3%LT 2884,8% 515,2%331,3%LU 1100,0% 0,0%10,0%LV 1487,5% 212,5%160,7%MT 4100,0% 0,0%40,2%NL 1669,6% 730,4%230,9%PL 10784,9% 1915,1%1265,1%PT 5885,3% 1014,7%682,8%RO 16782,7% 3517,3%2028,2%SE 888,9% 111,1%90,4%SK 2492,3% 27,7%261,1%Sl 1184,6% 215,4%130,5%UK 2676,5% 823,5%341,4%Other 0,0% 1100,0%10,0%Total2 05083,5% 40616,5%2456100,0%MF  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
FGI 

5. 

BREAKDOWN BY DG OF COMMISSION'S CONTRACT STAFF 

In  the  following  section,  the  data  on  contract  staff  is  presented  by  DG.  There  are  significative 
differences between the DGs, largely because of the nature of their work. DG DEVCO, for example, 
employs  mostly  FGIV  responsible  for  aid  and  international  cooperation  or  working  as  programme 
managers,  both  at  headquarters  and  in  the  Delegations6.  OIB,  on  the  other  hand,  employs  mostly 
administrative assistants and childcare workers in FGII.  

6 It is worth noting that following the creation of the DG NEAR in 2015, approx. 200 contract staff working in the neighbourhood policy was 
transferred from DG DEVCO to DG NEAR 

14 

2015TOTAL%AT00,0% 0,0%00,0%BE11036,1% 19563,9%30536,7%BG00,0% 2100,0%20,2%CY00,0% 1100,0%10,1%CZ150,0% 150,0%20,2%DE120,0% 480,0%50,6%DK150,0% 150,0%20,2%EE150,0% 150,0%20,2%EL1535,7% 2764,3%425,1%ES2636,1% 4663,9%728,7%FI120,0% 480,0%50,6%FR2635,6% 4764,4%738,8%HR00,0% 1100,0%10,1%HU125,0% 375,0%40,5%IE116,7% 583,3%60,7%IT6229,5% 14870,5%21025,3%LT00,0% 1100,0%10,1%LU00,0% 2100,0%20,2%LV00,0% 2100,0%20,2%MT1100,0% 0,0%10,1%NL125,0% 375,0%40,5%PL2288,0% 312,0%253,0%PT1847,4% 2052,6%384,6%RO770,0% 330,0%101,2%SE1100,0% 0,0%10,1%SK00,0% 2100,0%20,2%Sl00,0% 3100,0%30,4%UK660,0% 440,0%101,2%Other00,0% 0,0%00,0%Total 30236,3% 52963,7%831100,0%FM 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
5.1. 

Breakdown by gender and by DG7 

Table 5  

Breakdown by gender, DG and two clusters of FGs 

7 Source: Commission HR analytics platform. 

15 

MFTotal%MFTotal%%SG 3 6 012,7% 22 40 6287,3%711,1%SJ 2 2 417,4% 3 16 1982,6%230,3%COMM 9 32 4111,2% 99 227 32688,8%3675,5%EPSC 2 0 240,0% 0 3 360,0%50,1%ECFIN 6 5 1130,6% 11 14 2569,4%360,5%GROW 25 16 4128,1% 30 75 10571,9%1462,2%COMP 6 10 1625,4% 23 24 4774,6%630,9%EMPL 7 16 2316,1% 31 89 12083,9%1432,1%AGRI 17 22 3939,4% 19 41 6060,6%991,5%MOVE 4 7 1114,3% 18 48 6685,7%771,2%ENER 5 8 1323,2% 10 33 4376,8%560,8%ENV 4 12 1625,8% 11 35 4674,2%620,9%CLIMA 3 2 526,3% 2 12 1473,7%190,3%CNECT 29 28 5725,6% 46 120 16674,4%2233,4%RTD 76 84 16035,1% 98 198 29664,9%4566,9%JRC 241 179 42053,8% 126 234 36046,2%78011,7%MARE 14 11 2541,7% 8 27 3558,3%600,9%FISMA 1 0 14,2% 5 18 2395,8%240,4%REGIO 12 15 2720,9% 28 74 10279,1%1291,9%TAXUD 2 0 211,1% 5 11 1688,9%180,3%EAC 4 8 1218,2% 23 31 5481,8%661,0%SANTE 6 22 2826,9% 17 59 7673,1%1041,6%HOME 3 2 515,2% 9 19 2884,8%330,5%JUST 6 7 1321,7% 14 33 4778,3%600,9%FPI 22 28 5057,5% 9 28 3742,5%871,3%TRADE 4 4 817,4% 7 31 3882,6%460,7%NEAR 172 164 33670,9% 50 88 13829,1%4747,1%DEVCO 334 306 64074,2% 66 157 22325,8%86313,0%ECHO 5 8 1316,7% 14 51 6583,3%781,2%ESTAT 13 16 2930,5% 25 41 6669,5%951,4%HR 2 4 64,0% 53 90 14396,0%1492,2%DIGIT 11 0 1134,4% 4 17 2165,6%320,5%BUDG 2 2 48,0% 12 34 4692,0%500,8%IAS 0 1 111,1% 0 8 888,9%90,1%OLAF 4 0 411,4% 12 19 3188,6%350,5%SCIC 0 00,0% 24 31 55100,0%550,8%DGT 19 36 5547,8% 18 42 6052,2%1151,7%OP 0 0 00,0% 7 11 18100,0%180,3%OIB 3 15 182,3% 244 521 76597,7%78311,8%PMO 0 00,0% 125 285 410100,0%4106,2%OIL 1 0 10,5% 78 118 19699,5%1973,0%EPSO 0 0 00,0% 7 18 25100,0%250,4%CdP-OSP 0 0 00,0% 0 11 11100,0%110,2%Total1 0791 0782 15732,4%1 4133 0824 49567,6%6652100,0%FGIVFG I-II-IIITOTAL (ALL FG)2015 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
5.2. 

Breakdown by contract type8 

5.2.1  Contract staff 3a 

Table 6  

3a contract staff by FG, gender and DG 

8 Source: Commission HR analytics platform. 

16 

MFTOTALMFTOTALMFTOTALMFTOTALTOTAL%SG 11 8 19 0 0 0 190,6%COMM 32 8 40 33 143 176 26 66 92 9 32 41 34911,2%EPSC 1 1 0 0 0 10,0%ECFIN 3 2 5 0 0 0 50,2%GROW 7 11 18 0 0 0 180,6%COMP 9 2 11 0 0 0 110,4%EMPL 8 18 26 0 0 0 260,8%AGRI 6 8 14 0 0 2 1 3 170,5%MOVE 4 8 12 0 0 0 120,4%ENER 5 9 14 0 0 0 140,4%ENV 2 3 5 0 0 0 50,2%CNECT 14 6 20 0 0 0 200,6%RTD 23 8 31 0 0 1 1 321,0%JRC 54 8 62 0 0 0 621,9%MARE 3 13 16 0 0 5 1 6 220,8%FISMA 2 5 7 0 0 0 70,4%REGIO 7 5 12 0 0 0 120,4%TAXUD 1 1 2 0 0 0 20,1%EAC 14 1 15 0 0 0 150,5%SANTE 3 7 10 0 0 0 100,3%HOME 1 1 0 0 0 1JUST 5 3 8 0 0 0 80,2%FPI 2 2 0 3 6 9 18 19 37 481,5%TRADE 5 4 9 2 2 0 2 2 4 150,4%NEAR 7 10 17 0 13 5 18 138 115 253 2883,9%DEVCO 7 14 21 0 27 14 41 286 244 530 59223,2%ECHO 1 5 6 0 0 0 60,2%ESTAT 3 5 8 0 0 0 80,3%HR 29 17 46 0 0 0 461,5%DIGIT 1 5 6 0 0 0 60,2%BUDG 7 14 21 0 0 0 210,7%IAS 0 0 0 0 00,0%OLAF 8 2 10 0 0 0 100,3%SCIC 19 6 25 0 0 0 250,9%DGT 8 5 13 0 0 0 130,5%OIB 140 48 188 72 436 508 32 37 69 3 15 18 78324,8%PMO 37 13 50 51 228 279 35 45 80 1 1 41013,0%OIL 41 16 57 24 93 117 13 9 22 1 1 1976,2%EPSO 3 3 4 16 20 2 2 0 250,9%TOTAL 530 301 831 184 9181 102 149 184 333 464 431 8953 161100,0%2015FGIFGIIFGIIIFGIV 
 
 
 
  
 
                                                            
5.2.2  Contract staff 3b 

Table 7  

3b contract staff by FG, gender and DG 

17 

MFtotalMFtotalMFtotalTotal%SG 6 21 27 5 10 15 4 6 10 521,1%SJ 1 16 17 2 2 4 2 2 230,7%COMM 6 8 14 2 2 4 0 180,4%EPSC 1 1 1 1 2 2 40,2%ECFIN 1 6 7 7 6 13 6 5 11 311,2%GROW 7 46 53 16 18 34 25 16 41 1283,6%COMP 5 11 16 9 11 20 6 10 16 521,5%EMPL 4 39 43 19 32 51 7 16 23 1172,8%AGRI 4 24 28 9 9 18 15 21 36 822,5%MOVE 2 24 26 12 16 28 4 7 11 651,8%ENER 1 15 16 4 10 14 5 8 13 431,3%ENV 6 31 37 3 1 4 4 12 16 571,6%CLIMA 2 11 13 1 1 3 2 5 190,6%CNECT 11 78 89 21 36 57 29 28 57 2037,0%RTD 21 122 143 54 68 122 76 83 159 42413,8%JRC 43 183 226 29 42 71 241 179 420 71715,8%MARE 2 8 10 3 5 8 9 11 20 381,2%FISMA 1 10 11 2 3 5 1 1 171,4%REGIO 5 36 41 16 33 49 12 15 27 1172,6%TAXUD 3 6 9 1 4 5 2 2 160,4%EAC 2 14 16 7 16 23 4 8 12 511,3%SANTE 4 39 43 10 13 23 6 22 28 943,5%HOME 2 11 13 7 7 14 3 2 5 320,7%JUST 4 19 23 5 11 16 6 7 13 520,9%FPI 5 5 6 15 21 4 9 13 391,1%TRADE 19 19 2 6 8 2 2 4 311,0%NEAR 13 29 42 17 44 61 34 49 83 1864,0%DEVCO 9 66 75 23 63 86 48 62 110 27110,7%ECHO 3 20 23 10 26 36 5 8 13 721,7%ESTAT 11 24 35 11 13 24 12 16 28 872,8%HR 20 64 84 4 9 13 2 4 6 1032,7%DIGIT 9 9 3 3 6 11 11 260,7%BUDG 1 16 17 4 4 8 2 2 4 290,8%IAS 7 7 1 1 1 1 90,3%OLAF 2 12 14 2 5 7 4 4 250,7%SCIC 5 25 30 0 0 300,9%DGT 9 36 45 1 1 2 19 36 55 1023,7%OP 3 7 10 4 4 8 0 180,6%CdP-OSP 11 11 0 0 110,3%Total 2191 1291 348 330 551 881 615 6471 2623 491100,0%2015FGIIFGIIIFGIV 
 
 
 
 
6. 

BREAKDOWN  OF  CONTRACT  STAFF  BETWEEN  THE  OTHER  INSTITUTIONS  AND 
AGENCIES 

The number of contract staff in the other institutions and agencies increased by 8.9 % in 2015, from   
4 624 in 2014 to 5 031 in 2015 (following an increase by 10.6% in 2014).  

Table 8 

Trends  in  the  breakdown  of  contract  staff  between  the  other  institutions  and 
agencies since 20109 

9 Source: Eurostat and EU institutions. 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
6.1. 

Breakdown of contract staff among the other institutions10 

The number of contract staff in the other institutions remained stable when compared to 2014.  

Table 9  

Breakdown of contract staff among the other institutions in 2015 

2% 

2% 

3% 

6% 

10% 

17% 

1%  0% 

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

59% 

EUROPEAN EXTERNAL ACTION
SERVICE

COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN
UNION

COURT OF JUSTICE

COURT OF AUDITORS

COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL COMMITTEE

EUROPEAN DATA PROTECTION
SUPERVISOR

10 Source: Eurostat and EU institutions. 

19 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
6.1.1 

Breakdown by gender and by function group in the other institutions11 

Table 10 

6.1.2 

Breakdown by nationality in the other institutions12 

Table 11 

11 Source: Eurostat and EU institutions. 
12 Source: Eurostat and EU institutions. 

20 

FMTotalFMTotalFMTotalFMTotalCOMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS71623909314731046COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION22981203073710414251338209COURT OF AUDITORS5364162803363961COURT OF JUSTICE572777916179268311130EUROPEAN DATA PROTECTION SUPERVISOR0113034451614EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE913221131412332544EUROPEAN EXTERNAL ACTION SERVICE15163112516141444791336194357EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN1231011012027EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT22351874114033173607513594751691218Grand Total2877721059332704021401412811831613442086TotalFGIFGIIFGIIIFGIVATBEBGCYCZDEDKEEESFIFRGBGRHRHUIEITLTLULVMTNLPLPTROSESISKautresGrand TotalCOMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS1211144331413411246COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION172464222211329351281422756223209COURT OF AUDITORS121321712116612911461COURT OF JUSTICE1212411214324231201514374321130EUROPEAN DATA PROTECTION SUPERVISOR531514EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE12263618121244EUROPEAN EXTERNAL ACTION SERVICE894813161363678711447315131212114357EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN1211117EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT532012272636811351948121351319653734465926811218Grand Total15530254195671015864992580202312244131811619648484101217152086 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
6.2. 

Breakdown of contract staff in the agencies 

There has been a steady increase in the number of contract staff in the agencies. The numbers are as 
follows:  

As  regards  decentralised  agencies  and  joint  undertakings,  there  has  been  a  sharp  increase  of  the 
number  of  contract  staff  in  2015  as  compared  to  2014  (14%).  This  follows  the  decisions  of  the 
budgetary  authority  to  assign  increased  resources  (thus  financing  increased  staffing  levels),  in 
particular to those agencies and joint undertakings which have been recently created or have recently 
been assigned additional tasks.  

As regards the executive agencies, this increase is mainly due to the engagement of contract staff to 
perform new tasks deriving from the extension of their mandate to cover the management of the new 
generation of spending programmes under the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework. This was 
made possible, among other factors, by the launching in 2015 of a dedicated selection procedure for 
contract agents FGIII and IV that covered the specific needs of the executive agencies (finances and 
project management profiles). In 2015, the Commission further delegated the implementation tasks to 
these agencies to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of programme management. The staffing levels 
in  the  agencies  are  in  line  with  the  Commission’s  'delegation  package'  approved  for  the  2014-2020 
period.  

Table 12  

Breakdown of contract staff by type of agency in 201513 

1800

1600

1400

1200

1000

800

600

400

200

0

Decentralised agencies

Executive agencies

Joint undertakings & EIT

2012

2013

2014

2015

In  2015,  52 %  of  contract  staff  were  employed  by  the  executive  agencies  and  41 %  by  the 
decentralised  agencies.  The  remainder  (7 %)  are  employed  by  Joint  undertakings  and  the  European 
Institute of Innovation and Technology. 

The  increase  in  the  number  of  contract  staff  between  2010  and  2015  reflects  the  increase  in  the 
number of agencies and, specifically for the executive agencies, increased tasks.  

13 Source: Eurostat and Sysper. 

21 

year201020112012201320142015Staff193322142408252225822945 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
6.2.1 

Breakdown by gender and by function group in the agencies 

The  breakdown  by  function  group  is  relatively  uniform  between  the  decentralised  and  executive 
agencies  and  has  remained  stable  since  2012.  The  Joint  undertakings  have  slightly  increased  the 
number  of  contract  agents  in  FGIV  in  order  to  manage  a  growing  level  of  tasks  assigned  under 
Horizon 2020. 

Table 13  

Breakdown by function group in the agencies and Joint undertakings in 
201514 

100%

80%

60%

40%

20%

0%

FGIV

FGIII

FGII

FGI

Decentralised agencies

Joint undertakings & EIT

Executive agencies

14 Source: Eurostat and Sysper. 

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 Table 14 

 Breakdown by function group for each agency or Joint undertaking in 2015 

23 

Grand TotalFM TotalFMTotalFMTotalFMTotal93645248543022581724302361844201197ACERAGENCY FOR THE COOPERATION AND ENERGY REGULATORS042623517819BEREC OfficeOFFICE OF THE BODY OF THE EUROPEAN REGULATOS FOR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS0011112CdTTRANSLATION CENTRE FOR THE BODIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION04372261716CEDEFOPEUROPEAN CENTRE  FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING145911044831427CEPOLEUROPEAN POLICE COLLEGE  06281109EASAEUROPEAN AVIATION SAFETY AGENCY003321548182680EASOEUROPEAN ASYLUM SUPPORT OFFICE1121342654919EBAEUROPEAN BANKING AUTHORITY0092111161728ECDCEUROPEAN CENTRE  FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL228192493327113882ECHAEUROPEAN CHEMICALS AGENCY33614418242852991894EEAEUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY0911052716153148EFCACOMMUNITY FISHERIES AND CONTROL AGENCY02211204EFSAEUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY112753222432195188EIGEEUROPEAN INSTITUTE FOR GENDER EQUALITY0222351129EIOPAEUROPEAN INSURANCE AND OCCUPATIONAL PENSIONS AUTHORITY01642041536934EMAEUROPEAN AGENCY FOR THE EVALUATION OF MEDICINAL PRODUCTS05455910414401555128EMCDDA EUROPEAN MONITORING CENTRE FOR DRUGS AND DRUG ADDICTION3391105271121EMSATHE EUROPEAN MARITIME SAFETY AGENCY221041423535829ENISAEUROPEAN NETWORK AND INFORMATION SECURITY AGENCY0044835816ERAEUROPEAN RAILWAY AGENCY123332246616ESMAEUROPEAN SECURITIES AND MARKETS AUTHORITY0011516851329ETFEUROPEAN TRAINING FOUNDATION 0831118220821041eu-LISAAGENCY FOR THE OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT OF LARGE-SCALE IT SYSTEMS IN THE AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY AND JUSTICE001145910EU-OSHAEUROPEAN AGENCY FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK119110921132527EUROFOUNDEUROPEAN FOUNDATION FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS1122352212312EUROJUSTEUROPEAN BODY FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF JUDICIAL COOPERATION061741532517EUROPOLEUROPEAN POLICE OFFICE11164202749769918115FRONTEXEUROPEAN AGENCY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OPERATIONAL COOPERATION AT THE EXTERNAL BORDERS OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EU131372931536991876GSAEUROPEAN GNSS SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY0213314881623OHMIOFFICE FOR HARMONISATION OF THE INTERNAL MARKET551451910414771452FRAEUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS0557411641026000295344816654965114212Clean SkyCLEAN SKY JOINT UNDERTAKING213124ECSELELETRONIC COMPONENTS AND SYSTEMS JOINT UNDERTAKING5552712EITEUROPEAN INSTITUTE OF INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY31476131482239F4EEUROPEAN JOINT UNDERTAKING FOR ITER ANS THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUSION ENERGY1732035439325688147FCH2FUEL CELLS AND HYDROGEN JOINT UNDERTAKING11112IMI2INNOVATIVE MEDICINES INITIATIVE JOINT UNDERTAKING22112115S2RSHIFT2RAIL11112SESAR SESAR JOINT UNDERTAKING11141519387584453922176092741894631536CHAFEACONSUMERS, HEALTH, AGRICULTURE AND FOOD EXECUTIVE AGENCY118864101261837EACEAEDUCATION, AUDIOVISUAL AND CULTURE EXECUTIVE AGENCY33672108210360163602080331EASMEEXECUTIVE AGENCY FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES223784581391206651117284ERCEUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL EXECUTIVE AGENCY337814927344117493786298INEAINNOVATION AND NETWORKS EXECUTIVE AGENCY29231231437342862130REARESEARCH EXECUTIVE AGENCY16716324187106561625347100456Grand Total14496458710978159436011044773929972945FGIIIFGIVDecentralised agenciesJoint undertakings & EITExecutive agenciesFGIFGII 
 
 
 
 
6.2.2 

Breakdown by nationality in the agencies 

As outlined above for the Commission, table 15 below confirms that the location of the agencies plays 
a major role in determining the nationalities of their contract staff. 

The executive agencies, located on the same main sites of the Commission, present trends similar to 
those  of  the  Commission:  the  most  represented  EU  citizens  being  Belgians,  Italians,  Spaniards  and 
French. 

Similarly,  the  breakdown  by  nationality  of  contract  staff  in  the  decentralised  agencies  and  Joint 
undertakings reflects their location. 

Table 15  

Breakdown by nationality in the agencies and Joint undertakings in 201515 

500

450

400

350

300

250

200

150

100

50

0

BE IT ES FR RO EL PL DE BG PT UK NL HU FI LT SE SK AT CZ IE SI DK EE LV HR CY LU MT

15 Source: Eurostat and Sysper, only EU28 countries. 

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Table 16 

 Breakdown by nationality for each agency or Joint undertaking in 2015 

25 

ATBEBGCYCZDEDKEEESFIFRGBGRHRHUIEITLTLULVMTNLPLPTROSESISKXXGrand Total1129401156014911533774773826141422111024910247843513171021197ACERAGENCY FOR THE COOPERATION AND ENERGY REGULATORS1211231819BEREC OfficeOFFICE OF THE BODY OF THE EUROPEAN REGULATOS FOR ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS112CdTTRANSLATION CENTRE FOR THE BODIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION121311131216CEDEFOPEUROPEAN CENTRE  FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING112120227CEPOLEUROPEAN POLICE COLLEGE  1121229EASAEUROPEAN AVIATION SAFETY AGENCY222137491316611011280EASOEUROPEAN ASYLUM SUPPORT OFFICE111522121319EBAEUROPEAN BANKING AUTHORITY11332211521221128ECDCEUROPEAN CENTRE  FOR DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL2131123318525112245241582ECHAEUROPEAN CHEMICALS AGENCY251215255461312529111394EEAEUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY349212311531123111448EFCACOMMUNITY FISHERIES AND CONTROL AGENCY314EFSAEUROPEAN FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY133617327342431288EIGEEUROPEAN INSTITUTE FOR GENDER EQUALITY2619EIOPAEUROPEAN INSURANCE AND OCCUPATIONAL PENSIONS AUTHORITY34133212212313334EMAEUROPEAN AGENCY FOR THE EVALUATION OF MEDICINAL PRODUCTS2343411011024159331102931334128EMCDDA EUROPEAN MONITORING CENTRE FOR DRUGS AND DRUG ADDICTION211311321EMSATHE EUROPEAN MARITIME SAFETY AGENCY313112111629ENISAEUROPEAN NETWORK AND INFORMATION SECURITY AGENCY127113116ERAEUROPEAN RAILWAY AGENCY3111112112216ESMAEUROPEAN SECURITIES AND MARKETS AUTHORITY22102253329ETFEUROPEAN TRAINING FOUNDATION 1113112112112541eu-LISAAGENCY FOR THE OPERATIONAL MANAGEMENT OF LARGE-SCALE IT SYSTEMS IN THE AREA OF FREEDOM, SECURITY AND JUSTICE1322210EU-OSHAEUROPEAN AGENCY FOR SAFETY AND HEALTH AT WORK111622112127EUROFOUNDEUROPEAN FOUNDATION FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF LIVING AND WORKING CONDITIONS11121131112EUROJUSTEUROPEAN BODY FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF JUDICIAL COOPERATION1312131121117EUROPOLEUROPEAN POLICE OFFICE134110344314181411412117115FRONTEXEUROPEAN AGENCY FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF OPERATIONAL COOPERATION AT THE EXTERNAL BORDERS OF THE MEMBER STATES OF THE EU212311235531276GSAEUROPEAN GNSS SUPERVISORY AUTHORITY161412221323OHMIOFFICE FOR HARMONISATION OF THE INTERNAL MARKET341123511222131252FRAEUROPEAN UNION AGENCY FOR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS421131122121113261188019025511756051342000178800122212Clean SkyCLEAN SKY JOINT UNDERTAKING314ECSELELETRONIC COMPONENTS AND SYSTEMS JOINT UNDERTAKING6221112EITEUROPEAN INSTITUTE OF INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY124331113712141439F4EEUROPEAN JOINT UNDERTAKING FOR ITER ANS THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUSION ENERGY531625114432241146416147FCH2FUEL CELLS AND HYDROGEN JOINT UNDERTAKING112IMI2INNOVATIVE MEDICINES INITIATIVE JOINT UNDERTAKING111115S2RSHIFT2RAIL112SESAR SESAR JOINT UNDERTAKING11144015849562415412174199012342592044115603283651841536CHAFEACONSUMERS, HEALTH, AGRICULTURE AND FOOD EXECUTIVE AGENCY15224631411314139EACEAEDUCATION, AUDIOVISUAL AND CULTURE EXECUTIVE AGENCY41077111528447516425652112665150331EASMEEXECUTIVE AGENCY FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED ENTERPRISES454141482322397153441114156192123284ERCEUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL EXECUTIVE AGENCY1921117123013131915441311620215298INEAINNOVATION AND NETWORKS EXECUTIVE AGENCY214513711211727312061273123130REARESEARCH EXECUTIVE AGENCY2129191174843423071916141810232131454Grand Total26448106525125161532446268711699541943543514365169871754118361282945Decentralised agenciesJoint undertakings & EITExecutive agencies