Next MFF - What about European public administration costs?
Brussels, 19 October 2020
Next
MFF
What
about European public administration costs?
Europe will be forged in crises, and will be the sum of the
solutions adopted for those crises (Jean Monnet)
At
the beginning of the 21st century, the world is plunged into a health crisis
for which the remedy and the vaccine are still in the experimental stage,
whereas we might have deem this to be impossible, taking into account the
advances in medicine and scientific research. However, the crisis not only
claimed thousands of victims worldwide, but it has also generated an
unprecedented economic crisis, leaving homes and businesses on the verge of
bankruptcy. Moreover, there is an ecological crisis and the need to revise our
lifestyles and working methods in order to favour the use of digital
technology.
Through
its communications ( link ), R&D,
assisted by a task force of fellow economists, informed staff of the progress
of discussions regarding the next MFF (Multiannual Financial Framework) and
indicated the priorities that we believe should be retained.
We
welcomed the fact that the European Commission, through the voice of our
President, Ursula von der Leyen, had the ambition to propose in May 2020 a
multiannual budget 2021-2027 of 1.85 trillion euros or 1.1 trillion euros intended
for the MFF and 750 billion euros intended for the “Next generation EU” program
to help the European Union in rebuilding itself as well as to support
innovations in the green and digital transition.
We
regretted the Council's decision to revise downwards the MFF's budget proposal
by 26 billion euros, or 1.8243 trillion euros, while the European Parliament
intended to increase it by 200 billion euros.
The
Council's position is "a hard pill to swallow" as our President has
so clearly indicated, especially as the climate, digital technology and Horizon
Europe have been hit hard by this decrease. Faced with the July Council deal,
MEPs even threatened not to approve the next budget.
Let it be said, let it be done
On
Thursday 8 October, MEPs kept their promise and stopped ongoing discussions
with Member States refusing to increase the budget for the multiannual financial
framework at the risk of delaying the "Next generation EU" recovery
plan. MEPs believe that the extra 9 billion proposed by the German presidency
fall short ( link ).
The trilogue should therefore resume in the coming days. R&D sincerely hopes that Member States will come
to their senses by being more realistic about the means they say they want to
commit for a Union that truly protects its citizens.
What
about European public administration costs?
In
the 2021-2027 multiannual budget, heading 7, which covers the costs of European
public administration, amounts to 73.1 billion euros, or 6.8 % of the MFF,
outside the "Next generation EU." As a reminder, this envelope
amounted to 69.6 billion euros, or 6 % of the 2014-2020 multiannual
budget.
During
the “On-line talk: How the EU budget is being shaped?” organized by the
European School of Administration - we must salute in passing the excellent
work of our colleagues who organize very good debates open to all staff on
different subjects -, Andreas Schwarz, Director at DG BUDG , was questioned on
the budget share allocated to European public administration.
Not
only was Mr. Schwarz's expertise appreciated but also his very clear
explanations and answers to the various questions asked by the participants..
We invite you to see or review this “On-line talk” ( link ).
To
the question "Why is the budgetary share allocated to public
administration so low? Is this due to the lack of the ‘new dimension’ or is
there another reason? ". The Director replied that in the MFF the
budgetary share allocated to public administration amounts to 70.8 billion
euros and that the counter argument amounts to 73.1 billion euros. He recalled
that this amount is based on "real prices" as well as the rate of
inflation. According to him, the budget will not require cuts and will allow
the continuity of staff development as well as that of salaries, while stressing
that given the current circumstances many people have lost their jobs and feel
insecure in the various Member States.
Therefore, it will not be necessary to reopen the Staff
Regulations linked to the MFF!
Therefore,
it is clear that, were they were not called into question before their
adoption, the budgetary perspectives for heading 7 would not require a new
reform of the Staff Regulations.
From
a budgetary point of view, this confirms the assurances given on the political
level by Commissioner Hahn and for which we would like to thank for once again,
having ruled out that the Commission could immediately consider presenting a
proposal for reform in connection with the COVID crisis.
It
is equally clear that the requests addressed by certain MS to the Commission
proposing a new reform of the Staff Regulations are based solely on the
demagoguery of certain politicians who want to divert the attention of their
electorate by continuing to attack the European public service. They are well
aware, however, that the attractiveness of our public service decreases year
after year and do not hesitate to complain about it. This is not the first time
they contradict themselves in order to carry out their destructive project.
Any pretext is good… There is nothing as narrow as a narrow mind…
Indeed,
R&D has already formally denounced on various
occasions and the Commission has finally acknowledged the harmful effects of
the reforms, which have been following one another since 2004 on the
attractiveness of our administration and the Court of Auditors itself, an
independent body, underlined, in turn, the unreasonable scale of the cuts
imposed by the last reform of 2014.
R&D stands on guard and keeps analysing very
closely the dire consequences from the previous reforms of 2004 and 2014. We
will remain vigilant and very attentive to the evolution of staff and / or real
estate policies, so that these cannot further degrade working conditions, a
degradation that is a psychosocial risk factor well identified by experts.
R&D will soon publish an in-depth analysis of
these risks. We hope that our administration will take up over the findings of
this analysis for the benefit of its staff.
Labor demands the elite of humans (Seneca)
R&D welcomes the proposal from MEPs of 14 October
2020 to reinforce the budget for EU flagship programmes by 39 billion euros ( link )
and supports the ambition of our Institution, based on the
founding values of the EU, to come to the aid of the victims of this health
crisis and to build a better future for the next generations. We hope that
this creative impetus will sensitize Member States and that they will choose
the right path leading them to the human path and not that of budgetary
restriction.
The ball is now in the hands of MEPs and Member States!
Cristiano Sebastiani,
COVID-19 Health crisis - R&D Note for the attention of Mr. Hahn, Commissioner Human Resources and Budget
Brussels, 2 October 2020
Note for the attention of Mr Johannes Hahn
Commissioner in charge of Human Resources and Budget
Suject : COVID-19 health crisis
We
would like to begin by thanking you sincerely and personally for your decision,
taking due account of the evolution of the pandemic, to postpone the transition
to Phase 2 which the administration had previously announced a little hastily.
Thank you for making staff health a top priority
R&D welcomes your choices and thanks you for
having, from the start of the pandemic, placed the health of staff as a top
priority, favouring the approach of a safe working environment.
From
the start of the pandemic, the staff of the institutions, mostly expatriates
and often assigned far from their families, have often been prevented from
moving freely within the Union, or even in certain cases of force majeure, assigned
to quarantine elsewhere than at their place of employment. R&D asks you to keep paying particular attention
to these situations, quite far from being deemed exceptional after so many
months of health crisis and uncertainty. In this regard, we support with the
greatest conviction the approach of the Central Staff Committee aimed at denouncing
the profound differences in practices within the services with regard to the
respect of instructions on teleworking abroad.
A staff of which our institution should be proud!
Indeed,
while the health situation remains very worrying - even deteriorating - in a
certain number of countries and regions and in particular in Brussels, the
staff of the Institution, and their families, have been showing resilience and
great ability to adapt to an uncertain situation.
In
carrying out their duties, the staff has also - as on par with our President
you have never failed to recognize it - demonstrated flexibility and a
remarkable sense of responsibility by immediately acclimatising to the new working
methods made essential by the context; this took place without weakening
efficiency or motivation, and as a result, the overriding interest of our
institution was preserved.
Overnight,
the staff adapted and responded to the new requirements, anticipating the Green
Deal and the digitalisation of the Institution. In this regard, we would like
to salute the professionalism of the technical and IT teams who have managed to
swiftly implement the radical changes to our working environment.
R&D supports with conviction the reform you advocate towards a new
“culture of trust”
As
you rightly pointed out, it is now important that management also evolves and
moves from a “culture of control” to a “culture of trust”.
However,
it is not enough to simply embrace this reform and announce it through frantic
communication efforts, currently being deployed within the framework of the
exercise aiming at the "modernization" of the human resources policy
of our institution.
Staff requests: "facta non verba"
To
build and consolidate trust, all these good intentions have to be followed by
action, regardless of the Institution, Directorate-General, Agency or Office
employing Institutions’ servants.
Unfortunately,
we regret to notice that DG HR still does not seem capable of ensuring the
essential consistency to the rules implemented by the many services of our
institution, in allowing decisions at the most decentralized level because of
the supposition that “staff and special situations are better known" at
this level.
The
result is a diverging application of the instructions in force, which is
completely unacceptable when it comes to protecting the health of our
colleagues.
Managers up to their missions ...
The
vast majority of managers have been exemplary in managing this crisis by
showing empathy and the utmost concern for their staff thereby building a
climate of trust that will forever be remembered.
Others are definitely not ...
Others,
unfortunately, in the absence of a real mastery at the central level, feel
entitled to engage in personal and restrictive interpretations of the
instructions in force and unnecessarily make the working conditions even more
difficult for colleagues under their responsibility.
The obsession with "face-to-face at all costs"
Excessive
zeal going as far as the real permanent policing of teleworkers, pressing
invitations to return to the office in anyway, even raising doubts as to the
potential consequences on the annual evaluation and promotion exercise,
criticisms and the openly displayed disappointment about your decision to delay
the transition to phase 2… are all excessive or even offensive behaviours which
only increase the already palpable anxiety among our most vulnerable
colleagues.
Regarding
the return to the office, it is not a question of preventing colleagues who in
the greatest respect for the instructions in force wish to do so, but simply of
preventing unacceptable pressures, or even outright blackmail, from being
exerted on the others who comply with the instructions in force.
The so-called "essential" missions
The
same is true for the planning of the so-called "essential"
missions that certain services are preparing to impose on colleagues
with travels, including in countries heavily affected by the pandemic,
currently perceiving from DG HR a relaxation of instructions in this regard.
In
this regard, it is not reasonable, as DG HR envisages, to hand over to each
line manager the responsibility of evaluating, before sending colleagues on
mission, "that the interest of the mission outweighs the risks to the
personnel concerned ”, what is even more unacceptable when it comes to
sending vulnerable personnel on mission.
While
it is normal for each line manager to be called upon to assess the
appropriateness of a mission, it is not acceptable that the balance with the
health risks of the mission managers is thus decentralized to the lowest level,
in the absence of any mastery at the central level and entrusted to colleagues
without any competence in the matter in allowing them to assess such risks.
These
decisions must be taken with all the more caution as, by invoking the rules
imposed very recently by Belgium concerning essential professional activities,
colleagues returning from an "essential" mission of less than 48
hours, even in a country in the red zone are not subject to testing or
quarantine. Far from being a matter of an allegedly reassuring
"ease", these exemptions are invoked to impose an immediate return to
the office and, on the contrary, risk plunging the staff going on mission into
a state of fear not only about their health but also concerning the risk that
on their return they could infect their family and their colleagues.
Once
again, this is not to deny that, in exceptional cases, missions, despite the
pandemic, may prove to be essential for our Institution to perform its tasks up
to the expectations of our fellow citizens.
It
is above all a matter of ensuring very strict and centralized control over the
decision to consider a mission as ”essential", again avoiding any
overzealousness and personal interpretation in this regard. And it is not
enough to stress that such drifts would constitute an exception in all cases.
When it comes to the health of colleagues, even a single abuse is utterly
intolerable.
It
is important that within our Institution everyone without exception accepts the
reform in the management culture based on trust, advocated by yourself and
which we support with conviction.
This
concerns above all managers who still remain faithful to the painful
authoritarian vision of their role based on mistrust, by constantly fuelling a
climate of fear.
Faced
with the pandemic and with the major uncertainty that remains on the evolution
of the situation in the weeks and months to come, the change in culture must,
more than ever, be real and the Institution's duty of care towards its staff
must be reflected in reality, in all cases, at all times and within all
departments.
In
this regard, while being aware of the current strong pressure on the demand for
vaccines of this type, we appeal to you so that our Institution sets up, this
year, a vaccination campaign against seasonal influenza likely to
respond to the request of our colleagues.
Faithful
to its mission of always being at the side and at the service of staff, R&D will not fail to bring to your attention any
difficulty that our colleagues may report to us.
Cristiano
Sebastiani,
President
Copy:
Ms. G. Ingestad, Director-General of
DG HR
M. C. Roques, Director of Directorate
HR/D
Mr. E. Sakkers, Head of Unit HR/E.1
EPSO_PRE-SELECTION TRAINING : WEBINAR IN ENGLISH organised by R&D
TRAINING FOR EPSO OPEN COMPETITION
For the preparation of the open competition EPSO AST-SC/10/20 SECRETARIES (SC 1/SC 2) R&D and its team of highly qualified trainers will offer a preparatory training session in English.
The session will focus on the pre-selection tests - PROFESSIONAL SKILLS
Please find the details below:
Date |
Time |
Topics |
Trainer |
Location |
20.10.2020 |
17:30 – 19:00 |
·
Accuracy & Precision ·
Prioritising &
Organising |
Frédéric Maillet |
Webinar |
TO REGISTER…
We invite you to register for the training session by sending an e-mail to :
JRC-RD-ISPRA@ec.europa.eu - by 12.10.2020 noon.
Our trainings are FREE for R&D members and those who wish to join us.
If you are not yet a member and wish to benefit from our trainings and other services, we will be glad to welcome you. Join our Union, Become a Member
All registered participants will receive a confirmation and details to access the webinar!
Questions or comments? Don't hesitate to contact us via e-mail at JRC-RD-ISPRA@ec.europa.eu or call our office : Ext. 9645 (Monday to Friday 9:00 - 13:00)
Your R&D Team
No comments :
Post a Comment