RIGHT TO DISCONNECT - Protecting the health of the staff implies the application of the right to disconnect in this time of health crisis!
RIGHT TO DISCONNET
Protecting the health of the staff implies the application of the right to disconnect in this time of health crisis!
The European Parliament's Employment and Social
Affairs Committee (EMPL) adopted on Tuesday 1 December (with 31 votes in
favour, 6 against and 18 abstentions) a report by Alex Agius Saliba calling
for a directive to enshrine at European level the right to disconnect. In this
respect, the rapporteur has indicated:
“We are in a situation where legislation was drafted
at a time when digitalisation was not as significant in our lives… The culture
of being “always on” and the growing expectation that workers should be
reachable at any time can negatively affect work-life balance, physical and
mental health, and well-being."
The
MEPs are therefore calling on the European Commission to present a European
directive on the right to disconnect. They are also emphasising that this right
should be deemed a fundamental right guaranteeing that workers may refrain from
performing work-related tasks and communicating electronically outside of
their working time without any negative implications. Furthermore, they are
calling on the European Commission to include the right to disconnect in its
future proposal on the health and safety at work strategy.
The right to disconnect: a fundamental
right to protect workers' health
The right to disconnect is two-fold:
1. The right to
health;
2. The right to work-life balance.
As an example, France has already included on 8 August
2016 this right in the labour code (Article L2242-17(7)1).
In Belgium, a law assigns companies the obligation to organize consultation
within the Committee for Prevention and Protection at Work (CPPT) on the right
to disconnect from work and the use of digital means of communication.
Article 153 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the
European Union (TFEU) provides for the EU to adopt directives which lay down
the minimum requirements for working conditions. Besides, Article 154 of
the TFEU establishes that the social partners must be consulted on the
possible initiatives which should be considered under Article 153 of the TFEU.
In addition, Article 7 of the Charter of Fundamental
Rights of the European Union relating to "Respect for private and
family life” states that “Everyone has the right to respect for his private
and family life, his home and his correspondence”. By “correspondence”, the
Court of Justice considers that any recording, interception or seizure of correspondence
addressed to a natural or legal person (in any form whatsoever, in particular
by wiretapping2) constitutes an interference with her, his or its
right to privacy. This protection extends to private correspondence (including
correspondence sent from the workplace3,
but also that having a professional or commercial nature3).
Article 31 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
EU relating to "fair and just working conditions" states:
1. "Every
worker has the right to working conditions which respect his or her health,
safety and dignity";
2. “Every worker
has the right to limitation of maximum working hours, to daily and weekly rest
periods and to an annual period of paid leave.”
What about the application of this right
within the European Commission as employer and as guardian of the Treaties?
In this time of health crisis, the staff
compulsorily works from home. As a result, a new culture was born, that of “always-on”.
DG HR, a pilot who decided to get off the plane?
Unfortunately, we
regret realizing that DG HR still does not seem capable of ensuring the
essential consistency of the rules implemented by the many services of our
institution, thus allowing decisions at the most decentralized level with the
argument that they are supposed “know better the staff and any particular
situations".
In its documents regarding future
options for teleworking, the DG HR even envisages that each DG disposes in
its own way (sic!) the time slots and the applicable rules, what is quite
simply unacceptable!
This resignation of
DG HR from its role leads to diverging implementations of the instructions in
force, what is all the more unacceptable in the midst of a pandemic when it
comes to protecting the health of our colleagues..
Managers at the height of their
missions...
The vast majority of managers have been
exemplary in managing this crisis by showing empathy and the utmost concern for
their staff, fully recognizing the right to disconnect and thus building
a climate of trust that will remain forever acquired.
Others are not so much so…
Others, unfortunately, in the absence of actual proficiency at the
central level, feel authorized to interpret in a way that is as personal as it
is restrictive the instructions in force and thus unnecessarily worsen the already
difficult working conditions of those colleagues placed under their
responsibility
From “face-to-face at all costs" to
the obsession with "always-on" ...
It is thanks to the noticeably clear
positions taken by Commissioner Hahn, whom we would like to thank once again,
which prevented DG HR from
going without thinking to phase 2, as well as to precise and binding instructions on access to the
workplace, that the obsessive impulses for "face-to-face at all
costs" have been calmed.
However, this was not the case in terms
of the right to disconnect, to put an end to another obsession, that of "always-on".
R&D has received several complaints from
colleagues who are on the verge of medically proven burnout following a
hyper-connection and an over-solicitation within their services. No limits
whatsoever are imposed anymore. Our colleagues are forced to work at any time
of the day, until late in the evening, and even on weekends ... surpassing the
space-time border between work and private life. Hunted down by unscrupulous
little bosses who, having lost a part of their power of domination because of
this crisis and frustrated by the impossibility of forcing colleagues to return
to the office, do not hesitate to use a policy of control often bordering on the
obsessive ... even raising and letting linger doubts about the potential
consequences for the annual evaluation and promotion exercise.
The staff has not mutated into a hybrid species, half-human, half-robot!
The staff is by definition human and, as
such, needs time to rest, time to be together with their loved ones, leisure
time and, above all, sleep.
It is time for the Commission, as a
model and modern employer, to step in and take care of the health and
well-being of its staff by
taking clear action against these excesses while establishing well defined rules to be followed and
applied by all DGs,
safeguarding
minimum requirements concerning working conditions such as the respect for work-life balance, while taking into account the existing limitations of
daily working time..
The Joint Committee for Prevention and
Protection at Work (CPPT) has its say...
The CPPT is entitled to open a reflection on the right
to disconnect from work and the use of digital communication tools.
The R&D delegates,
closely with the staff representatives making part of that Committee, will not
fail to initiate discussions in the coming days.
Considering the above:
R&D joins
the demand of MEPs concerned with the health of EU workers.
R&D, as
the first Union in the European civil service, concerned with the health of the
Institution's staff, calls for the opening of negotiations on the right to
disconnect within the services of the European Commission, which should be an
integral part of the “Workplace and Wellbeing” pillar of the HR Strategy
Until the opening of these negotiations, R&D requests for:
· The obligation to ensure, for all staff, the respect
for the limitation of working time, holidays and rest periods, as well as the
respect for personal and family life;
· The setting-up of a regulatory system for the use of
digital tools;
· The respect of the fixed time slots already in force
during which the staff can be contacted: 9:30 a.m.-12: 00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.-4:
30 p.m. (4:00 p.m. on Wednesday and Friday).
Cristiano Sebastiani,
Président
*****************************
1. French Labour Code. Art. L2242-17(7): The procedures for the full exercise by the employee
of his right to disconnect and the establishment by the company of devices to
regulate the use of digital tools, in order to ensure compliance with the
holidays and resting times as well as respect for private and family life. In the absence of
agreement, the employer draws up a charter, after consulting the social and
economic committee. This charter defines the procedures for exercising the
right to disconnect and provides for the implementation, for employees and
supervisory and management staff, of training and awareness actions on the
reasonable use of digital tools.
2. CJEU, January 17, 2019, Dzivev, aff. C-310/16 ECLI;
EU: C: 2019: 30, point 36
In addition, the interception of telecommunications
amounts to an interference with the right to a private life, enshrined in
Article 7 of the Charter. Such an interference may be allowed, in accordance
with Article 52(1) of the Charter, only if it is provided for by law and if,
while respecting the essence of that right and subject to the principle of
proportionality, it is necessary and genuinely meets objectives of general
interest recognised by the Union (see, to that effect, judgment of 17 December
2015, WebMindLicenses, C-419/14, EU:C:2015:832, paragraphs 71 and 73).
4. EDDH Court, judgment of 16 October 2007, Wieser
and Bicos c. Austria, req. N ° 74336/01 (arrêt
du 16 octobre 2007, Wieser et Bicos c. Autriche, req. N°74336/01)
Reference: Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 2nd edition, edited by F. Picod, C. Rizcallah and S. Van Drooghenbroeck Commentary article by article, Bruylant
Let's be clear on the access to the Italian health care system (SSN) by the JSIS members
Let's be clear on the access to the Italian health care system (SSN) by the JSIS members
Let's be very clear on a very complex problem and that due to its particular importance "our health" has always been a priority in the more or less visible actions of R&D Ispra.
Currently we look forward to receiving the additional documentation of the dossier to evaluate the next steps. However, we believe that the solution to this problem must be found at the political level with an agreement between the European Commission and the Italian Government.
Anyhow, the priority remains to ensure access to all services of the National Health System to all staff of the European institutions in Italy, regardless of nationality, and whether they are in active service or retired.
Non-access to the SSN (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale) is even more problematic in this pandemic period, considering that the delivery of the Covid-19 vaccine during 2021 will be managed by the Italian public health system. This creates even more concerns among our colleagues and needs clarification quickly.
Considering the importance of this issue that touches each of our colleagues personally, R&D Ispra has always considered important and more effective to carry out joint actions with all forms of trade union and staff representation.
For this reason, in addition to all the actions listed below, R&D Ispra raised the issue of coverage to the Italian National Health System as a specific topic for Ispra during the COCORE meeting on 1st July 2020 and also at the CSC (Central Staff Committee) .
Battles are never won alone. Let's go on!
Below you will find the various actions taken during this year that involved us on several fronts to find a appropriate solution to guarantee adequate health coverage for all colleagues.
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03/03/2020 At the very beginning of the Covid 19 emergency R&D sent an email to the PMO-6 Head of Unit asking for clarification concerning the JSIS & SNN issue. In our request we asked to receive guidance on the JSIS procedure to follow in case of infection, and reassurances on the level and for the costs related to hospitalisation and intensive care. Read more
18/03/2020 Even Alliance, the trade union group of Brussels, of which R&D is a member, wrote a note to Commissioner Hahn worried about the possible consequence of the costs related to treatment for Covid-19. Read more
03/06/2020 Considering the uncertain situation that the European Commission staff based in Ispra have always faced, R&D Ispra organised an extraordinary inter-union meeting together with the Local Staff Committee of Ispra. As a result of this meeting, a Note was sent to Mr Sakkers, Head of Unit HR Social Dialogue, asking for clarification and interventions regarding the access to the Italian National Health System. Read more
26/10/2020 Following the communication on Connected from the PMO.6 dated 20/03/2020 Update on the access to the Italian health care system by the JSIS members R&D Ispra deemed it necessary to call an extraordinary inter-union meeting to discuss the SSN issue.
05/11/2020 As result of this meeting together with the LSC and the other trade unions we have requested access to the documents of the health coverage dossier to Mr Sakker HoU HR Social Dialogue. Read more
05/11/2020 At the beginning of November 2020 R&D Ispra officially applied as European citizens to have access to the documents of the negotiation between the European Commission and the Italian authorities. At the moment we are still waiting to receive the dossier, since the administration asked for a time derogation to be able to send us all the documentation.
Subject: Request for access to documents – Reference : 2020/6785
Your request for access to documents has been registered. This message is an acknowledgement of receipt.
In accordance with Regulation 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents, you will receive a reply within 15 working days (27/11/2020).
Document request: Complete exchange documents (2018-2019-2020)related to the negotiation between the European Commission and the Italian authorities (Italian Ministry of Health) for the access to the Italian National Health System (Servizio Sanitario Nazionale - SNN) for European Institutions staff
Commission reference: GESTDEM 2020/6785
European Commission Secretariat-General / Transparency, Document Management & Access to Documents (SG.C.1)
09/11/2020 In collaboration with another trade union we have analysed a legal opinion on the removal of SSN cards from JSIS members. The report by an Italian lawyer is a starting point for a more complete analysis that we want to carry out together with the administration
27/11/2020 Colleagues from the EFSA agency informed us of the extension for the validity of the Italian health card for the employees and families granted by the Emilia Romagna region until the end of 2021, according to the text below:
"The renewal of the tessera sanitaria was recently confirmed by AUSL, granting coverage under the Italian national health system to EFSA staff and their family members until the end of 2021. If your tessera sanitaria has expired or will by 31 December 2020, please follow the detailed instructions on the portal in order to request for an extension".
04/12/2020 At that time R&D is carrying out verifications on those services with exclusive access through the National Health Service card, such as :
- SURGICAL OPERATIONS PROVIDED ONLY BY SPECIALIZED CENTRES
- DISABILITY RECOGNITION PROCEDURES
- ACCESS TO DRUGS OF CATEGORY H *
*Through our contacts with an expert with a managerial role in the pharmaceutical field, we have collected more information on drugs that are accessible only through the SSN.
Among these are life-saving drugs and other drugs accessible only through hospital pharmacies under the ASL-controlled regime.
We looked for a list of such drugs to be checked with the PMO in order to be sure to have accessibility through the JSIS system.
Gender balance: All that glitters is not gold!
The recently announced nomination of deputies to Directors is the result of the administrative decision of the College of 30/09/2020 with the specific aim of reinforcing the gender balance in management positions.
Beyond the fact that the selections have been made in a rather non-transparent manner and other issues regarding the role, we at R&D Ispra are seriously questioning whether the gender balance policy throughout the entire hierarchy is being realised with the best possible tools and actions. We wonder if our female colleagues really think they are being valued by through appointments to inferior positions which have no real decisional power.
If we look at the statistics, it might appear that we are on the right track, since in the last two years many female colleagues have indeed acquired more management positions. However, if we look deeper we find ingenious inventions such as deputy Unit Head and deputy Director who have no formal management role! So we washed our consciences and our female colleagues should be joyful to have been made fun of! To paraphrase Il Gattopardo, "tutto deve cambiare affinchè tutto resti uguale" (everything has been changed in order not to change anything).
Please feel free to share your comments and according to your feedback we will decide on further appropriate actions.
R&D Ispra Team
Court of Auditors EPSO Special Report confirms the pitfalls repeatedly denounced by R&D : a largely unsuitable selection process !
EPSO - SPECIAL REPORT - read
A largely unsuitable selection process
The report just made public by the Court of Auditors on the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) confirms the pitfalls repeatedly denounced by R&D for months, even years.
The lack of attractiveness of the European
institutions, recruitment at basic grades despite confirmed professional
experience, the creation of new recruitment channels as open to criticism as
the Junior Professional Program, the difficulty for fellow contract agents to
have prospects of long-term employment, the lottery generated by internal
competitions… so many problems clearly identified for a long time by R&D which show that the recruitment system is unsuited to
the needs of the Institutions and particularly to the European Commission.
With the special report on EPSO
that the Court of Auditors has just made public, this finding is once again
confirmed.
Since 2003, these competitions
have been organised by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO), in
cooperation with the institutions.
The EPSO selection process has
been running in its current frame since 2012 with large-scale generalist
competitions (public administrators, lawyers, economists, linguists,
secretarial assistants, etc.) and specialist competitions from which have come
42% of the winners identified between 2012 and 2018. This process has three
phases: planning, assessing candidates, and publication of reserve lists. The
tests vary from one competition to the next, but the phases of each competition
are generally similar with a preselection (psychometric tests on a computer),
an examination of application files, a talent screener for some competitions,
the assessment centre where candidates are assessed against a set of predefined
skills and competencies, and finally, a reserve list.
Every year, the EU institutions
recruit around 1 000 new permanent staff members (officials) for long-term
careers, from more than 50 000 applicants.
Generalist profiles represented 37 % of all requests
for laureates, over the 2012-2018 period, and linguists an additional 20 %.
Over the years, there has been a decline in the generalist profiles. The demand
for translators has plummeted in recent years, as a result of technological
progress, as well as from decisions to increase the use of outsourcing. The
context for recruitment within the institutions has changed since the design
and implementation of the EPSO Development Programme. Since 2012, the reserve
lists of most of the competitions organized by EPSO have fewer than 20
successful candidates. One can therefore wonder about the cost of such
procedures.
It is essential to create a good,
attractive working environment that brings about positive stimulation, so that
the staff is willing to go to work.
1. The "EU Careers" brand,
created in 2010 with the aim of increasing the attractiveness of the EU as an
employer, has not fulfilled its objective, both geographically and
socio-economically
On
the one hand, it appears that the "EU Careers" brand remains very
concentrated in Brussels and Luxembourg and is not very attractive beyond,
geographically speaking.
It appears that 37% of the people who answered the surveys
carried out outside of EPSO assessment centres declared having a direct link
with the institutions, either because they were already employed by one of
them, or because they worked in the public sector and exercised functions related
to the EU. Whatever their nationality, two thirds of the candidates take the
pre-selection tests in Belgium or Luxembourg.
The "EU Careers " brand has failed to
attract sufficient numbers of university graduates or young professionals.
Candidates for AD5 competitions often have
professional experience and the proportion of candidates under the age of 35 is
declining. Only 22% of recently recruited AD civil servants are under 35 and
62% are over 40. These officials already had at least 10 years of
professional experience by the time they joined the institutions, much longer
than that generally required for competition grades.
In 2019, the average age of entry into the Commission
for AD officials was 39 years old. For the last generalist AD / 2018
competition, the average age of the successful candidates was 31.5 years.
Currently less than 4% of the Commission's workforce is under 30 years old.
It follows that the recruitment of experienced people
to entry-level positions is detrimental to the age pyramid of the workforce and
to career management.
And in the face of this
imbalance, some institutions like the Commission have launched their own
"Professional Juniors" programs in defiance of the rules of equal
treatment, and opening the door to favouritism.
2. An inadequate recruitment process for
specialists
However, it should be noted that the regular organization of large-scale
competitions has generally helped to ensure the availability of an appropriate
number of generalists who could be recruited. However, with regard to
specialists (eg specialist linguists, administrators specialized in macroeconomics
or information and communication technologies, etc.), the EPSO process is not
suited to the current needs of the institutions.
On the one hand, the EPSO selection process is too
long, on the other hand, it is too expensive for this type of competition.
Therefore, the institutions prefer to launch their own
recruitment procedures, which last on average eight months against thirteen
months for EPSO, giving full latitude for using any type of test they deem
necessary, and then opt for the recruitment of temporary staff rather than
officials.
All profiles combined, the average cost per successful
candidate for generalist competitions amounts to around € 24,000. Broken
down by function groups, this cost is € 25,000 per AD laureate,
€ 21,900 per AST-SC laureate and € 15,300 per AST-SC successful candidate,
knowing that the preselection tests cost between € 48 and € 92 per
candidate, depending on the competition.
For specialized competitions, the
cost varies greatly depending on the number of candidates and successful
candidates. Since the latter is generally very low, the average costs are high:
nearly € 30,000 per successful candidate for AD7 lawyer-linguists (26
laureates for 1,170 candidates), or even nearly € 40,000 for AD5 and AD7
conference interpreters (13 laureates for 573 candidates).
3. The weaknesses of the recruitment
process
Psychometric tests are not only used to assess the suitability of
candidates for the job, but also, in fact, to exclude some of them in order to
facilitate the management of the competition procedure. It should be noted that
when these tests are used, 16.5 % of candidates on average give up the
competition before taking them. The success rate (ratio between the number of
successful candidates and the number of applicants who have taken at least the
1st test) is 2 %. So, the process is very competitive. But there is no
mechanism to measure the satisfaction of the institutions with the candidates
recruited.
The limited number of languages that
can be used for some parts of the selection process creates legal uncertainty.
Legal actions led to the cancellation of competitions (without cancelling the
aptitude lists) and the suspension of EPSO's activities for a good part of
2016. The current regime has not been annulled by a decision of a court, but
language limitations open the way to new legal actions.
Finally, competitions depend on the availability of
jury members, who are appointed on an equal basis between the
administration and the staff representation. However, all the parties have
difficulty finding competent and available staff to attend a competition jury.
Not only is the lack
of cooperation between EPSO and the institutions a cause, but also the total lack of recognition of the
interest of the service in the procedure,which
does not facilitate the engagement of staff in these tasks. In addition, managers
are often reluctant to release their best performing agents to perform these
tasks.
Conclusion
Faced with these issues, the Court of Auditors has
issued several recommendations to which R&D fully subscribes:
1) Address identified weaknesses in the selection
process,
2) Introduce a new selection framework for specialist
competitions,
3) Improve EPSO’s capacity to adapt to a fast-changing
recruitment environment.
R&D requests that these recommendations are fit into the
more general framework of HR strategy. It is indeed a matter of developing a
holistic approach to the question of recruitment and not of inventing ”quick
fix” procedures such as the JPP or the selection of temporary agents to
overcome specific problems because, over and above, recruitment places the
whole of career development into question.
In this regard, R&D reiterates its attachment to the basic principles of
the civil service: equal treatment between candidates and competition with
anonymous tests. R&D has always
worked in this direction by allowing all potential candidates to be trained
free of charge since it is not a question of "business" on the backs
of colleagues.
No, the future of all those who dedicate themselves to
the European civil service is such an important matter that one cannot conceive
that this service will not finally be seriously reformed.
Cristiano
Sebastiani,
Promoting JRC Scientific Excellence – some case studies
Promoting JRC Scientific Excellence - some case studies
On 23 November 2020 R&D sent our Director General, Mr Quest, a note with some comments and questions on three topics that we believe are of fundamental importance for the JRC.
Dear Mr Quest,
Firstly we wish to congratulate
the JRC management for its overall good handling of the difficult ongoing
coronavirus crisis. While urgent, we don’t wish that this distracts us from
other important topics of importance to the JRC.
We observe that the JRC sometimes takes impromptu decisions without sufficient consultation with the staff who find their work subsequently affected. A lack of supporting evidence leads to tensions which could have been avoided - especially unfortunate when aspects of the changes do have some merits and considering that our work at the JRC is precisely to provide evidence-based policy support.
We wish look more closely at decisions surrounding these three topics:
- JRC Editorial Review Board
- JRC's role in indirect actions under Horizon Europe
- Knowledge Management
UPDATE 17/12/2020
REPLY RECEIVED FROM MR QUEST, GENERAL DIRECTOR JRC, TO THE ABOVE NOTE
CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC - “Good for the citizens, good for the Institutions”
Brussels, 23 November 2020
CORONAVIRUS
PANDEMIC
Communication n°7:
“Good
for the citizens, good for the Institutions”
R&D appreciates the deal reached with the
EP and
now calls to go an extra mile to finally seal the package
Dear President von der Leyen,
dear President Sassoli, dear President Michel,
In our six previous
communications (link), R&D federal , the largest Trade Union representing the staff of the EU Institutions,
Executive and Decentralised Agencies and other EU Bodies, analysed -via its taskforce of economists- the
tragic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and called upon all involved
stakeholders to reach swiftly an agreement entailing both an increased
envelope and innovative and unprecedented investment tools.
We once again would like to thank sincerely the
hundreds of colleagues who constantly show us their full support and encourage
us not to let anything go in this important combat both for the citizens in
every corner of the Union and the credibility of the Institutions at large.
Like so, R&D federal therefore warmly welcomes the agreement reached with
the European Parliament last week on an increased MFF.
The deal, we believe, not only shows your leadership
in favouring such a result but it is a good compromise between the Council’s
July package and the initial requests of the European Parliament’s budget
Committee, which had asked for an increase of €39 billion.
Moreover, the good news comes during a week where the
results of various phase-3 vaccine trials have been disclosed: it has also been
thanks to the massive European Commission’s efforts to secure a sufficient
number of jabs that we can now finally say that there is some light at the end of the tunnel.
On the one hand, we want to celebrate the “health package” adopted by
the Commission consisting of a set of proposals to strengthen the EU's
health security framework and to reinforce the crisis preparedness and response
role of the relevant EU agencies: the European Centre for Disease Prevention
and Control (ECDC) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
As we’ve already stressed in our previous communications, it is crucial
to draw lessons from the current crisis, analysing what has been done and what
can be improved.
We fully support President von der Leyen's commitment
to better protect the health of all European citizens underling that “The coronavirus pandemic has
highlighted the need for more coordination in the EU, more resilient health
systems, and better preparation for future crises….Today, we start building a
European Health Union, to protect citizens with high quality care in a crisis,
and equip the Union and its Member States to prevent and manage health
emergencies that affect the whole of Europe."
We cannot agree
more because that's exactly what we had requested in our previous
communications, and we can guarantee that our staff is fully committed to work
hard more than ever to support this project!
On the other hand, there is no denying that with € 16
billion more compared to the initial amount, both the next MFF and NextGeneratioEU are much better
equipped to meet the many challenges in the years ahead.
In particular, Horizon Europe (with a final endowment
above the initial European Commission’s proposal of 2018), EU4Health (which has tripled) and Erasmus+
(whose increase equals to one year of program as such) show us clearly that
innovation (in all its multidimensional uses and implications, environment
included), health and culture will be key in building up the bright future of
the post pandemic world.
That being said, we cannot help notice that the
agreement is not yet adopted.
Though we do not wish to enter in
political debates, R&D federal considers that amid the worst economic and health
crisis of the last 100 years, nobody can support to delay any longer the final adoption of measures
which could help millions of citizens and SMEs in the 27 Member States.
Therefore, R&D federal :
· Call on you to work tirelessly to make
possible the adoption of the package avoiding, once for all, cheap theater
tricks;
· Ask you to adopt any possible measure
insuring that EU budget is well spent, reaching people who most need it;
· Ask you to open up a reflection (once
the bulk of the crisis is behind us), on how to improve the decision-making
mechanisms of the European Institutions to avoid having to postpone decisions
on requests of millions of citizens across the EU
On behalf of R&D FEDERAL
Cristiano
Sebastiani, R&D Commission, Executive and
Decentralised agencies, other EU bodies
Beatrice Postiglione, R&D Council
Pasquale Ciuffreda, R&D European Parliament
Oren Wolff, R&D EEAS
Dimitrios
Katsanidis, R&D CoR and EESC
