Champion of reform sticks to his guns

Date: 24/02/2000

As Neil Kinnock prepares to unveil his White Paper on European Commission reform next week, he explains to Simon Taylor why he is pleased with the reaction to his proposals so far despite some criticism of his approach

NEIL Kinnock is convinced that his reform blueprint is going in the right direction.

After numerous hours of talks with more than 7,000 European Commission officials, EU governments and MEPs on the ideas he outlined in January, the Commission vice-president firmly believes that he is on the right track - so much so that he is not planning any major changes to his proposals for modernising the administration when he unveils a follow-up White Paper next week. Instead, the new document will try to explain more clearly what he wants to achieve.

Kinnock is pleased with the reaction to his consultation paper, both from staff unions and member states, despite some fairly strident criticism of his strategy. "I didn't expect people to be dancing in the streets", he says.

The mass walkouts by staff which some were predicting at the start of the reform process have not yet materialised, and EU foreign ministers gave Kinnock's approach their broad support when they discussed his ideas at a meeting in Brussels earlier this month. The staff unions agreed a statement declaring that the reforms were "necessary to build the future of the EU" at a general assembly meeting last week, and Kinnock says governments have shown an "extremely constructive attitude" towards the paper.

The Commissioner cites a long list of areas where he feels that member states and officials' representatives have endorsed his approach. "We have good support for improving evaluation, good support for planning and programming, good support for changes in financial controls," he claims.

This positive reaction has encouraged Kinnock to stick to his guns, particularly over his controversial proposals for overhauling financial controls within the EU executive to stamp out fraud and create the famous "culture of responsibility" which the committee of independent experts found so lacking in the previous Commission.

Despite criticism of the changes he is planning, Kinnock intends to press ahead with proposals to abolish the current system under which planned projects have to be vetted in advance by a central financial controller - a system known in the institution's jargon as the 'ex ante visa'.

He rejects the fears voiced by some MEPs, staff unions and governments that this devolved approach could lead to a weakening of controls in this most politically sensitive of areas; namely, the question of how the Commission spends taxpayers' money.

"Decentralisation does not mean relaxation", he insists. "Ex ante visas are not being ended. They will be strengthened through a decentralised system and backed up with the new internal audit service."

Kinnock believes he is winning over sceptics who fear that this would result in laxer controls, claiming that people come round to his point of view when he is given the chance to explain in detail how the new system would operate.

"It is very important that we go through the detail and illustrate how there is a very strong belt-and-braces approach without making it too cumbersome," he says, adding that decentralisation would have the added bonus of increasing job satisfaction for staff because they would know exactly what they were responsible for.

There is, however, one area in which Kinnock is planning to revise his reform blueprint in the White Paper, which is due to be published next Wednesday (1 March).

The Commissioner had suggested drawing up a new 'framework' agreement which would set out the rights of all staff working in the EU institutions but would also allow each of these bodies to draft their own specific rules.

But serious misgivings have been expressed about the wisdom of this approach. "There is a very strong feeling that this would inhibit mobility between institutions so we are giving a great deal of weight to those opinions," says Kinnock.

Otherwise, the paper will focus on explaining his team's approach to a range of important issues more clearly. On recruitment procedures, for example, the Commissioner says he will try to address fears that the process is being "nationalised". "There is absolutely no question of that and we will be happy to clarify that," he adds.

Kinnock also acknowledges that staff need to be given more details of how his plans for a more open career structure would work in practice

In addition, he reluctantly admits that member states' concerns about the way staff pay and pensions are calculated (known as the 'method') will have to be addressed during the reform debate, instead of delaying talks on this issue until after the main planks of his blueprint have been implemented.

The Commissioner is adamant that any attempt to settle this issue now would hold up progress on the broader reform agenda. "It would mean three years of incessant negotiations and would not help anybody," he insists. However, he concedes that the two issues could be tackled in parallel, saying: "The idea of bringing together these negotiations is getting a constructive response."

Nevertheless, Kinnock insists that no one is trying to get Commission staff to work on the cheap. "The desire is for demonstrated value for money. The argument is not about the method as a system. It is a genuine issue of what comes out for what we put in," he argues.

Kinnock also parries criticism from the staff unions that he is trying to do too much, too quickly, for the same reason. "The view is that they would like more time. I would like more time but Romano Prodi promised a reform programme by the start of 2000," he points out, adding that this timetable has given "propulsion" to the reform process.

He is also convinced that the buzz over Commission reform is encouraging the European Parliament to address the need to tighten up its own procedures. "It is very evident in the Parliament that the energy of commitment to reform is encouraging the large number of MEPs in favour of reform to sharpen their arguments," he maintains.

Asked how Prodi's ideas on European governance fit with his own reform initiative, Kinnock says he sees the two complementing each other.

"While we embrace democracy, freedom and accountability, governance is the system which actually delivers those essential values and virtues," he says.

Administration has to dovetail with those values, he insists, adding: "That is why reform of the institution is necessary after four decades for refreshment, redefinition and accountability."

Kinnock admits that talk about the concept of governance may sound like mere theorising, but argues that it becomes a very practical issue when applied to administrative reforms such as those he is seeking to implement.

He plays down suggestions that Prodi's plan would mean the Commission focusing too much attention on drafting policy proposals and neglecting its other responsibilities. But he also rejects fears that the emphasis now being placed on reforming the institution's working procedures could detract from its role as a policy-maker.

"Some say that concentrating on administration and management is a distraction from the Commission's fundamental tasks of initiating policy and applying the treaty, but I say it is essential to improve the functioning of the Commission as a management organisation so principal tasks can be fulfilled," he says. "You cannot have a good organisation which does not manage well. Management is not an add-on or a fad."

Kinnock points out somewhat woefully that the general public will probably never fully recognise the efforts he and his team are making to improve the way the Commission operates.

"I have told staff that there is no slick way of selling the Commission. The irony of reform is that the better we do, the less people will know about it," he says.

Instead, he adds, the aim must be to ensure that officials are remotivated to provide a better service to the public. "The task is to provide people in the Commission the chance to earn fresh public confidence and respect. The reforms should provide them with practical means to show that this is the best public administration in the world."

As Neil Kinnock prepares to unveil his White Paper on European Commission reform, he explains why he is pleased with the reaction to his proposals so far despite some criticism of his approach.