Commission to approve staff shake-up

Date: 16/09/1999

By Simon Taylor

NEW European Commission President Romano Prodi will unveil the biggest reshuffle in the institution's history this weekend as he strives to get the administration in shape for the new team's five-year term of office.

Following the first official meeting of the new Commission on Saturday (18 September), Prodi will spell out the impact of the changes he first outlined in July.

The decision to cut the number of directorate-generals from 42 to 36 will release a significant number of staff who can then be given new responsibilities, with around 350 officials changing jobs and 150 posts being abolished altogether.

The immediate priorities are to move around 200 officials into the new Directorates-General for enlargement and justice and home affairs.

Prodi wants to boost the number of officials working on enlargement because of the massive increase in workload expected next year when up to five more countries could begin negotiations on terms of entry to the Union.

Both the new justice and home affairs division also needs to get up and running quickly ahead of the special summit of EU leaders planned for next month in Tampere to discuss the implications of the Amsterdam Treaty for policy-making in this field.

The new Directorate-General for enterprise, made up of the former industry, telecoms and small business divisions, will also undergo major changes, losing up to 20% of its current staff because of savings in support services such as personnel and information resulting from the merger of previously separate departments. The new directorate-general will nevertheless be one of the biggest in the Commission, with more than 1,000 staff.

Officials say incoming Vice-President Neil Kinnock will examine the case for reassigning more staff to work in under-resourced areas such as competition later in the year.

They also stress that the Commission will be pursuing an "active employment" policy for the first time as the changes are introduced. This means that existing staff will be allocated to new posts on the basis of their experience and the needs in certain areas. "We are trying to match supply and demand," said one official.

He added that the first staff to be affected by the shake-up would move into their new jobs next month, stressing that the changes would be made in full consultation with staff and their professional unions.

At this weekend's meeting, the new Commissioners will also formally adopt the codes of conduct and rules on procedures which Prodi unveiled after their first informal meeting in July, making them binding on the new team.

These measures, designed to set clear guidelines for Commissioners' behaviour in the wake of the resignation of Jacques Santer's team, include new rules on holding outside jobs, accepting paid work and declaring any financial interests which might be in conflict with their work.

Commissioners are also expected to discuss their policy priorities in the short-term, focusing on enlargement, the Tampere summit and the World Trade Organisation's ministerial meeting in Seattle in November. But wider questions about a detailed work programme for the new team will not be addressed until next week.

New European Commission President Romano Prodi will unveil the biggest reshuffle in the institution's history as he strives to get the administration in shape for the new team's five-year term of office.