DGs struggle to strike the right balance

Date: 19/09/1996

Euro-statisticians have had to make another adjustment to their men-women ratio tables.

Sarah Evans, who has been coordinating activities in DGV, has just been appointed a director in DGIX to handle the rights and obligations of officials, tipping the A2 balance between the sexes a little more in favour of females.

But there is disarray still in DGI (external economic relations), which has been disrupted by a spate of departures by top officials.

There is still no clear successor to Director-General Horst Krenzler, who retires in a few weeks, and this uncertainty, coupled with speculation over other senior posts in the DG, is said to be causing tension between staff and their Commissioner Sir Leon Brittan.

The likelihood is that, despite earlier reports that Brittan did not want a German in the top post, Krenzler's job will go to Johannes Friedrich Beseler, currently the deputy director-general.

This would give Germany the top slot in two of the three external relations DGs - DG1A is headed by long-serving Commission official Günter Burghardt.

Things are less clear-cut in Commissioner Manuel Marín's DGIB, following Director-General Juan Prat's announcement that he is off to Rome to be Spain's ambassador to Italy.

Rome claims the post is its own and has submitted a formidable list of Italian internal and external candidates to ensure the point is not overlooked.

Smart money is riding on Enrico Cioffi, currently director-general in DGXVIII (credit and investments), who is keen to move back to Brussels from Luxembourg.

Marín may be happy to have an Italian in the top job, but he will want a Spanish deputy in return - to be precise, his former Chef de Cabinet Santiago Gómez-Reino Lecoq, who is currently head of ECHO, the humanitarian aid department.

In turn, the departure of Gómez-Reino could pitch Spain and the UK into battle over the nationality of the next top dog at ECHO.