Prodi set to win his battle for more staff

Date: 21/09/00

By Simon Taylor

EU GOVERNMENTS look set to bow to the European Commission's demands for extra staff, but are asking tough questions about the cost to Union taxpayers.In July, President Romano Prodi delivered an ultimatum to member states, insisting that his institution desperately needed 400 new officials to carry out its 'core tasks' and would have to give up responsibility for managing of a range of important programmes if governments did not agree to fund the additional posts. He said member states should agree to his demand if they were serious about the reform process.

Finance ministry officials have asked for more information about the extra staff Prodi has requested and details of the planned early retirement scheme for senior officials. "We cannot really decide whether to approve what the Commission is asking for unless we know exactly what it would cost," said one diplomat.

But others say that while Union governments might not agree to fund all the additional posts Prodi wants, they are likely to sanction a significant increase. Budget Commissioner Michaele Schreyer told European Voice she was confident that member states would support the request. "We are only asking for a very small increase in the situation, especially when you compare the size of the Commission to other administrations," she said.

The EU executive has asked for a 45-million euro rise in next year's budget to pay for the extra staff. But at a meeting with Budget Director-General Jean-Paul Mingasson last week, national officials requested precise information about the type of staff needed to give them a clearer picture of how much they would cost.

Governments also want a more detailed assessment of the grades of staff likely take advantage of the early retirement scheme. Officials said the Commission's claim that the measure would have no impact on the budget overall would depend on well-paid senior officials taking early retirement being replaced by younger, cheaper staff.

Commission Vice-President Neil Kinnock said in July that the scheme, which is expected to be taken up by around 600 staff, would cost 10 million euro a year over the next 11 years but generate savings in salaries and allowances.

Commission departments have been holding a series of meetings to try to calculate the cost of the changes - which range from staff redeployment to a more merit-based promotion structure - more accurately.

Kinnock plans to give EU finance ministers a detailed presentation at their meeting next Friday (29 September) in an effort to answer their questions.

But officials have expressed scepticism about whether Kinnock will be able to give complete answers because key decisions with major cost repercussions - on, for example, officials' salaries and benefits - will not be made until a later stage in the reform process.

EU governments look set to bow to the European Commission's demands for extra staff, but are asking tough questions about the cost to Union taxpayers.