Söderman calls for urgent action over ‘ethnic imbalance’

Date: 21/02/02

By Martin Banks

THE European Ombudsman is calling for immediate action to correct an 'imbalance' in the ethnic background of staff working in EU institutions.

Jacob Söderman says the European Commission does not take possible racism in recruitment seriously enough.

'When I look around the various institutions - the Commission, Parliament and Council - the only staff I see from ethnic groups are security guards and cleaners. Given that an estimated 30 million people of ethnic minority origin live in the EU, I wonder why so few appear to be in more senior posts.

'I am not saying the Commission, or any of the other institutions, are racist. But we need to know why this is happening and what can be done about it.'

Strasbourg-based Söderman made the remarks yesterday (20 February) while in Brussels to speak before the European Parliament's petitions committee. He criticised the Commission for its 'passive' attitude towards possible racism in recruitment.

His call follows a complaint from a Dutch citizen Sears Appalsamy, who argues that too few minorities are employed by the EU. Söderman said the Commission's response to the complaint is 'hard to reconcile' with employment guidelines agreed at the Helsinki summit of EU heads of state in 1999.

He noted: 'These stress the need to foster conditions for a socially inclusive labour market by forming a coherent set of policies aimed at combating discrimination against groups such as ethnic minorities.'

The European Ombudsman, Jacob Söderman, is calling for immediate action to correct an 'imbalance' in the ethnic background of staff working in EU institutions.