Brussels, 19 February 2019   


Note to the attention of Ms Clara Martinez, Head of Cabinet of President Juncker
and Mr Martin Selmayr, Secretary-General of the Commission
 
   
    Subject: “Parachuting” of Cabinet members at the end of the College’s mandate


   

       

       
    It was with great satisfaction that we read the statements of Mr Selmayr and Mr Italianer made during the meeting of the Heads of Cabi¬nets of 30 January 2017
 
Indeed, it was confirmed that:

“Shall not be allowed:
 
•            the appointment of Cabinet members to management posts in the Directorate-General  operating under their portfolio and placed under their direct supervision,
•         as well as appointments of Cabinet members in a Directorate-General to obtain promotion and reinstatement in a Cabi¬net as soon as this promotion is obtained.”

In support of these instructions it was indicated that:

“These practices are demotivating for the rest of the staff who are not promoted with the same speed as the cabinet members”.
 
This was the clear position and instructions we had demanded for a very long time.
Nevertheless, we have noted that it was necessary to avoid at any price any perception that they were intended to make easier the cross-parachuting between cabinets, which was also inacceptable.
Furthermore, we have noted with regret that those instructions seemed to become less strict over time, omitting the members of the cabinets of the President and the Vice Presidents due to their horizontal responsibilities.
R&D reminds that it has always opposed the parachuting of Cabinet members at the end of the College’s mandate and has underli¬ned the serious consequences for the image and the credibility of our institution and its appointment procedures as well as for the motivation of the staff.
In this connection it is undeniable that Barroso Commission overstepped all limits (see our dossier on this topic).

We must end once and for all the parachuting and the easy establishment of Cabinet members!
 
R&D has always demanded the introduction of clear rules forbidding, among others, the nomination of cabinet members
Likewise, R&D has denounced the detestable practice of the “Geyser-parachuting”, namely the appointment of a cabinet member to a management position in a Directorate-General followed by an immediate reinstatement in a cabinet.
For a very long time the staff has witnessed with deep disappointment, not to say with a real disgust, such practices, acrobatic and delirious adjustment of organisational charts aiming at facilitating the safe landing of a designated parachutist … often with mimicry efforts within the framework of “the exchange of services” between cabinets …
In particular, all too often the “external” procedures organized under Article 29(2)* of the Staff Regulations are used for the benefit of “internal-external” candidates assigned to a cabinet, who are not eligible in the internal phase for the purpose of appointing TA 2c) or of appointing/promoting civil servant colleagues with the rise of several grades.
For R&D there has never been a question to cast doubt on the merits of our cabinet colleagues but, as the Ombudsman underlined, above all to defend the independence of the administration against political pressure.

The very clear stand taken by the European Ombudsman and the President of CONT …
 
As the European Ombudsman underlined, the problem goes beyond the mere protection of the interests of our staff: 

“… it is urgent to avoid the politicization of our civil service, reassure citizens of its ability to defend the general interest and independence of political pressure and also to defend the legitimate career expectations of our staff as well as the transpa-rency and credibility of our appointment procedures” 
 
As Ms Grässle, president of CONT, rightly pointed out: 

“(...) The big losers of these "parachuting" practices will therefore be the “normal” career civil servants with no political proximity (...) This is unfortunately true in the Commission, but also in the Parliament, whose talent to promote certain can-didates to the detriment of rest of the civil service is no longer to prove. These practices lead to increasing frustration within the bureaucracy, which feels that careers depend more on arbitrariness than rationality.” 
 
It is to be reminded that such practices discredit our institution and fuel Eurosceptic and Europhobe sentiments, even more toxic on the eve of the European Parliament elections.  

… the deafening silence of DG HR 

Whenever we have asked the administration to put an end to these slippages, denouncing the devastating effects of these practices on the credibility of our institution and the motivation of the staff, we have only received bureaucratic reactions denying any problem, ensuring that all appointment procedures had been put in place, implemented in the greatest transparency… that the rules in force were religiously res¬pected by letter and spirit … in short, that all was fine in the best of all worlds!
What is worse, we also witnessed with regret that DG HR is not only incapable of putting an end to those practices but also that, as was the case with the organisation of “internal competitions” at the end of the College’s mandate, invests its talents and energy in such damaging ma¬noeuvres. 

For R&D, there has never been a question to cast doubt on the merits of the colleagues assigned to cabinets but to de-fend the independence and the credibility of our civil service, of our institution, its recruitment and appointment procedures and to take into account the devastating impact of such practices on the motivation of the rest of the staff.

It is completely understandable that every member of the College leaving our institution would like to thank his or her cabinet staff.
Nevertheless, as it was rightly pointed out in the statements mentioned above, one should not forget that those staff members have already been rewarded with quicker promotions as compared to the other staff.
Without forgetting the “tailor-made internal competitions” allowing the easy establishment of cabinet members, which DG HR, faithful to its mission of a linchpin, has already organised.  
In any event, the gratitude of the college members towards their staff should in no way be expressed in “parachuting” or easy establishment, thus undermining the recruitment procedures of our institution and leading to further demotivation of the rest of the staff. 

With 22 Commissioners who will probably not be part of the new College and our President who announced that he would not seek a second term, a real invasion of parachutists has already been organised!

Indeed, we learn that a number of posts which are vacant or are to become vacant ad hoc as well as new posts created through reorganisation have already been reserved for cabinet members. 

What is worse, a number of appointments to management posts in the Directorate-General operating under the respective cabi¬net’s portfolio and placed under its direct supervision will be organised! 

This is completely inacceptable and in flagrant contradiction to the statements mentioned above.

In light of the above, in view of your current responsibilities as the new Head of Cabinet of the President and the new Secretary-General, we ask you to take the necessary steps and give clear instructions to DG HR to put an end to the ongoing administrative manoeuvres aiming at deploying a whole range of parachuting appointments.
 
Cristiano Sebastiani
President

Copy:
Mr J.-C. Juncker - President
The Members of the College
Ms E. O’Reilly – European Ombudsman
Ms I. Souka, Mr H. Post – DG HR
Mr C. Roques, Mr L. Duluc - DG HR
The Staff

R&D is currently organising several trainings as support for the upcoming scientific AD7 competition and for the internal competitions. 
Here are the tools and assistance that we are going to offer:

1) Personal Coaching Services for Administrators
EU Training helps EPSO candidates tackle weaknesses through personal coaching services.  EU career experts help you review and improve your EPSO application, CV and Talent Screener.
This service is offered with 30% discount to our members! Join us to receive your discount code.

2) CBT online package www.eutraining.eu
Computer Based Test online packages are also available with a 30% discount to our members! Join us to receive your discount code.

3) Training on CBT via videoconference
For the internal competitions  AST-SC, AST 2, AST 4, AD 6, 7, 8, 10 and 12  R&D offers free training to its members on CBT (AST-SC, AST 2 and AD 6). These sessions take place in Brussels. In case you cannot attend our training in person in Brussels, we also offer a videoconference session from Ispra on the following dates:

• 26.02.2019 - 17:30-19:30: Verbal and Abstract Reasoning
• 12.03.2019 - 17:30-19:30: Numerical Reasoning

4) 2-day intensive Assessment Centre training course
A 2-day  training free of charge to R&D Members who have passed the talent screener will be organised in Ispra on 8th and 9th of July 2019. The course will be held  by Phil Gaskell, an expert in training for EPSO tests.
The topics covered in the training are: 
•    Case Study
•    Specific Competence Interview
•    Oral Presentation
•    Group Exercise

Further information will be given closer to the training date.

Being R&D member provides a wealth of advantages. Don't miss the opportunity to start enjoying our offers immediately!

Kind regards,

Your R&D Team

As previously advised (see our related post from 2014), whereas in all EU Member States visitors are free to circulate with foreign registered plates (subject to certain time limits), residents are generally obliged to drive cars registered in that MS. Indeed the Italian 'Codice della Strada' (Art. 132) in vigour since 1992 specifies that vehicles registered in another state that are brought to Italy have to be registered with Italian number plates within 12 months. 
The Your Europe pages for EU citizens make it clear that you may be fined:
• if you have to register your car but you fail to do so on time
• if you don't pay the relevant taxes
• if you drive with a number plate from another EU country without a proof of residency and a valid road-worthiness test.
Note that it is also specified that if you haven't registered your car in your new country, you may not lend or rent it to a resident of that country if you aren't in the car with him/her.

Additionally, the recently approved (December 2018) so-called 'decreto sicurezza', has added a further provision that anyone resident for 60 days in Italy may only drive an Italian registered car. Failing to comply with this law will likely entail very large fines (of over €700) and also possible seizure of the foreign-registered vehicle.  This recent legislation will probably mean an increased vigilance on this matter by law enforcement personnel, and it also has an immediate impact on enforcement – whereas it was not straightforward for an officer to ascertain that a foreign registered vehicle had been in Italy for 12 months it is much more straightforward to ascertain residency. We are aware of a case of at least one large fine and vehicle confiscation already having taken place in the province based on this new provision (see the JRC Ispra Welcome Desk post on @Connected about Registration of cars in Italy, which provides the official guidance from our employer on this matter).

R&D would welcome better harmonisation of EU legislation which currently constrains freedom of movement around the EU. Indeed the Commission is fully aware that the obligation to register a motor vehicle in another country when it is already registered in the country of origin has been a source of complaints all over Europe for many years and has attempted to address the issue. R&D is also concerned about the excessively short 60 day residency period in the new Italian regulation and are seeking advice as to whether it is compatible with EU free movement rules. We are also entering discussions with the JRC regarding the full implications.

Nevertheless, it remains the case that working at JRC Ispra implies being resident (see our FAQs related to residency requirements), and therefore meeting the legal obligation to drive a locally registered car (as indeed is the case for EC staff in Belgium and Luxembourg). Beyond the registration issues, we would remind colleagues that a foreign-based car insurance may not be valid when a vehicle is used mainly in Italy. 

R&D offers the following services in order to help colleagues with foreign registered cars and who wish to continue to use them and/or import them into Italy:
•             Multilingual support in launching the importation procedure of a vehicle
•             Recommendation of a professional, reliable and competent agency which will take care of the importation procedure
•             Ditto also for the conversion of foreign driving licences
•             A discount on agency fees (discount on government taxes is obviously not possible)*
•             Explanation on how to pay Italian car tax (bollo)

We are also currently in discussions with a local insurance company to obtain recognition of the accident free years of driving from a foreign vehicle insurance (bonus-malus).

Finally, we remind colleagues returning home for a visit to e.g. France, Germany or Austria with their Italian registered car to always bring proof of Italian residency with them!

*Details of Studio Zeta convention for R&D members
REGISTRATION IN ITALY OF FOREIGN REGISTERED VEHICLE
Cost: €70 Agency fees (instead of €85)+ Variable costs/Government taxes*. 
*The Variable Costs/Government taxes cost depends on a number of factors and could be on average around €500.
Individual quotations will be provided on request directly by Studiozeta.
Documentation needed: identity card, Codice Fiscale, current vehicle registration, vehicle technical documentation

CONVERSION OF DRIVING LICENCES (A/B type)
Cost: €100 Agency fees (instead of €115) + €25 for medical visit*.
*The medical visit is compulsory. 
Documentation needed: "old" driving licence, identity card, Codice Fiscale, 3 passport photos.
Appointments are available on Mondays and Fridays every week.


Please contact the R&D secretariat for further details.

Rumours are circulating about an upcoming AD Scientific Research Competition, and we feel it appropriate to provide some background.
We have strongly insisted on the need to organise scientific competitions over the last few years. Finally, the JRC has acknowledged that projected numbers of retirements over the next years make it necessary to recruit permanent staff in the near future.
In recent months the GT-CCR (Groupe Technique Coordination Concours Recherche), which has members from both administration and staff representatives, has been working on steering the process for an upcoming external (open to all EU citizens) competition for Scientific Research Administrators (AD7). The JRC, in collaboration with EPSO and DG.HR, is completing preparations for a new public competition to create a reserve list for subsequent recruitment of AD grade permanent staff.

The details of the competition are still being finalised and cannot be made public at this stage. In the meantime, we would like to reassure you that all details are being scrutinised to ensure a fair and successful competition for the future recruitment plans of the JRC and which will provide opportunities for talented scientists, also including those currently working as temporary staff.

We particularly welcome the fact that this competition is part of a new permanent plan for recruitment, aiming at launching ad-hoc competitions every year, with alternating AD and AST competitions. While we would have preferred to see an AST competition launched next year (in parallel with the AD one), we may comprehend the rationale to hold it in 2020 – provided that the recruitment plan will be implemented as promised, with a clear commitment to anticipate future retirements with full replacement by permanent staff, and no shift towards precariousness.

At a recent joint committee meeting, our DG has unambiguously confirmed to staff representatives that there are no plans to alter the current permanent vs temporary staff ratio, and that frequency of future competitions and numbers of laureates in each will be aimed at ensuring this ratio is maintained. He clarified that a previously advertised 30% permanent vs non-permanent ratio is intended as a minimum target for each Unit, intended to correct upwards units with a currently low ratio, and not as a downwards target for the JRC as a whole.

We will keep on monitoring that promises of today will not become the fake news of tomorrow.

Last but not least, internal competitions will soon be launched and the Head of DG.HR Mrs Souka recently agreed that the research field should be considered for these competitions, but it is unclear how this will actually be implemented.  Mrs Souka also agreed that internal competitions should be more regular so that ALL talented and dedicated temporary staff have a fair chance to benefit from these opportunities.

Help Amatrice become once again the beautiful land we remind!
How? By buying Parmigiano Reggiano DOP by 7th September 2018:

Click here to place your order of "PARMIGIANO REGGIANO DOP" (in the form you will find the description of the product, the link to his producer,  the price per kilo and a report of donations collected in the past).

  
As the date of the payment is requested in the above linked  application form,  before  placing your order is necessary to transfer money by bank transfer to:
Account owner: R&D BRUSSELS  - IBAN : BE26 3101 1895 5129
Description: “Solidarity sale of Parmigiano – Purchase of  ….. KG -  NAME, First name "

Important! Please note that the description mentioned will be very important for accounting reasons, in order to identify the correct destinations of your donation!

In order to organise the deliveries, please, send a copy of your bank transfer to R&D Ispra Secretariat by sending a message to JRC-R&D-ISPRA@ec.europa.eu
•The delivery is scheduled for the end of September and you will be informed by R&D Ispra Secretariat when and where (at Ispra) to collect your order.
•If you need more information, do not hesitate to contact our secretariat (9645)! 

Related posts:
1.Solidarity sale of parmesan – 17/05/2017
2.Solidarity sale of parmesan report  - 03/07/2018
3.New solidarity sale of parmesan  – 12/07/2018