tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83579975648090666772024-03-05T20:13:07.661-08:00Eurocrat=European+TechnocratInside stories from the European CommissionEuropean Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.comBlogger44125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-32117817625491990792009-12-02T12:38:00.000-08:002009-12-02T12:42:03.340-08:00We are living extraordinary times but...<span style="font-weight: bold;">It is time to move on for Eurocrat!</span><br /><br />The Treaty of Lisbon has entered into force and the European Institutions, and in particular the Commission, are experiencing changes of a great magnitude.<br /><br />For the first time in many years, the role of each institution are being redefined: in the Commission, I believe it is the first treaty which transfer some powers to the Council; the Parliament is pumping more democracy in our institutions...<br /><br />Many of the colleagues are getting nervous because of the new commission (which usually bring a restructuring) is happening with the ratification of a major treaty. But I personally feel confident that we are going in the right direction, the direction of democracy and governance.<br /><br />I, for my part, am moving on professionally and I am taking the opportunity to conclude my blogging experience.<br />It has been a very thoughtful experience and I hope I have dispelled some mis-perceptions about European Officials.<br /><br />The Euro-Blogosphere is very rich and growing and I hope there will be someone else to take my small chair...<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />EurocratEuropean Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-80546237133641199582009-11-26T15:00:00.000-08:002009-11-26T15:04:23.138-08:00How to become a Fonctionnaire without ever passing a Concours?Things are now settling down at the top level, with a president everybody expected and a High Representative out of the blue. The English played it very well... on that one. The gender balance did also play a critical role. But now it is time to think about a new commission and there will be a very good opportunity to join the EC without ever passing the Concours.<br /><br />I remember some time ago a post by Julian Frish on the cost of hiring Officials. Te Court of Auditors investigated a bit how the European Institutions recruit and came up of a cost of 7000€ per person on the Reserve List. Now EPSO is changing the whole recruitment process: from knowledge to competencies...<br /><br />But did you know that you could become an Official without going through EPSO? Difficult but not impossible... <span style="font-weight: bold;">Well do you know people? do you happen to know a commissioner? </span>Then offer to work in his cabinet, and boom! you are a Fonctionnaire. And if you are lucky, when the Commission's term is over, you will get to pass an internal concours, terribly favorable to you, to become a head of Unit. And if you are extremely lucky to be the director of the cabinet of your commissioner, you might just become directly a Director General.<br /><br />Well, forget about EPSO and all this none sense Numerical and Verbal tests; just work for your favorite commissioner and start a wonderful career in the European Institutions!European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-4598528185453308212009-11-18T12:06:00.000-08:002009-11-18T12:08:14.276-08:00The Business of OutsourcingAs the years go by, the public service is getting more and more privatized. You might have witnessed in your respective countries that we should trust the private sector to deliver a better value-for-money service. Reagan and Maggy Thatcher started it all in the 80's, and it has lead to some extreme with the financial sector or the underdogs in the Iraq war. But I am not there to argue if it is a good or a bad thing. I have my own opinion on it, but I just want to show you how it is affecting us at the EC.<br /><br />When it was created in the 1950's, with Germany, France, Italy and Benelux, the Commission was seen as the ultimate public sector agent. Those guys were offered a well paid lifetime employment in exchange for their technical, managerial, political expertises. Nowadays, ADMINISTRATORS are wanted...<br /><br />The critical point was the 2004, with the Kinnock reform of the Status. No more cooks fonctionnaire, no more guard fonctionnaire... all outsourced to major contractors. In a sense, was it legitimate to give the same status to all the categories. The underlying rationale was that you should give a compensation package good enough to protect the Commission's independence. So it makes some sense to provide the cooking or cleaning services through the private sector, as I remind you incentives to perform well are rarely in our organisation.<br /><br />Nowadays, on the higher level, the vision of the EC is to be a public government only to administer and use technical expertise from the private sector.<br /><br />So the technical expertise is outsourced to Contractual Agents and consultants. It is starting to create a quality problem. One, CA are paid correctly, but their lack of long term perspective prevents from attratcting top talents. Don't get me wrong, CA are in vast majority bright and motivated individuals, but how much people don't join the EC because of the 3 year rule. With respect to consultants, the sacred consultants, it is not that we are paying them well, it is just that our procedures are very cumbersome and rarely focused on quality. Let me give you an example, or to say our dilema. You want some expertise on a domain that you don't have in-house. So if you have a lot of budget and a lot of time, than you just tender a call for proposal, get a panel of evaluators, wait 6 months before the guys deliver the product. If it is a quick need, then you use Framework contracts: in a week you get 3 proposals from selected contractors... contractors, not really, just recruiters who post the jobs on the Internet. And don't think you get the best consultants in a week of time!<br /><br />Eventually, the critical question is: how do you evaluate the work of the consultants, when they have the expertise and you are just an administrator??? Do you hire other consultants to evaluate your first consultants?<br /><br />It is all about finding the right balance between technical and administrative expertises... the original status was maybe to focus on the technical one, but the reform is rushing to the other extreme. But it is how reforms go, right?European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-70240248156990960032009-11-11T13:44:00.000-08:002009-11-11T14:00:12.790-08:00Habeus Papam!Yes we have a winner for the post of president of the UE. Most of us are still guessing, but it is clear that we have a winner... actually winners (for the high representative as well).<br /><br />The Swedes have convened a Council Meeting next week, and officially it will be a former or current head of government...It can only mean that a consensus has been reached on Herman Van Rompuy, current Prime Minister of Belgium.<br /><br />Tony Blair got burnt on the last lap, by a sacrifice from Junker. Quite a rooky mistake if you ask me for a "political animal" such as Blair.<br /><br />And then Van Rompuy appeared miraculously as the best, not-charismatic, from a small country, fine negotiator candidate. The ironic thing is that the stability long awaited for the Union will be at the detriment of Belgium... Another inestimable sacrifice!<br /><br />For the HR position, Miliband judiciously set himself out of the game... probably to reconstruct the Labor Party next year. D'Alema is now the lead candidate for the HR position. Once again, appearing from nowhere! I am surprised that Berlusconi would leave such a strategic position to a member of his opposition, what is left of Silvio's reputation?<br /><br />Let's see next week!European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-89012892326247855872009-11-03T11:26:00.000-08:002009-11-03T11:29:53.946-08:00In the News: Treaty of LisbonWell, well, well... Finally, Vaclav Klaus signed the Treaty of Lisbon today! It was a long and tortuous ratification process, with many hurdles, delays and surprises and hopefully the Treaty will enter into force this December.<br /><br />I thought it would be harder to get Klaus to sign, but apparently the man isn't foolish as I thought. The British Tories are now in an interesting position... But don't worry Cameron, you can still withdraw from the Union :)<br /><br />It was a strange time here at the European Commission, as people got a bit surprised by how fast the Treaty and the Irish vote passed through. Some of us really thought that we would get stuck in Nice forever. Some even said that Klaus delays in signing the Treaty allowed people to get ready.<br /><br />The hot topic nowadays is the External Service and the High Representative (HR). As you know, it is one of the main innovations of the treaty and the HR is likely to be become even more powerful than the president of the Union. So negotiations are ongoing on the subject and many of our colleagues in the RELEX (External Relations) family are worried by the structuring of the External Service. Because the Service will be mixed with the Commission, the Council and the Member States, everyone is trying to protect his own backyard: diplomacy, development, trade, enlargement. And even the Parliament is joining the debate, threatening with his new powers!<br /><br />Many internal session to inform are being conducted but still nothing seems decided. The Treaty stipulates that the External Service is to be defined by a Council Decision on a proposal by the HR himself... Thrilling, isn't it?European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-68696967522378268432009-10-26T11:11:00.000-07:002009-10-26T11:22:50.997-07:00In the News: Fruits and VegetablesWell that was some time ago, but I found an interesting perspective on that...<br /><br />So remember that everybody was relieved when the EC allowed ugly fruit and vegetables back in shops (see the BBC news <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7723808.stm">here</a>)?<br /><br />Guess what? you can't blame the Eurocrats for that silly rule, which lasted decades. The rule was established by the United Nations (<a href="http://www.unece.org/Welcome.htm">UNECE</a>) after WWII to facilitate trade.<br /><br />The only thing you can blame on us is how keen we were to adopt it. Read the following from the UNECE website:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">The standardization activities of the UNECE include the harmonization of existing national standards into international commercial quality standards for a wide range of perishable products, including fresh fruit and vegetables, dry and dried product (fruit as well as vegetables), seed potatoes, eggs and egg products, meat (bovine, chicken, llama/alpaca, ovine, porcine, and turkey) and cut flowers. The UNECE Working Party on Agricultural Quality Standards (WP.7) and its specialized sections have drawn up close to 100 standards for the purpose of facilitating international trade between and to UNECE member countries (see List of agricultural quality standards).<span style="font-weight: bold;"> The Geneva Protocol on Standardization of Fresh Fruit and Vegetables and Dry and Dried Fruit sets the basis for this work. </span>Worldwide Codex standards for fruit juices and quick frozen foods have also been prepared by joint groups of experts of UNECE and the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Many of the UNECE standards for perishable produce have been used as reference in the European Commission regulations.<br /></span><br /></span>Bloody UNcrats!!! you really got the blame on us for that<span style="font-style: italic;">...<br /><br /></span>European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-62288535456564518582009-10-05T13:13:00.000-07:002009-10-05T13:24:32.982-07:00In the News: Thanks Ireland!A major hurdle was passed this weekend, with Ireland voting yes to the Lisbon Treaty. I think I got the trick now... for every referendum we should plan two votes from the Irish folks.<br /><br />Anyhow, that was a good effort, nice participation and an unambiguous score, even though it was the 250th anniversary of Guinness apparently.<br /><br />Well the battle is far from over, as we still need to convince the Czech President (still don't know how he got there though...) Shall we give him the ultimate threat:<span style="font-weight: bold;"> the Multilingualism portfolio in the next commission</span>? I am not even sure it will work though.European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-59745978350761700662009-09-29T12:02:00.000-07:002009-09-29T12:11:38.550-07:00In the News: Will the Irish get back to their sense?This week, our Irish neighbors are voting for a second time on the Lisbon Treaty. Their choice goes well beyond the borders of Ireland, as it will decide the future of our Union.<br /><br />So far, polls are looking positive. Thanks to a terrible financial crisis, the Irish realized that they might still need the EU. I have not heard of a plan B yet and do hope that it won't be necessary.<br /><br />Honestly, I do agree that the Treaty is complicated, it recycles most of the EU Convention project rejected by the French and the Dutch. But I stick to its driving forces: more power to the Euro-Parliament (the real democratic player in the game) and simplified procedures to take decisions. For me, it is more than enough to vote for it. There is also the cherry on the top that is the accelerated procedures, i.e. when a set of countries want to go further in their integration while the unconvinced can seat and watch and catch up later.<br /><br />Their are lot of critics on the treaty being complicated and undemocratic. Well, it was negotiated by elected governments, so I don't really understand the last point. Complication? Well, we are talking about 27 countries in the 21st century... After all we are not in the 18th century where a bunch of guys, called the forefathers, could write a constitution with 7 articles.<br /><br />What really bothered me in the French, Dutch and Irish rejection is that I am pretty sure that most of the people who voted against really voted to sanction their governments... To pick on the Irish, I find utterly ridiculous that a people who enjoyed so much European Funds just bite the hand that had been feeding them for so many years. I hope that with the financial crisis they understand that the Union is for the best and for the worst.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So Irish folks: no boozing this Friday and make sure to vote with what remains of your brain... rather than you guts!</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhREGdXmbn6XWBM3YEgoYnAnrtYm3kjW-3sSfBd14rlpzCyj9wpPkcm2nKwxPKtC75SZMnq-cRZzr_fWzK9YQQcxHHvupqovBuPY04jd48zP2fmOaK3BRszE3OsMisAteAvxPRMfYYumXkR/s400/Martin-turner-IT.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 264px;" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5386968152660357986" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Brian Cowen:"While I have you there... we have these demands"</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Cartoon from Martin Turner </span></div>European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-30076996375948099842009-09-27T01:48:00.000-07:002009-09-27T01:52:25.774-07:00I am sorry Belgium!Sorry for the earlier outburst... truly sorry. I love Belgium, Belgians, Brussels! I love the chocolate, the fries, the beers... Promised, I won't go in exile in Antwerp!<br /><br />Funny thing is that I found that that Mark Mardell, BBC's correspondent in Brussels, left for Washington DC this summer, and he shared some common feelings! <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markmardell/2009/07/s_27.html">Here is his post on leaving Bruxelles.</a>European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-13649365175689512442009-09-21T12:52:00.000-07:002009-09-21T13:11:55.879-07:00Life in BrusselsWhen working for the European Commission, the odds are that you will spend a large amount of time in Brussels. Your only way out is to move to Luxembourg (which I believe can be assimilated as a harsh and inhuman treatment), join one of the Agencies (preferably the one in pleasant cities) or work for the External Services in a Delegation.<br /><br />For the large majority of us, we are confined in Brussels, in the European Quarter.<br /><br />Well, you will always complaint about the shitty weather around here (one week of summer per year, the four seasons in a day, etc), but as a matter of Brussels is a very pleasant city in so many ways. It is relatively small and not crowded compared to other European Capitals. It is also cheap (though prices have adjusted the last five years), and accommodations remain at a great value-for-money. Transport is very decent with lot of public transport, little congestion and now better cycle lanes. The Belgian health system is also well above the European average, and education is of quality for no money...<br /><br />In short, it is a small city, but with all the benefits of a big one and none of the disadvantages: great diversity of people and food, lot of entertainments, cultural activities and shopping, but you can still live in the center or have a decent commute.<br /><br />One other big plus for Brussels is that Belgians are a nice and open people. They bear nicely with us, arrogant and indecently paid Eurocrats...<br /><br />So what? Shall we just pray for Global Warming so we can actually have a real summer (apparently this August was exceptional)?<br /><br />It is not yet heaven... You can actually go completely Cuckoo in this charming little city we call Bruxelles. You will realize, very little time after settling, that the city is highly dysfunctional. And after all this time in Brussels, I really need to get my frustrations out!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Public Services</span><br /><ul><li>To become a resident, you have to formally register with your "Commune". Well I can only advise you to use the EC Protocol Office (when you work at the EC, otherwise, good luck to you). Some "Communes" will drive you nut for some papers, other are more easy going...</li><li>If you want to subscribe to a public utility (gas, water, electricity, telephone), then you have to wait for at least half a month and take half a day of leave. You set the appointment for a particular day and they tell you that the technician will come between 9am and 12pm... And some time they don't and you just wait for nothing!</li><li>If you want to go to the Post Office or to the Train Station, I really suggest you go during office hours (excluding Lunch Break). They staff their desks so that the bigger the queue, the less counters you have.</li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Shops</span><br />You might think that most of Public Services are similar in other EU Countries, but the private sector will convince you that it is a systemic issue!<br /><ul><li>Get a technical advice on a item (if you can get a vendor in the first place): then you probably want to ignore it. Shop attendants have very little knowledge of what they sell and basically has no commercial skills. I am not sure that they understand who has the money. Having say that, you can find a very knowledgeable seller... beware, he will just bore you to death with the little details of his personal life (very often in the Computer department)</li><li>Get the Warranty to work: That is a tricky one. Be ready to lose a lot of time, a lot of patient. Whatever explanations you give to the shop, it will be ignore and the repairer will send it back as it is because he does not understand the problem.</li><li>Get a package from Fedex, UPS or DHL: well if it is sent at home, you better take a day off (because they come between 9am and 5pm), and sometimes they don't as well!<br /></li></ul><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">And the cherry on the top: The Flemish/Walloon issue!</span><br />Some says it is like an old couple breaking up... but it is worse! The country is basically schizophrenic and loves to scare the heck out of itself. Flemishes just want to end it because they got the money and the jobs. Walloons claims that the Flemish pension bill is too high and the Flemish need the Walloons for retirement. And at the last European Elections, a Walloon Party wanted to get Brussels and Wallonie to join France.<br /><br />This is just way above me, because we live in a extremely diverse country (Europeans, Turks, Arabs, Africans, Asian, Latinos, etc.), and the locals are fighting each other.<br /><br />I just wonder how such an international city can run like that...European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-5966055664827761332009-09-19T08:20:00.000-07:002009-09-19T08:25:23.534-07:00In the News: Barroso reelected... a sad week at the ECA sad week indeed at the Commission. Barroso got reelected and another weak commission in perspective.<br />Personally, I felt quite bitter about the vote... What can we really expect from a President of the Commission who got the support from the<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Eurosceptic MEPs</span>? I heard the Socialist Spanish MEPs voted for him, God knows what bargain is going on back door!<br /><br />Time will tell. Next big fight: Irish referendum!European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-11391886612244779892009-09-14T12:45:00.000-07:002009-09-14T12:54:41.618-07:00In the News: Anybody but Barroso?Summer is over, and the negotiations for the new Commission did not even get hot. The post of the President never really got beyond "To be Barroso or not to be Barroso". Some Member States did try to make some noise (see <a href="http://www.economist.com/blogs/charlemagne/2009/09/france_launches_a_nuclear_stri.cfm">in the Economist</a>, how France is trying to nuke Barroso). In the end, Barroso is very likely to be there for another term.<br /><br />Interestingly, Daniel Cohn-Bendit said in an interview on Euronews about Barroso:<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">“Mr Barroso was incapable of leading an independent Commission which held its own against the Council,and that’s the problem. You know, Europe is an institutional triangle: a Commission, a Council and a Parliament. If the President of the Commission is simply the Secretary General of the Council, meaning the governments, European democracy cannot work. And that’s my biggest problem with Mr Barroso."</span><br /><br />I fully agree on that point! Our Euro-democracy has to be about power equilibrium and Barroso is just too lightweight for the post! Barroso is just acting a secretary, and not as a corner of the triangle. I see several reasons in such behavior:<br />1) Barroso does not have any charisma. He left Portugal without a national aura... Worse, his party lost the elections quite Badly after he lost.<br />2) Barroso is a planner, and sucked it up during the first term, to be reconducted.<br /><br />If the first is right, then it will be again a very weak commission that we will have. If the second is right, then we could some real commission for the next five year. Gut feeling: both are righ, but the first is just too big for the second.<br /><br />To conclude, I will take up Cohn-Bendit's suggestion that Barrosso should instead get the Presidency of the Union, if the Member States like him so much!<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Anybody but Barroso (but not Blair...)</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCCs7jpktRAslz73e4jwNEju2U2vkDqlMG2D_9T1sz0EtrChuH07iAsu-yztrf3snNoV4uRNHmPL6Xhm22iQC8HtNpxsx6bixw4mYjZ5ZTPR1WUyHdsoANGhqMY92Ox1SN8PKTTcZX5_iz/s320/barroso-header.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 70px;" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381411898658615074" border="0" /></a>European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-45796437750139145012009-09-13T02:14:00.000-07:002009-09-13T02:15:22.302-07:00Back online!Your favorite Eurocrat is back to blogging... and don't get me wrong, I was not on leave all that time!<br /><br />Stay tune for insights, opinions and much more.<br />If you have some suggestions for topics, please write them in the comment section.European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-81517942548099040592009-07-30T14:12:00.000-07:002009-07-30T14:19:24.782-07:00Out of Office: Eurocrat on Annual LeaveDear Readers,<br /><br />It is time for me to go on Annual Leave. Still have a lot of days to spend away from the office...<span style="font-weight: bold;"> I am a civil servant after all!!!</span><br /><br />The offices are pretty empty nowadays, so no crazy bureaucratic legislation to disturb the summer.<br /><br />I will be back in September with some new insights of the EC and a lot of discuss on the Union.<br /><br />Your Favorite EurocratEuropean Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-4460938987313601042009-07-24T09:44:00.000-07:002009-07-24T09:47:24.177-07:00Public Consultation: Going abroad to learnThere is an interesting public consultation on Learning Abroad, in the framework of a Green Paper on "Promoting the learning mobility of young people"<br />I believe that the Erasmus program and other similar exchange schemes are one of the greatest successes of the European Union, so it would be important to react and improve our policies for the coming generations.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Please feel free to react </span><a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/09/1096&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en">here</a><span style="font-weight: bold;">.</span>European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-75424370954338456032009-07-20T02:44:00.000-07:002009-07-20T02:50:11.266-07:00In the News: Iceland Wants to join the EUThe Parliament of Iceland has voted last week in favor of opening accession negotiation with the EU. The adhesion will then be voted in a popular referendum. Prognostics indicated that the country could join in 2011 or 2012, given that it already belongs to the European Economic Area (EEA) and has already adopted over 2/3 of the "Acquis Communautaire".<br /><br />After the financial crisis that almost wiped the economy of this small island up north, the interest of joining the EU and the Euro has been revived. Well the more, the merrier? A strong democratic country, with high level of incomes, living in peace with Mother Nature... can only be an asset for the EU right? Well the language is going a tricky one: we will have to recruit some Icelandic/Maltese interpreters, Icelandic/Luxembourgeois translators...<br /><br />Thinking a little bit more about it, I am not so sure that it is such a positive development for the Union. I am ill-at-ease that they decide to join when they are in deep problems. Why not before? Not to share.<br /><br />I see accession a bit like a wedding: we share our destiny for the best and for the worst... but what to really think about a partner who wants to marry you only after loosing his/her job, large chunks of his/her savings, etc. I bet you will be a bit suspicious. What happened when their country get better (yes eventually it will)? Will they join the Eurosceptics, play foul to protect their interests...?<br /><br />Oh come on, you know I am just dreaming out loud! That can happen! We have never dealt with islanders who benefited greatly from EU funds and then voted against Lisbon Treaty, or others who, when times got better, invented stories to renounce their contribution rebates they got when times weren't so rosy...European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-64429622936947032492009-07-17T07:40:00.000-07:002009-07-17T07:47:39.669-07:00Swedish Presidency's First WeeksMore than 2 weeks that the Swedes are in charge and we can already feel the change. The Swedish PM is like a permanent guest on EuroNews nowadays!<br /><br />Maybe they have the solution for the European Construction? In the Frankfurter Rundschau...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBM8h20ZlCWrrhFzTjW__6qziJdkL1rDbihhrKN3L2asqtg_3uTXTs93KjG35rQ8EVz_3dzu8wdkuJbL2_3XPgGJMKf7L3ao_DD_xu2-xyelAF-feD24rYVQZRBudjkum43T2K5kYXVPP/s1600-h/Frankfurter+Rundschau.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfBM8h20ZlCWrrhFzTjW__6qziJdkL1rDbihhrKN3L2asqtg_3uTXTs93KjG35rQ8EVz_3dzu8wdkuJbL2_3XPgGJMKf7L3ao_DD_xu2-xyelAF-feD24rYVQZRBudjkum43T2K5kYXVPP/s320/Frankfurter+Rundschau.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 379px; height: 284px;" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5359440335966630674" border="0" /></a>European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-81039963212487317872009-07-12T14:03:00.000-07:002009-07-12T14:17:18.141-07:00Accountability at the European Commission: Internal AccountabilityIn previous posts, I have discussed how we, Eurocrats, are accountable to the European citizen, via elected officials (ie Member States and MEPs). To conclude my series on Accountability in the European Commission, I will tell more about the internal accountability which is expressed through three distinct bodies: <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ombudsman, Court of Auditors, OLAF.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ombudsman</span><br />Maybe the more famous of the three, the Ombudsman was established by the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, to treat any complaint a citizen can have against European Institutions. Currently the post is held by Nikiforos Diamandouros, in Strasbourg. Not really a judge, he acts as a mediator when a citizen feels he has been bamboozled by the Institutions. You can check on his website the different cases. I never had to deal with him, but my feeling is that he helps a lot in minimizing the distance between a citizen and the administration.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Court of Auditors</span><br />The Court of Auditors is a bit older (born in 1975) and lives in Luxembourg. And we deal with them a lot... They just arrive at your floor (with a short notice), size all the documents and emails they want and lock themselves in the Archive room. So they basically do financial audits of the whole set of European Institutions (since the Treaty of Amsterdam) but also EU funded projects. And there is a lot you can learn by looking at financial accounts. You may have heard about it when it comes to certifying the Budget of the Commission. You have got to admit that the Court of Auditors is a pretty good agent for change. The Budget is now becoming more and more reliable because those guys have made sure we do a serious job.<br /><br />A lesser known activity of the Court is to audit projects but also our internal procedures. They choose their sectors among the thousands of activities we have and take an external look at it. It is very interesting to read their reports on what you do. They sometimes give an opinion on what you do (and they should not), but it is how you do things that really matters. They have triggers a number of internal reforms with their reports, which shows that we are ready to accept criticism and improve how we do business.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Office Européen de Lutte Anti-Fraude or European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF)</span><br />Last but not least, the youngest of the three, born in 1999, or should I say re-born fully independent. In a nutshell, OLAF investigates any allegation of fraud which involve European money. Like the Court of Auditors, OLAF has a right to investigate internal and external accounts to prevent fraud or corruption. But unlike the Court of Auditor, they like to pop in unannounced. The Office does not have a proper enforcement mechanism, but they rely on national justice system to prosecute.<br />Let say that if you are investigated by OLAF, it is the worst thing that can happen to a Fonctionnaire. That was the case at EUROSTAT in 2004, with an infamous leak from a German journalist, who ended up with the Ombudsman... I heard lately that they are quite busy in Bulgaria nowadays!European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-52710240193443523582009-07-05T12:12:00.000-07:002009-07-05T12:23:59.183-07:00In the News: Sweden takes over the EU presidency<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDd_O2IYRlJ65E2_bPHx4dNht8Z-C57xhxrgMrg4oKQ6LOFfv827kzkqJLUILa0c5F-mR5l3vTh0-zA89wkBy1br7q-x90CeiqWLiO94ugn6pkx1265bIQJraKKUDzqxgBJfah-A2j2hXL/s1600-h/logo.png"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDd_O2IYRlJ65E2_bPHx4dNht8Z-C57xhxrgMrg4oKQ6LOFfv827kzkqJLUILa0c5F-mR5l3vTh0-zA89wkBy1br7q-x90CeiqWLiO94ugn6pkx1265bIQJraKKUDzqxgBJfah-A2j2hXL/s200/logo.png" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 135px; height: 109px;" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5355058748425769154" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">All hail Sweden!</span> Since a week, Sweden is holding the rotating presidency of the Union. The program is published on their website: <a href="http://www.se2009.eu/en">http://www.se2009.eu/en</a><br />Interesting priorities are presented:<ul><li>Climate (weird, as a Swede I would really not mind a couple degrees more)<br /></li><li>Employment and Economy (at last!)<br /></li><li>Citizen's rights</li><li>Baltic Sea (to save Swedish banks from the Baltic Financial Crisis)</li><li>EU in the World (as anybody else)</li></ul>As usual a good mix of good intentions and personal interests. Unlike the previous presidency, there could be interesting alignment of interests on the economy. Sweden has developed an economic model based on competitiveness without hurting the social protection. Maybe they could teach us some few lessons of Social Democracy.<br /><br />As journalists wrote, the program is not ambitious at all, just to make sure that every achievement will be ranked as a success.<br /><br />But<span style="font-weight: bold;"> the coming 6 months are crucial to the future of the Union</span>. Indeed, in the next 6 months:<br /><ul><li>We will get a new commission and a new parliament. The Battle for Barroso's re-election is going to be a fierce one...<br /></li><li>The Treaty of Lisbon is likely to be implemented, depending on the Irish re-vote. This will be a major tectonic move in our institutions, with a stable presidency, a stronger parliament and a new set of governing rules at the Council.</li></ul>Something I really appreciate from the Swedes is they might be one of the few countries which really cares about the general interest (or at least is not overwhelmed by parochial interests). Something welcome nowadays...European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-48864144396514606362009-06-29T13:59:00.000-07:002009-06-29T14:01:08.468-07:00In the News: End of the Czech PresidencyHere we are, at the end of the Czech Presidency of the Union and it is time to give an assessment.<br /><br />It started very well with a first controversy from <a href="http://www.davidcerny.cz/start.html">David Cerny</a>, giving a vibrant homage to Czech humor. But other Members States were not ready for that...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9vvmNA6HwVHXtf6w_BLnS-p2sYfsohtaik8SsXZ2_a74msii7cLec8xqLOwhMm8a28qEVr2xcyiatdvfROc6a_pt7FB83zpVSkV42XcP4xg7BN_e4g_WkloiE3KBxAReIZdCik4K9dLAv/s1600-h/Entropa.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9vvmNA6HwVHXtf6w_BLnS-p2sYfsohtaik8SsXZ2_a74msii7cLec8xqLOwhMm8a28qEVr2xcyiatdvfROc6a_pt7FB83zpVSkV42XcP4xg7BN_e4g_WkloiE3KBxAReIZdCik4K9dLAv/s320/Entropa.JPG" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 285px;" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347173157447116162" border="0" /></a>On the political affairs, <a href="http://www.eu2009.cz/programme-en">their agenda</a> was less ambitious than the previous one, and certainly much less egocentric!<br /><br />I can't really tell you what is the outcome of this program, because the Presidency was rocked by the resignation of Topolánek, leaving a void at the top. It could not contrast more with the Omni-Presidency of Sarkozy.<br /><br />Well, it was not a bad thing that Topolánek resigned... I think he has better things to do in Berlusconi Playboy Mansion...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.elpais.com/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSfycGPduf3SJq3OGjMZlyhTNnnoHyYgBCcc4S6OLkZ6T72zDFX0oJzaxeqasV-ThdAYQrBspiB-9wo1gS968QCtEkW_ZJ3kLBPvOwbTUYKygk2W2xUHsaXIPcVLoJ_8KgNcApCLslLjUM/s200/20090605elpepuint_7.jpg" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 175px;" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347197422740946642" border="0" /></a>Personally, it felt like 6 month lost, when we would have need a strong leadership in time of an major economic crisis and an important election. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Really hope the Swedish do a better job.</span>European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-67427552703028589992009-06-21T13:58:00.000-07:002009-06-22T23:31:35.355-07:00The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: a typology of FonctionnairesThis is a post I have been preparing for a while. I put a lot of thoughts on it and I would really be curious to get your feedbacks.<br /><br />Like any organization, the staff is an heterogeneous group with different levels of interests and motivation. Here is how I would classify my colleagues. It is not a scientific survey, just rough estimates.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><table style="page-break-before: always; text-align: left; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" border="1" bordercolor="#cccccc" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="386"> <col width="84"> <col width="96"> <col width="91"> <col width="81"> <tbody><tr valign="top"> <td width="84"> <p align="center"> </p><br /></td> <td width="96"> <p align="center"><b>Passive</b></p> </td> <td width="91"> <p align="center"><b>Reactive</b></p> </td> <td width="81"> <p align="center"><b>Proactive</b></p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="84"> <p align="center"><b>Negative</b></p> </td> <td width="96"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center">Prick</p> <p align="center">(5%)</p> </td> <td width="91"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center">Complainer</p> <p align="center">(5%)</p> </td> <td width="81"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center">Saboteur</p> <p align="center">(5%)</p></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td width="84"><p align="center"><b>Neutral</b></p></td><td width="96"><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center">Lazy Bastard</p> <p align="center">(15%)</p> </td> <td width="91"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center">Obedient</p> <p align="center">(40%)</p> </td> <td width="81"><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><p style="text-align: center;" align="center">--</p> </td> </tr> <tr valign="top"> <td width="84"> <p align="center"><b>Positive</b></p> </td> <td width="96"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center">Observer</p> <p align="center">(5%)</p> </td> <td width="91"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center">Follower</p> <p align="center">(20%)</p> </td> <td width="81"> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;" align="center">Performer</p> <p align="center">(5%)</p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table></div><br />I will focus on three specific categories:<br /><ul><li>The Good (the Lazy Bastard)</li><li>The Bad (the Saboteur)</li><li>The Ugly (the Prick)</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Lazy Bastard</span><br />Those are officials who are known to be inactive, but remain neutral. Sometimes you even forget they exists as procedures have been established in the unit to bypass them. Several reasons can turn you into a Lazy Bastard: you reach the end of career and don't have any prospects; you have been given an inadequate position, so you just wait for your rotation; because of internal politics you have been offer a golden closet...<br />So if you take 15% of 23,000 fonctionnaires, it is 3,450 officials, which can represent its own DG!<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The Prick</span><br />Even though there are less pricks than lazy bastards, they have a stronger visibility by complaining a lot. Instead of being constructive, they will make sure to criticize you without offering an alternative way. Of course, being constructive could force them to be productive. Some are actually experts at hiding their laziness with constant bitching. Fortunately you can just ignore them or just ask them to produce. It is actually your best defense, they will definitely shut up if it can save them from working. People get there out of frustration, being there for so long.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">The Saboteur</span><br />This is the "Crème de la Crème"! If not controlled, the Saboteur can messed up your all unit. Very hard to ignore, very hard to fight, you have to be very skilled to deflect their attention to a less important subject. He will definitely break one of our Golden rules, which is no criticizing of colleagues with external people. I think some people don't know that they are saboteurs. if they are not doing it on purpose, you can still manage... it is just their personality. But the one who are doing on purpose are just mean people. Since you can't fired them, just try to promote them and hope that another unit will make the mistake of hiring him.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So how would you compared it with your own organization in private sector and national/local public sector?</span>European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-91772986157248535252009-06-18T12:07:00.001-07:002009-06-19T07:59:03.173-07:00European Commission in the MediaI don't know if you have notice lately, but the Commission is making a real effort to communicate to the citizens. Of course, there were the European Elections, but it seems that DG Communication is trying to go beyond for once.<br /><br />On the traditional media, it seems that only Euronews (obviously) seems to pay any attention to European themes. Don't get confuse, Euronews does not belong to any EU Institutions... though it would not be a bad thing to have a European Public Channel.<br /><br />But it is in the new media that the effort is concentrated. We even have <a href="http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=eutube&view=playlists">our own You Tube Channel</a>. We are totally cool :p)<br /><br />Next you will be able to follow your favorite commissioners on Twitter!European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-81899261720413729962009-06-14T07:50:00.000-07:002009-06-14T07:56:13.955-07:00Obituaries<span style="font-style: italic;">"Le chef d'unité "Politique Sociale", au nom du Directeur gènèral du Personnel et de l'Administration a le regret de vous informer du décès, survenu à XXX le JJ/MM/AAAA de Monsieur/Madame XXX. [...] La Commission, et plus particulièrement les collègues de la Direction Générale XX, présentent leurs condoléances à la famille."</span><br /><br />Twice a week on average, we receive in our mail an A5 leaflet announcing the death of a colleague. At the family's request, a message is circulated to remember a dear colleague... I personally think it is a lot of rubbish. You usually get the leaflet the day before the ceremony so you cannot physically make the arrangements for it. And I don't really understand why it has to be circulated to the whole EC. We do have a level of mobility within the Commission, but twice a week is becoming really morbid...<br /><br />I could not help smiling once when a newcomer freaked out on the mortality rate of officials. <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Was it because of the asbestos in the Berlaymont???</span> Well she did not know that the leaflets include pensioners... who left long long time ago.<br /><br />I read on our internal newspaper somebody actually complaining about this mascarade, highlighting also the cost incurred to the internal mail service. So I dared ask to our postman! Well he was hesitating... while it is very unpleasant, it was a guaranty of work for them.European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-86159399621525402352009-06-11T14:13:00.000-07:002009-06-11T14:15:50.404-07:00In the News: European ElectionsResults are now out, and the next Europarliament will be blue. The battle for the next commissioners is getting started.<br /><br />I would like to thank the European Voter who did not make the effort to vote on this elections.<span style="font-weight: bold;"> To that stupid moron</span>, I say, you have the right to remain silent for the next five years. If we, Eurotechnocrats, that your sausage should not be larger than 2cm in diameter, there is nothing you can do about it...<br /><br />On a more serious note, it was clear that the abstention was going to be high. But who to really blame for that? Surely we have not been proactive enough, but the Member States have not played well on this one.<br /><br />No big reaction among officials, we are very busy nowadays deleting the spams from the Unions! Yes Unions' elections was this week... Let see if we have more than 2/3 of the voters. Otherwise we can an additional 10 days of spamming!European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8357997564809066677.post-62480885249344682532009-06-08T14:45:00.000-07:002009-06-08T14:58:12.257-07:00Is the General Interest prevailing in the European Union?Grahn, in one of his comments, quoted Guy Verhofstadt, saying that during his years on the European Council, he never heard anyone mention the European interest.<br /><br />The aspiration of every democracy is to insure that the General Interest prevails over the various vested interests. When at the country level it is not very clear if the majority can truly represent the National Interest, capturing the General Interest at the level of the European Union is even harder. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Can a simple electoral rule translate the European Interest?</span><br /><br />Obviously, in my humble position of a Eurotechnocrat, I cannot make a general judgment on the topic. The only thing I can blog about is the perception that we have inside the European Commission on how the General Interest of the Union is represented.<br />In our daily work, I would say that this feeling can be perceived from three parts: the general interest felt through the Commission itself, from the Europarliament and from the Member States, ie the Council.<br /><br />Within the Commission, my guess is that vast majority of Officials really do put forwards the interest of the European Citizens before the interest of their fellow citizens. This is actually one of my pride in being an officials. Of course there are few of us who are excessively patriotic and even fewer who succumbs to lobbies' pressure.<br />Even at the highest level, I can also say that the Commissioners are generally taking their role seriously. One speaking example: the Common Agricultural Policy which has with years turned into a cash machine for farmers. What is the point of spending the vast majority of the European Budget on a tiny fraction of the population? When the EC tried to reform the subsidies, it was with great pain as producing Memeber States fought to preserve their interests. Well, we are still paying the subsidies (less and less), even if it makes the consumers and society worse off.<br /><br />With respect to the Parliament and the MEP who really do their jobs (not the bozos cashing their indemnities), there is a true desire to represent the European Citizens. You can be your own judge by looking at the laws that were passed: SMS rate, limitation of toxic products, etc. From what I experienced from the MEP scrutiny, it is clear that MEPs do not act like their American counterparts and the Pork Barrel legislation.<br /><br />I cannot say the same about Member States... No need to work at the EC to see how each Council becomes a bargain mess whenever a major decision needs to be taken. Where most of countries agree that majority equals general interest, at the Council level it must be consensus in most case, two third at best, . But when it comes to our relations with Member States, mostly in the various committees, it can be clearer that we are not talking from the same point of view. But what do you expect? After all committees are there to make sure that Member States don't get screwed. I personally found it hard sometimes, because some have no shame in doing so.<br /><br />Like any other honest public servant, I would like as much as possible serve the General Interest. So anything that strengthen the European Citizens is good for me. <span style="font-weight: bold;">But only you, the European Citizen, can decide what is the best proxy for the General Interest.</span> If at the national level, there is a agreement, it is yet to be done seriously at the European level. European Constitution, Treaty of Lisbon or anything else.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I think the ball is in your hands.</span>European Technocrathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08830250586908367807noreply@blogger.com1