Brussels, 12/11/2012 (Agence Europe) - At the end of October, the unions of European civil servants spoke out against the appointment of a Spanish member of the cabinet of the high representative of the EU for foreign affairs and security policy to the post of head of division for “Relations with the European Parliament”. They criticise both the recourse to a special procedure and also the fast-track progression of this civil servant from Administrator Grade 8 (AD8) to AD12 in just a few years.
The staff committee points out in a leaflet that “the unions of the European External Action Service (EEAS) contest the appearance of legality and of respect for procedures in order to justify such an appointment”. The committee criticises the administration for having invoked Article 29.2 which allows recourse to a procedure other than that of the competition for jobs requiring special qualifications. Indeed, it considers that this post (…) “does not require a level of specialisation which could justify the use of any 'exceptional procedure'”. “We denounce this act of illegality which makes a mockery and betrayal of our staff regulations. We also denounce the lack of transparency in the selection procedures for candidates”, the staff committee says (our translation).
Ingeborg Grässle MEP (EPP, Germany) has also taken the matter in hand, sending a written question to the high representative. Recalling that this AD7 official from the European Parliament was promoted to AD8 at the Commission in a short space of time, and that he was then promoted to become head of division at grade AD12, Grässle asks: “Why was this official eligible for an AD12 post, given his previous grade?” She also questions the choice of procedure and the legal basis. Grässle wonders which competition this official passed and wants to know if preferential treatment can be excluded and if the anti-fraud office (OLAF) has been informed.
Secretary General of the EEAS, David O'Sullivan, and the spokesperson to High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton, Michael Mann, gave assurances on 23 October that the procedure has been respected and that the recruitment had been carried out according to the rules. In a statement to the unions, O'Sullivan said that the grade is that of AD12 and that whoever took the post would have been appointed at this level. (CG/transl.fl)