Brussels, 19/11/2014 (Agence Europe) - After her meeting with two European commissioners in Brussels on Tuesday 18 November, French Minister for Decentralisation and the Civil Service Marylise Lebranchu has proposed systematic exchanges between European and national civil servants and backed the creation of a European public services innovation laboratory.
Lebranchu highlighted France's budgetary efforts affecting local authorities and the civil service when she met Kristalina Georgieva, Budget and Human Resources Commissioner. She also pointed out the unprecedented fall in state funding for local authorities and the efforts being made by the public services with their wage freeze.
As part of the reform of the staff regulations for EU officials, the French minister proposed that exchanges between Commission and member state officials should become systematic “so that European officials are better informed and member states officials know more about Europe”, according to a French press release. Lebranchu went as far as to call for a “public services Erasmus that would allow exchanges between officials from different member states” “We're used to working with Danes, Swedes, Spaniards and British. The idea is to have a European laboratory to save time and to have a platform for the exchange of best practice and innovation. We can all benefit from this. It would also mean that we are more European in our public policies”, she told the press on Tuesday 18 November.
The minister wanted to promote the sectoral social dialogue committee, a forum for the exchange of best practice among public administrations which currently brings together eleven member states and five observer states. Further developing the committee would “raise European standards in employment and public administration even higher through social dialogue between trade union organisations and employers at European level”. In 2015, France will chair the sectoral social dialogue committee.
Decentralisation of European funding. At her meeting with Regional Policy Commissioner Corina Cretu, Lebranchu set out the territorial reform under way in France. She highlighted, in particular, the decentralisation of European funding and the impact of the new map of the regions. The minister also said she supported the initiatives taking place to set up a European public services innovation laboratory. She invited Cretu to visit France in the first half of next year so that she can see for herself the progress in implementing projects that receive European joint-funding.
A ministerial meeting devoted to public administration will take place in Rome on 3 December. (LC)