EC officials: termination of service for officials of the Commission (amend. Regulation (EEC) No 549/69)

PURPOSE: to present a proposal for a Council Regulation amending Regulation (Euratom, ECSE, EEC) 549/69 determining the categories of officials and other servants of the European Communities to whom the provisions of Article 12, the second paragraph of Article 13 and Article 14 of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the Communities apply. CONTENT: In its White Paper of March 2000, the Commission announced its intention to undertake a reallocation of human resources across its deparmtents with a view to concentrating on its core policy objectives. On 26 July 2000, it adopted the conclusions of the review by the Peer Group charged with carrying out a comprehensive assessment of the Commission's current activties and putting forward an action plan. These conclusions clearly indicate that, over and above the rationalisation carried out already in 1999 and 2000, the staff numbers assigned to priority activities continue to be insufficient, with the shortfall being estimated at 1 254 posts. Two thirds of these requirements can be met from further rationalisaton (discontinuation or scaling back of activities, productivity gains) or by internal redeployment. Targeted and effective accompanying measures are to be designed to allow redeployed staff to perform other, higher priority, activities. In addition to these accompanying measures, termination-of-service arrangements are to be available under which the Commission would be able to offer reasonable severance conditions to officials whose skills are deemed not to be in line with the duties to be performed. Legally, the scheme will take the form of a Council Regulation. Implementing procedures will be laid down later. Against this background, the proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation EC/549/69 seeks to determine the categories of officials and other services of the European Commission to whom the provisions of Article 13, in particular, of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the Communities apply. �