Reforming the Commission: action plan, aspects concerning the Committee on Legal Affairs. White Paper

The European Parliament adopted the resolution drafted by Mr Malcolm HARBOUR (EPP/ED, Uk) concerning the legal aspects of the reform of the Commission. It reaffirms that an independent, impartial European civil service provides the best guarantee for strengthening the role of the Commission and of the other Union bodies and institutions and for promoting the Community interest. It calls for the requirements for entry into this service to be qualitatively increased and for recruitment to a permanent post to be subject to additional quality criteria. The Commission's administration should primarily meet the criteria of a European civil service servicing the general public. Moreover, the resolution defines the reform objectives and performance targets, calling particularly for the goals to be developed into more specific, challenging benchmarks. The Commission is urged to introduce a merit-based HR policy that raises the effectiveness of the organisation and supports individual career planning. Parliament advocates complaints panels with independent members to settle staff disputes speedily without the need for court proceedings. It supports the proposals for a permanent, flexible retirement scheme; this should encompass both early and late retirement. Lastly, the Parliament has welcomed those proposals of Commission's White Paper that refer to the Parliament as an employer. The House is called upon to support the set up of an interinstitutional recruitment agency, to enhance its existing staff appraisal and underlines the importance of exchanges amongst EU institutions and joint training programmes. �