2018/2624(RSP) | [ParlTrack]

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Citation 2 a (new)

- having regard to Article 14 (1) of the Treaty on the European Union;

Amendment 10 #

Recital B b (new)

B b. whereas the Secretary-General of an EU institution is a position that requires particular experience and competence and notably the trust of the President of the respective institution whom the Secretary-General assists in his or her daily work so that, in the case of the Commission, in the context of the political guidelines laid down by its President, the Commission achieves the priorities it has set, as stated explicitly in Article 20 of the Commission’s Rules of Procedure, which includes the legal job description of the Secretary-General of the institution,

Amendment 100 #

Paragraph 19 b (new)

19 b. Underlines that in the run-up to the 2019 European elections, the Commission is expected to take appropriate and concrete measures to restore the credibility of the European institutions and repair any reputation damage of the European Commission and the European Union as a whole that was caused by the appointment of the new Secretary-General.;

Amendment 101 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 20

20. Recalls that only through proper publication of vacant posts is it possible to secure a wide choice of ~~suitably~~most qualified candidates, gender balanced allowing for informed and optimal appointment decisions; stresses that publication procedures whose sole purpose is to fulfil the formal requirement for publications, have to be avoided by all European institutions and bodies;

Amendment 102 #

Paragraph 20

20. Recalls that ~~only~~ through proper publication of vacant posts ~~is it~~, when possible, is the way to secure a wide choice of suitably qualified candidates allowing for informed and optimal appointment decisions; stresses that publication procedures whose sole purpose is to fulfil the formal requirement for publications, have to be avoided by all European institutions and bodies;

Amendment 103 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 21

21. Recommends that the decision- making processes and procedures of the College of Commissioners need to be strengthened in order to avoid any indiscriminate waving-through of appointments or other important decisions and that therefore it is necessary that all these items are included in the draft agendaCalls on the institutions to better explain to the public the way they make senior management decisions and the special requirements of the European Civil Service;

Amendment 104 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 21 a (new)

21 a. Is convinced that the practice of “parachuting” has seriously damaged the credibility of the EU; strongly calls for an end to this practice within all the institutions and bodies of the European Union, which negatively affects the career development of staff based on their professional capacities and job performance;

Amendment 105 #

Paragraph 22

22. Calls on all the institutions and bodies of the European Union, in this context, also to put an end to the practice of “parachuting” in order to protect the regular career progress of traditional European civil service; political influence must not undermine the application of the Staff Regulations;deleted

Amendment 106 #

Paragraph 22

22. Calls on all the institutions and bodies of the European Union, in this context, also to put an end to the practice of cabinets and political “parachuting” in order ~~to prot~~not to adversely affect the regular career progress of traditional European civil service; calls, furthermore, on all institutions and bodies, to cease making recourse to external recruitment procedures to recruit internal candidates who do not meet the statutory eligibility requirements for internal procedures thereby circumventing regular career progression; stresses that political influence and cronyism must not undermine the application of the Staff Regulations;

Amendment 107 #

Paragraph 22

22. Calls on the Commission to review the current procedures for appointments of senior top positions within the European institutions; and calls on all the institutions and bodies of the European Union, in this context, also to put an end to the practice of “parachuting” in order to protect the regular career progress of traditional European civil service; political influence must not undermine the application of the Staff Regulations;

Amendment 108 #

Paragraph 22 a (new)

22 a. Proposes that officials from staff representative bodies sit on Parliament’s senior management selection panels;

Amendment 109 #

Paragraph 22 b (new)

22 b. Considers Parliament should appoint one or two Vice-Presidents responsible for staff matters and that this or these Members should be involved in senior management appointments under clearly defined rules and procedures;

Amendment 11 #

Recital B b (new)

B b. whereas Parliament often publishes senior management posts externally and whereas the criteria determining internal/external publication are not transparent,

Amendment 110 #

Paragraph 22 c (new)

22 c. Insists that Parliament only publishes senior management posts externally when it is satisfied there are no suitable in-house candidates and/or if the post is highly technical or requires special qualifications;

Amendment 111 #

Paragraph 22 d (new)

22 d. Considers the letter of the Staff Committee to President Tajani of 27 March 2018(D101954) on the imminent appointment of directors; recalls that on 28 February2018 the Staff Committee has had a meeting with President Tajani and Secretary-General Klaus Welle on this issue; requests the Secretary-General of the European Parliament to draw up an action plan to prevent political appointments and ‘parachuting’ in the European Parliament;

Amendment 112 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 22 e (new)

22 e. Requests President Tajani, in the light of the uproar of political appointments, to withdraw the proposed package of 9 appointments of directors;

Amendment 113 #

Paragraph 23

23. Invites ~~the Commiss~~all institutions to re~~voke~~assess its decisions by which it considers the function of Head of Cabinet of the President to be equivalent to the function of Director-General and the function of Head of Cabinet of a Commissioner to be equivalent to the function of Director; invites the Commission to put in place measures to ensure fair career advancement for members of cabinet; invites all institutions to put in place measures to ensure fair career advancement for members of cabinets and notably Heads of Cabinets, in view of their particular responsibility and senior management tasks;

Amendment 114 #

Paragraph 23

23. ~~Invit~~Urges the Commission to revoke its decisions by which it considers the function of Head of Cabinet of the President to be equivalent to the function of Director-General and the function of Head of Cabinet of a Commissioner to be equivalent to the function of Director; inview the rules on the composition of cabinets in force in 2004 in order to clarify, as it is the case in many States Members, the political positions and the EC Staff positions ites ~~the Commis~~decisions to ~~put in place mea~~ensures t~~o ensure~~hat the incentives and fair carerier advancement for members of cabinets do not infringe Staff carriers and to avoid definitely the practice of "parachuting";

Amendment 115 #

Paragraph 23

23. ~~Invites~~Calls on the Commission to revoke its decisions by which it considers the function of Head of Cabinet of the President to be equivalent to the function of Director-General and the function of Head of Cabinet of a Commissioner to be equivalent to the function of Director; invites the Commission to put in place measures to ensure fair career advancement for members of cabinets;

Amendment 116 #

Paragraph 23 a (new)

23 a. Strongly urges the Commission to submit without delay its definitive proposal regarding the admissibility of maintaining the appointment of the new Secretary General of the Commission, as well as additional action to counter the damage done to the Commission’s credibility;

Amendment 117 #

Paragraph 24

24. Calls on the Commission to review, before the end of 2018, its administrative procedure for the appointment of senior officials with the objective of fully ensuring that the best candidates are selected in a framework of maximum transparency and equal opportunities~~, thereby also setting an example for the other European institutions~~ by introducing open competition procedures for all positions to become the new norm in all levels of EU institutions, whereby the current exceptions applying to the highest officials have to be removed from the Staff regulation and whereby any appointments to betaken by the College of Commissioners have to be known to all Commissioners and included in the college agenda at least one week in advance;

Amendment 118 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 24

24. Calls on the Commission to review, before the end of 2018, its administrative procedure for the appointment of senior officials, including the Secretary General of the Commission with the objective of fully ensuring that the best candidates are selected in a framework of maximum transparency ~~and~~, collegiality and staff equal opportunities, thereby also setting an example for the other European institutions;

Amendment 119 #

Paragraph 24

24. Calls on the Commission to review, before the end of 2018, its administrative procedure for the appointment of senior officials with the objective of fully ensuring that the best candidates are selected in a framework of maximum transparency and equal opportunities, thereby also setting an example for the other European institutinvite a roundtable meeting at the appropriate level to discuss with the other EU institutions whether and how the application of the EU Staff Regulations, which apply to all EU institutions, can be further developed and strengthened, preserving the autonomy of each EU institution in its personnel decisions;

Amendment 12 #

Bernd LUCKE, Ryszard CZARNECKI

Recital B c (new)

B c. whereas posts published externally frequently result in the selection of internal candidates that do not meet the requirements for applying under internal rules thereby circumventing regular career progression;

Amendment 120 #

Paragraph 24 a (new)

24 a. Is deeply concerned about a report by the German magazine "Der Spiegel" about rude and inappropriate language used by Mr Selmayr in addressing a Spiegel journalist; notes that such language, if it was indeed used by Mr Selmayr, would be a flagrant violation of Article 12 of Regulation No. 31 (EEC) ("the Statute"), notes with great concern that the Commission did not follow up on the Spiegel report with an investigation of the incident, is deeply concerned that Commissioner Öttinger did not bring the incident to the attention of his colleagues prior to the appointment of Mr. Selmayr, is deeply concerned that the undisputed Spiegel report may reflect adversely on Mr Selmayrs position as Secretary General of the Commission;

Amendment 121 #

Paragraph 24 a (new)

24 a. Welcomes the proposal made by Commissioner Oettinger during the hearing on 27 March 2018 to organise a round table as soon as possible in the present year with representatives from the EU institutions to review the Staff Regulations; calls on the contributing parties to carefully review the rules for the appointment of officials and to propose changes to the regulations where needed to make sure that appointment procedures are in line with the principles of transparency and equal opportunities;

Amendment 122 #

Ryszard CZARNECKI, Peter van DALEN, Richard SULÍK, Zdzisław KRASNODĘBSKI, Bernd LUCKE, Ulrike TREBESIUS, Bernd KÖLMEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Hans-Olaf HENKEL

Paragraph 24 a (new)

24 a. Notes that when Mr. Selmayr was appointed, the rules were applied in such a way that only he could succeed; concludes therefore, that this seems very likely to be a case of favouritism; considers that the procedure must be re- opened, with the term of opening being extended by an additional month to give candidates from the individual Member States an opportunity to apply for the role;

Amendment 123 #

Paragraph 24 a (new)

24 a. calls on the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council and other EU Institutions to apply open and transparent selection procedures for all officials, seniors officials included, with the objective to select the best candidates throughout a framework that guarantees maximum transparency and equal opportunities for all eligible candidates;

Amendment 124 #

Paragraph 24 a (new)

24 a. Calls on the Commission to reverse the decision to appoint the new Secretary-General and to then open the process anew, inviting interest from suitable applicants (of which the new Secretary-General may be one) as per the usual procedure;

Amendment 125 #

Louis-Joseph MANSCOUR, Christine REVAULT D'ALLONNES BONNEFOY

Paragraph 24 a (new)

24 a. Calls on the European Commission to cancel the appointment of the current Secretary-General and to organise a new selection procedure; considers undesirable for Martin Selmayr to compete again;

Amendment 126 #

Paragraph 24 a (new)

24 a. Calls for the position of Secretary- General of the European Commission to be immediately reopened and filled in accordance with the rules;

Amendment 127 #

Bernd LUCKE, Ryszard CZARNECKI

Paragraph 24 b (new)

24 b. Notes with great concern that the same Spiegel report quotes Mr Selmayr as saying he would never again give the Spiegel journalist any bit of information, notes that Article 17 of Regulation No. 31 (EEC) ("the Statute") prohibits the unauthorised disclosure of information received in the line of duty for all officials, regardless of rank, notes with great concern that the Commission did not follow up on the Spiegel report with an investigation of Mr Selmayr possibly leaking information to the media and presumably doing so on a regular basis, is deeply concerned that Commissioner Öttinger did not bring the incident to the attention of his colleagues prior to the appointment of Mr.Selmayr, is bewildered by Commissioner Öttinger's opinion, expressed in the Budgetary Control Committee, that Mr Selmayr leaked information to the journalist only confidentially, affirms that an official shall refrain from any unauthorised disclosure of unpublished information received in the line of duty and that this also holds for the Secretary General of the Commission;

Amendment 128 #

Inés AYALA SENDER, Arndt KOHN, Bogusław LIBERADZKI

Paragraph 24 b (new)

24 b. Calls on the Commission to reassess the decision of the nomination of present Secretary General after the new rules adopted and in any case when the President of the Commission arrives to the end of his mandate; asks the Commission to take into account the EP opinion on the future decisions on the nomination of the EC Secretary General in order to strengthen transparency, democracy and trust on EU institutions;

Amendment 129 #

Paragraph 24 b (new)

24 b. Believes that if the Commission does not repeal this appointment, and taking into account the latest developments on the conflict of interest under Article 11 of the Staff Regulations, it would face a motion of censure;

Amendment 13 #

Paragraph 1

1. Regrets that the procedure for the appointment of the new Secretary-General of the European Commission on 21 February 2018 was conducted in a manner which aroused widespread irritation and disapproval in public opinion, among Members of the European Parliament and within the European civil service; notes that the result of this procedure constitutes a reputational risk not only for the European Commission but for all the European Union institutions; Therefore expects the College of Commissioners to take its political responsibility and to revoke its decision of 21 February 2018 to appoint Mr Selmayr as Secretary-General of the European Commission; Furthermore invites the European Commission to re-open the vacancy of Secretary-General and appoint the Secretary-General following an open and transparent application procedure.

Amendment 14 #

Paragraph 1

1. Regrets that the procedure for the appointment of the new Secretary-General of the European Commission on 21 February 2018 was conducted in asuch a questionable manner, which aroused reasonable and widespread irritation and disapproval in public opinion, among Members of the European Parliament and within the European civil service; regrets also that those most responsible for the procedure undertaken in this appointment have yet to accept that at best it WAS a questionable procedure; notes that the result of this procedure constitutes a reputational risk not only for the European Commission but for all the European Union institutions;

Amendment 15 #

Ryszard CZARNECKI, Peter van DALEN, Richard SULÍK, Zdzisław KRASNODĘBSKI, Bernd LUCKE, Ulrike TREBESIUS, Bernd KÖLMEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Hans-Olaf HENKEL

Paragraph 1

Amendment 16 #

Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Deplores that the important decision to appoint a new EC General Secretary has been mixed with an important reshuffle of other high senior officials; regrets the discontent which some of these changes have also added critics against the EU institutions; asks the Commission to review the Staff Rules and to include a proper contradictory procedure to avoid this situation;

Amendment 17 #

Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Requests the Commission, and in particular its President, its First Vice- President as well as the Commissioner responsible for Budget and Human Resources, to publicly apologise for their lack of responsiveness to the public disapproval of the procedure followed;

Amendment 18 #

Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Is not convinced that the transfer procedure as followed by appointing the former Head of Cabinet to Deputy Secretary-General and a few minutes later to Secretary-General served the interests of the service, and thus its legality, let alone its legitimacy are at least questionable;

Amendment 19 #

Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Expresses the opinion that against this background the new Secretary- General should be called upon to voluntarily suspend his activities, so that the Commission has the opportunity of conducting a new and transparent recruitment procedure based upon an open call for applications;

Amendment 2 #

Citation 3 a (new)

- having regard to the Staff Regulations for European Union civil servants and in particular Articles 4, 7 and 29,

Amendment 20 #

Paragraph 2 – indent 2

- only two candidates applied, a man and a woman, both from the cabinet of the EC President; the new Secretary- General was one of the applicants for the post; the second candidate, the woman, applied for the vacancy on 8 February 2018, went through the full day assessment centre on 12 February 2018 and withdrew the application prior to the interview with the Consultative Committee on Appointments (CCA), scheduled for 20 February 2018 and was appointed then as the new Head of Cabinet of EC President;

Amendment 21 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 2 – indent 4

~~- no minutes were drafted for these interviews nor was their length record~~deleted;

Amendment 22 #

Paragraph 2 – indent 4

~~- no minutes were drafted for these interviews nor was their length record~~deleted;

Amendment 23 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 2 – indent 7

- the President of the European Commission and his Head of Cabinet had known since 2015 that the then Secretary- General intended to retire soon after March 2018, an intention which was reconfirmed in early 2018; they both hoped to convince Mr Italianer to stay on as Secretary- General beyond 1 March 2018 and they continued to suggest this to him repeatedly until mid-February as their preferred choice had always been to keep Mr Italianer as SG until the end of the mandate; however, the President had not divulged this information in order not to undermine the authority of the then Secretary-General;

Amendment 24 #

Paragraph 2 – indent 7

- the President of the European Commission and his Head of Cabinet had known since 2015 that the then Secretary- General intended to retire soon after March 2018, an intention which was reconfirmed in early 2018; however, they both hoped to convince the then Secretary-General to stay on as Secretary General beyond 1 March 2018 and they continued to suggest this to him until Mid-February as their preference had always been to keep him as SG until the end of the mandate; the President had not divulged this information in order not to undermine the authority of the then Secretary-General;

Amendment 25 #

Paragraph 2 – indent 7

- the President of the European Commission and his Head of Cabinet had known since 2015 that the then Secretary- General intended to retire soon after March 2018, an intention which was reconfirmed in early 2018; however, the President had not divulged this information in order not to undermine the authority of the then Secretary-General but, had communicated with his Head of Cabinet;

Amendment 26 #

Paragraph 2 – indent 7

- the President of the European Commission and his Head of Cabinet had known since 2015 that the then Secretary- General intended to retire soon after March 2018, an intention which was reconfirmed many times, including in early 2018; however, the President had not divulged this information in order not to undermine the authority of the then Secretary-General;

Amendment 27 #

Paragraph 2 – indent 7 a (new)

- the President of the European Commission tried on many occasions to persuade the Secretary General to change his mind (understandably, given the trust that had been established) and asked him to remain in the position past his stated preferred retirement date;

Amendment 28 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 2 – indent 7 b (new)

- when his efforts at persuading the Secretary-General to extend his tenure repeatedly failed, the President of the European Commission should then, at the very minimum, have alerted the Commissioner responsible for Budget and Human Resources of the impending vacancy, so the steps to fill that vacancy could have been initiated in the normal, best-practice and timely manner;

Amendment 29 #

Paragraph 2 – indent 8

- acting on a proposal from the President, in agreement with the Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources, and ~~without the appointment of a new Secretary-General having been on the agenda of the meet~~after the appointment was put on the agenda by the President during the meeting as last part of a well prepared series of senior management decisions, in line with his right under Article 6 (5) of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission which allows the President to add any item on the agenda while de College meeting is ongoing, the College decided to transfer the newly appointed Deputy Secretary-General with his post , pursuant to Article 7 of the Staff Regulations, to the position of Secretary- General of the European Commission (reassignment without publication of the post);

Amendment 3 #

Citation 3 b (new)

- having regard the case-law of the European Court of Justice;

Amendment 30 #

Paragraph 3 – indent 3

- after having successfully completed a selection procedure, the new Secretary-General was appointed Principal Adviser to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development with effect as of 1 June 2014; with this appointment he became a grade AD14 official in his basic career;deleted

Amendment 31 #

Paragraph 3 – indent 4 a (new)

Amendment 32 #

Paragraph 4

4. Stresses the extremely rapid career of the new Secretary-General who in a period of slightly more than 13 years, has progressed from AD6 to AD15, out of which he spent 8 years in different cabinets; questions the true intentions of a selection procedure where the new Secretary-General was appointed Principal Adviser to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development with effect as of 1 June 2014 as it might not have served the purpose of filling this vacancy in the first place, but rather of providing a grade AD14 as an official in his basic career for the post he never occupied;

Amendment 33 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 4

Amendment 34 #

Paragraph 5

5. Notes that, according to the Commission, the three previous Secretaries-General became Director, Director-General and Head of Cabinet before being transferred to the function of Secretary-General, whereas the new Secretary-General ~~did not perform any management task in the Commission services; points out, in particular, th~~was instrumental in preparing and organising the new set-up and new working methods of the Juncker Commission, of its political guidelines and of the successive Work Programmes of the Commission; he therefore had, as closest adviser and trusted manager of the President, a unique overview of all decision-making procedures, policy priorities, interinstitutional relat ion ~~21 February 2018 he was not Deputy Secretary-General in function~~s and the overall functioning of the institution; this made him a natural choice for the President to become Secretary-General, a choice supported by the First Vice- President, the Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources and the College of Commissioners;

Amendment 35 #

Paragraph 5

Amendment 36 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 5

5. ~~Not~~Stresses that, according to the Commission, the three previous Secretaries-General became Director, Director-General and Head of Cabinet before being transferred to the function of Secretary-General, whereas the new Secretary-General did not perform any management task in the Commission services; points out, in particular, that on 21 February 2018 he was not Deputy Secretary-General in function;

Amendment 37 #

Paragraph 6

6. Takes note that the new Secretary- General was transferred in the interest of the service under Article 7 of the Staff Regulations and that the position was not published because the post was not considered vacant; hence no official could apply since the procedure was organised through a reassignment with post rather than as a transfer in the strict sense with proper publication of the vacant post, in view of the special function of the Secretary-General, whose tasks under the Commission’s Rules of Procedure it is chiefly to assist the President, it is unthinkable that a candidate would be chosen for this position who does not have the continuous trust and confidence of the President, which is why it is the President that proposes his choice of Secretary- General to the College;

Amendment 38 #

Ryszard CZARNECKI, Richard SULÍK, Zdzisław KRASNODĘBSKI, Bernd LUCKE, Ulrike TREBESIUS, Bernd KÖLMEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Hans-Olaf HENKEL

Paragraph 6

6. Takes note that the new Secretary- General was transferred in the interest of the service under Article 7 of the Staff Regulations and that the position was not published because the post was not considered vacant; hence no official could apply since the procedure was organised through a reassignment with post rather than as a transfer in the strict sense with proper publication of the vacant post; stresses that such a procedure for the post of Secretary-General is unacceptable, and against the spirit of implementing the rules for the appointment of EU officials, who are servants of the citizens of the European Union;

Amendment 39 #

Paragraph 6

6. ~~Takes note that~~Notes that according to the Commission, the new Secretary- General was transferred in the interest of the service under Article 7 of the Staff Regulations and that the position was not published because the post was not considered vacant; hence no official could apply since the procedure was organised through a reassignment with post rather than as a transfer in the strict sense with proper publication of the vacant post;

Amendment 4 #

Recital A

A. whereas it is fundamental that the European Commission, as Guardian of the Treaties, acts in conformity with the letter and the spirit of the rules,

Amendment 40 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Takes note that in his oral replies to the CONT committee hearing, the Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources stated repeatedly that the new Secretary-General was the Commission President's strong preference for the appointment to this position, which strongly suggests that the Commission President also felt it was his prerogative to make this appointment, by whatever means necessary;

Amendment 41 #

Paragraph 7

7. Notes that the Commission used the same procedure of transfer under Article 7 of the Staff Regulations for the three previous Secretaries-General (transfer with post rather than transfer in the strict sense); underlines that none of the previous Secretaries-General were appointed successively Deputy Secretary-General and Secretary-General during the same College meeting; underlines also that all three previous Secretaries-General were proposed to the College in the very same College meeting in which their respective predecessor was transferred to a different post or announced their retirement;

Amendment 42 #

Paragraph 7

Amendment 43 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 8

8. Stresses that the appointment by transfer was initiated by the President of the European Commission in agreement with the Commissioner responsible for Budget and Human Resources and after consultation of the First Vice-President (which was consulted about the name of the candidate but definitively not on the procedure);

Amendment 44 #

Paragraph 9

9. Acknowledges that it is not Commission practice to transfer directors in grade AD 15 to Director-General posts but notes that the Commission considers that, legally, the College could have decided to transfer a principal advisor to the post of Secretary-General; welcomes that, instead of choosing this easier and swifter procedure, a procedure was followed that ensured that the new Secretary-General had participated in a full-day Assessment Centre for senior managers for the second time in his career before taking up his position at Director-General level in line with the Commission decision on Assessment Centres for Directors-General/ Deputy Directors-General of 2015;

Amendment 45 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 10

10. ~~Questions why the Commission used different procedures to appoint Deputy Secretary-General and Secretary- General~~Understands therefore fully that the Commission used a procedure for the appointment of Deputy Secretary-General that allowed for thoroughly assessing the competence and experience of the candidate before he was transferred, in line with Article 7 of the Staff Regulations, to the position of Secretary- General appointment which is subject to exactly the same conditions as the one of Deputy Secretary-General; noted that in the course of this Commission, 15 transfers of Deputy Directors-General to the position of Directors-General took place, in line with Article 7 of the Staff Regulations;

Amendment 46 #

Paragraph 10

10. Questions why the Commission used different procedures to appoint Deputy Secretary-General and Secretary- General for the same candidate and during the same college meeting;

Amendment 47 #

Paragraph 10 a (new)

10 a. Notes that so far the Budget Control Committee only invited Commissioner Oettinger for a hearing; underlines that in the interest of hearing both sides, not only management should be heard but also the most directly affected, including the staff; requests the committee to conduct further hearings of, amongst others, representatives of the Staff Associations and representatives of the Staff Unions;

Amendment 48 #

Paragraph 10 b (new)

10 b. Considers that the European Ombudsman has received a complaint on the promotion of Mr. Selmayr and is currently conducting an investigation; believes that the European Ombudsman should also be heard by the committee, at the latest once she has been able to formulate her recommendations in this respect;

Amendment 49 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Subheading 5

~~Evaluation~~Findings

Amendment 5 #

Recital B

B. whereas trust in the European project and in the European Union will only be maintained, if the European Union institutions act as role models of the rule of law, transparency and good administration and prove to have sufficient internal check and balances ~~to react adequately whenever these fundamental principles are threatened~~,

Amendment 50 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 11

11. Notes that the replies given by the Commission show that the President and his Head of Cabinet had been aware since 2015 of the intention of the former Secretary-General to retire soon after 1 March 2018, which he reconfirmed in early 2018; underlines that this knowledge would have allowed for a regular appointment procedure for his successor by one of the two public procedures foreseen by the Staff Regulations: (1) appointment by the College following publication of the post and selection procedure under Article 29 of the Staff Regulation; or, (2) transfer in the interest of the service pursuant to Article 7 of the Staff Regulations, equally upon publication of the post in order to allow any interested official to apply for such transfer; it is concerned about the communication between the President of the Commission and his Head of Cabinet on the retirement and vacancy of the former S-G and the new vacancy which could rise serious question of conflict of interest and privileged information;

Amendment 51 #

Paragraph 11

11. Notes that the replies given by the Commission show that the President and his Head of Cabinet had been aware since 2015 of the intention of the former Secretary-General to retire soon after 1 March 2018, which he reconfirmed in early 2018; under~~line~~stands that this knowledge would have allowed for a regular appointment procedure for his successor by one of the two public procedures foreseen by the Staff Regulations: (1) appointment by the College following publicaboth the President and his Head of Cabinet kept the hope until early 2018 that the former Secretary- General would stay on beyond 1 March 2018, as their preference was to keep the same Secretary-General until the end of the mandate in order not to jeopardise the smooth functioning of the ~~post and selection procedure under Article 29 of the Staff Regulation; or, (2) transfer in the interest of~~institution at a time of immerse internal and external challenges for the Union; understands that for this reason, they s~~ervice pursuant to Article 7 of the Staff Regulations, equally upon publication of the post in order to allow any interested official to apply for such transfe~~uggested until mid-February repeatedly to the former Secretary-General to stay on, in view of the obvious difficulty to find swiftly an appropriate successor;

Amendment 52 #

Paragraph 11

11. ~~Not~~Stresses that the replies given by the Commission show that the President and his Head of Cabinet had been aware since 2015 of the intention of the former Secretary-General to retire soon after 1 March 2018, which he reconfirmed in early 2018; underlines that this knowledge would have allowed for a regular appointment procedure for his successor by one of the two public procedures foreseen by the Staff Regulations: (1) appointment by the College following publication of the post and selection procedure under Article 29 of the Staff Regulation; or, (2) transfer in the interest of the service pursuant to Article 7 of the Staff Regulations, equally upon publication of the post in order to allow any interested official to apply for such transfer;

Amendment 53 #

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Paragraph 11 a (new)

11 a. Takes note of the view of the Commission that the publication of a post is not to be considered the rule under the Staff Regulations, notably with regard to the position of Secretary-General which requires not only special experience but also a particular level of trust by the President and the College of Commissioners

Amendment 54 #

Paragraph 11 a (new)

11 a. Stresses that, according to the Commissioner for Human Resources, the replies to the questionnaire sent by the Committee on Budgetary Control concerning Martin Selmayr were supervised by Martin Selmayr himself in direct violation of Article 11 of the Staff Regulations;

Amendment 55 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 11 b (new)

11 b. Considers that, since the Commissioner in charge of human resources has knowledge of this information and does not take the appropriate sanctions, he engages the political responsibility of the institution;

Amendment 56 #

Paragraph 12

12. Underlines that by opting for the procedure under transfer of Article 7 of the Staff Regulations in the form of reassignment of the newly appointed Deputy Secretary-General with his post to the position of Secretary-General, it was ~~possible to avoid~~not necessary to publish~~ing~~ the ~~vacant~~ post of the retiring former Secretary- General; notes that the same procedure was used for the appointments of previous Secretaries- General; stresses~~, however, that this tradition of non-publication has reac~~ that in view of the high degree of trust and confidence that must exist, in line with the job description given in Article 20 of the Commission’s Rules of Procedure, between the President of the Commission and the Secretary-General of thed i~~ts lim~~nstitution, its i~~nsofar as it does no~~s logical that the choice of the President cfor~~respond anymore to modern standards of transparency~~ this position is made between senior officials whom he knows well and who know the institution well;

Amendment 57 #

Paragraph 12

12. Underlines that by opting for the procedure under transfer of Article 7 of the Staff Regulations in the form of reassignment of the newly appointed Deputy Secretary-General with his post to the position of Secretary-General, ~~it was possible to avoid~~ publishing the vacant post of the retiring former Secretary- General~~; notes that the same procedure was used for the appointments of previous~~ was avoided; questions, however, whether this procedure was in the interest of the service especially since the former Head of Cabinet was informed beforehand about the intentions of the Secretar~~ies~~y-General~~; stresses, however, that~~ to retire soon after 1 March 2018 whereas potential other candidates withisn t~~radition of non-publication has reached its limits insofar as it~~he civil service were deprived of the possibility to apply; stresses that this idea of non- publication does not correspond ~~anymore~~ to modern standards of transparency;

Amendment 58 #

Paragraph 12

Amendment 59 #

Paragraph 12

Amendment 6 #

Recital B

B. whereas trust in the European project and in the European Union will only be maintained, if the European Union institutions act as role models of the rule of law, of transparency and of good administration, and prove to have sufficient internal check and balances to react adequately whenever these fundamental principles are threatened,

Amendment 60 #

Paragraph 12

Amendment 61 #

Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. Notes that the Commission attributes to itself a wide discretion as regards to the procedure to be adopted to assign staff in order to best ensure the interest of the service; notes that the replies given by the Commission show that it acknowledges the possibility of terminating a procedure on the basis of Article 29 of the Staff regulation without follow-up and proceed directly with a transfer based solely on Article 7; is concerned that this wide discretion of the appointing authority runs against the idea of ensuring a fair, rule-based and transparent management of the staff;

Amendment 62 #

Marco VALLI, Laura AGEA

Paragraph 12 a (new)

12 a. Recommends that the appointment procedure of Secretary-General must be fully transparent and should always be bound to the publication of vacant posts;

Amendment 63 #

Paragraph 12 b (new)

12 b. Notes that it is a usual practice of the Commission to appoint staff by using transfers under Article 7; notes that 50,6% of all appointments at Director- General/Deputy Director-General/Hors Classe Adviser level were transfers according to Article 7 of the Staff Regulations; questions whether this wide use of transfers is compatible with rules which should allow the best candidates to be selected in an open, fair and transparent procedure;

Amendment 64 #

Paragraph 13

13. Notes that only the President, the Commissioner responsible for Budget and Human Resources, the First Vice-President and the former and new Secretaries- General knew in advance of the meeting of the College of Commissioners of 21 February 2018 that the proposal for the immediate appointment of the new Secretary-General ~~by way of transfer of the newly appointed Deputy Secretary- General with his post would be made during the meeting~~;

Amendment 65 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 13

13. ~~Not~~underlines that only the President, the Commissioner responsible for Budget and Human Resources, the First Vice- President and the former and new Secretaries- General knew in advance of the meeting of the College of Commissioners of 21 February 2018 that the proposal for the immediate appointment of the new Secretary-General by way of transfer of the newly appointed Deputy Secretary-General with his post would be made during the meeting;

Amendment 66 #

Paragraph 14

14. ~~Sta~~Notes that twhi~~s procedur~~le some Commissioners may have sbeems to have taken all other members of the College by surprise and avoided a debate among the Commissioners, since the appointment of a new Secretary-General did not appear on the agenda of the meeting of the College of Commissioners on 21 February 2018n surprised at the beginning about the announcement of the retirement of the former Secretary- General, all agreed with the President’s proposal to appoint Mr Selmayr as new Secretary-General, and they did so unanimously; notes that in view of the fact that the Juncker Commission understands itself as a political Commission and is composed of several former Prime Ministers, former Foreign Ministers, former Finance Ministers and other seasoned politicians, the Members of this Commission are entirely capable of assessing quickly a new situation and deciding upon it instantly on a proposal of the President, in line with Article 6 (5) of the Commission’s Rules of Procedure which allows the President to put any item on the agenda also during an ongoing College meeting;

Amendment 67 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 15

15. Is deeply concerned that this way of proceeding with the appointment of the new Secretary-General could cast doubt on the preceding procedure of appointment to Deputy Secretary-General insofar as it might not have served the purpose of filling this vacancy in the first place, but rather of allowing for the transfer of this post to the post of Secretary-General under Article 7 of the Staff Regulations without publication of the post; considers that, although such a way of proceeding might satisfy purely formal requirements, it nevertheless runs against the spirit of the Staff Regulations;deleted

Amendment 68 #

Paragraph 15

Amendment 69 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 15

Amendment 7 #

Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas all EU institutions have, under the Treaties, autonomy in matters related to their organisation and their personnel policy, including in choosing their top civil servants on the basis of merit, experience and trust, in line with the Staff Regulations and their respective rules of procedure,

Amendment 70 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Subheading 5 a (new)

Conclusions

Amendment 71 #

Paragraph 16

16. Is disappointed by the fact that not a single Commissioner seems to have questioned this surprise appointment, asked for a postponement of this appointment decision or requested discussion of principle on the role of a future Secretary-General in this “political Commission”, and on the understanding of that role;deleted

Amendment 72 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 16

16. Is disappointed by the fact that not a single Commissioner seems to have questioned this surprise appointment, asked for a postponement of this appointment decision or requested discussion of principle on the role of a future Secretary- General in th~~is “political~~e Commission”, and on the understanding of that role, while noting that the point was not on the agenda;

Amendment 73 #

Ryszard CZARNECKI, Richard SULÍK, Zdzisław KRASNODĘBSKI, Bernd LUCKE, Ulrike TREBESIUS, Bernd KÖLMEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Hans-Olaf HENKEL

Paragraph 16 a (new)

16 a. Stresses that there have been clear and continued failings by the European Commission in the communication of the processes and procedures for the appointment of the Secretary-General of the Commission to both the public and the press; in this regard notes that the European Commission published its response to the Budgetary Control Committee’s questions at 03h00 on Sunday the 25th March 2018; stresses that in the interest of transparency and informing the broadest possible audience on a matter of public interest, such a working practice is unacceptable;

Amendment 74 #

Ryszard CZARNECKI, Peter van DALEN, Richard SULÍK, Zdzisław KRASNODĘBSKI, Bernd LUCKE, Ulrike TREBESIUS, Bernd KÖLMEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Hans-Olaf HENKEL

Paragraph 16 b (new)

16 b. Notes that throughout the European Parliament’s investigation into the appointment of the Secretary-General of the European Commission, neither the Commission President or the Secretary- General of the Commission have appeared before the Members of the European Parliament, notes that this is against the spirit of inter-institutional cooperation and the spirit of transparency and openness; stresses that the debates within the European Parliament are intended to give the public and the press the opportunity to scrutinise the work of the EU institutions and hold them to account;

Amendment 75 #

Paragraph 17

17. Reminds that Directors-General in the European institutions are in charge of hundreds of staff members and the implementation of substantial budgets as authorizing officers, as well as having the obligation to sign a declaration of assurance in their annual activity report at the end of each financial year; ~~questions therefore the Commission’s claim that~~understands that according to Commission rules in place since 2004, Heads of Cabinets of ~~the President could be considered equivalent to a Director- General position in terms of management and budgetary responsibilities; points out that the internal Communic~~Commissioners are considered, in view of their important senior management function and of their important responsibility of preparing the weekly meetings of the College, as Director, while the Head of Cabinet of the President is considered, in view of his or her important responsibility for the smooth operation of~~rom~~ the ~~President to the Commission governing~~decision-making processes of the whole Commission in line with the ~~com~~posliti~~on of the private offices of the Members of the Commission and of the Spokesperson’s service of 1 November 2014 does not supersede or modify the Staff Regulations~~cal guidelines of the President, as Director-General; while according to the Staff Regulations this function only allows a Head of Cabinet to move to a similar function in the Commission´s senior management after their service in a Cabinet if they have also achieved the necessary grade of AD14 or higher in their normal Commission career; noted that the new Secretary- General was AD14 in his normal Commission career since July 2014 and AD15 since January 2017;

Amendment 76 #

Paragraph 17

Amendment 77 #

Paragraph 17 a (new)

17 a. Regards as highly inacceptable the appointment of the occupant of the manifestly political post of Head of Cabinet to the President of the Commission to the post of Secretary General of the by default strictly non- political professional staff of the Commission of the EU;

Amendment 78 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Paragraph 18

~~18. States that the two-steps nomination of the Secretary General constitutes a coup-like action which stretched and possibly even overstretched the limits of the law;~~deleted

Amendment 79 #

Paragraph 18

18. States that the ~~two-steps nomination~~appointment of the new Secretary -General ~~constitutes a coup-like action which stretched and possibly even overstretched the limits of the law~~of the Commission, proposed by the President in agreement with the Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources after consultation of the First Vice-President, is fully in line with the Staff Regulations and the Rules of Procedure of the Commission; notes positively that the new Secretary-General, though not legally required, went through a full selection procedure for the level of Director- General/Deputy Director-General before his appointment as Secretary-General, and that he is the first Secretary-General of the Commission who has been subject to an Assessment Centre prior to his appointment;

Amendment 8 #

Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas in this regard also Parliament's own senior management recruitment procedures should be fully transparent and based solely on merit thereby excluding any kind of political deal-making,

Amendment 80 #

Paragraph 18

18. ~~Sta~~Notes that the two-steps nomination of the Secretary General ~~constitute~~was perceived as a coup-like action which stretched and possibly even overstretched the limits of the law; is concerned that the lack of transparency in this way of proceeding caused significant reputational damage and has infringed the trust of citizens toward the EU institutions;

Amendment 81 #

Ingeborg GRÄSSLE

Paragraph 18

18. States that the two-steps nomination of the Secretary General co~~nstitute~~uld be seen as a coup-like action which stretched and possibly even overstretched the limits of the law;

Amendment 82 #

Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Notes the political proximity of the new Secretary General given his activity as campaign manager for the EPP lead candidate for the President of the European Commission; is concerned that his nomination could undermine the political independence of the European Commission as set down in Article 17(3) of the Treaty on the European Union; stresses that the administration of the European Commission as an independent organ should remain free from political influence;

Amendment 83 #

Marco VALLI, Laura AGEA

Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Asks for the immediate resignation of the newly appointed Secretary-General, in order to restore the faith in the European Institutions and their integrity; asks therefore for a new publication of vacant post, with a procedure open to every candidate, in compliance with the Article 29 of the Staff Regulation;

Amendment 84 #

Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Considers that, should the Staff Committee or Staff Union of the European Commission file suit against the appointment of the Secretary General of the European Commission at the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Parliament joins the suit of the Staff Committee as complainant;

Amendment 85 #

Ryszard CZARNECKI, Peter van DALEN, Richard SULÍK, Zdzisław KRASNODĘBSKI, Bernd LUCKE, Ulrike TREBESIUS, Bernd KÖLMEL, Rupert MATTHEWS, Hans-Olaf HENKEL

Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Expresses serious concerns over the impartiality and objectivity of the President of the European Commission, given that the President of the Commission has publically threatened to resign if the appointment of the newly appointed Secretary-General is not honoured;

Amendment 86 #

Paragraph 18 a (new)

18 a. Stresses that the Parliament can’t find any “serious and urgent situation”, as explained by the Parliament’s Legal service, to justify the use of the procedure of reassignment under Article 7 of the Staff Regulations without publication of the post;

Amendment 87 #

Paragraph 18 b (new)

18 b. Reiterates that by “Transfer in the interest ofthe service” as a means to fill a post, Article 7 of the Staff Regulation mustbe read in conjunction with Article 4 - in principle a post that falls freemust be published as there are no exceptions stated in the statute and filledby “the most competent officials” which can only be appointed through selectionprocedure;

Amendment 88 #

Paragraph 18 b (new)

18 b. Is concerned by the fact that the new Secretary General accompanied the President of the Commission to a meeting of the EPP leaders on 23 March 2018; stresses that the Secretary General of the European Commission should exercise his function in full independence of political parties;

Amendment 89 #

Paragraph 18 b (new)

18 b. Considers that the Commission's spokespersons should address journalists’ concerns adequately in an open and transparent manner; regrets journalists were treated as opponents by Commission spokespersons rather than as valuable allies in the quest for ethical governance;

Amendment 9 #

Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas the Santer Commission had the courage to resign on 15 March 1999 following a damning report and faced with the risk of a motion of censure;

Amendment 90 #

Paragraph 18 c (new)

18 c. Stresses the fact that the College of Commissioners themselves decided to directly appoint Mr. Selmayr as the new secretary General before the post would even be vacant thus far dismisses the Commission’s statement that there was no vacant post of the Secretary General’s position;

Amendment 91 #

Paragraph 18 d (new)

18 d. Expects from the Commission to cancel the recent appointment of the new Secretary General and Starts a new appointment procedure under the procedure provided for in Article 29 of the Staff Regulations thus allowing for all eligible staff to compete for the position;

Amendment 92 #

Paragraph 18 e (new)

18 e. Calls on the European Parliament to postpone the Commission’s 2016 discharge until the Commission carries out an appointment procedure provided for in Article 29 of the Staff Regulations;

Amendment 93 #

Esteban GONZÁLEZ PONS, José Ignacio SALAFRANCA SÁNCHEZ-NEYRA

Subheading 6

~~Lessons to be learned~~Required action

Amendment 94 #

Paragraph 19

19. Points out that in order to maintain an independent, loyal and motivated European civil service, the Staff Regulations need to be applied in letter and spirit: this requires notably that Articles 4, 7 and 29 of the Staff Regulations need to be fully respected so that all “vacant posts in an institution shall be notified to the staff of that institution, once the appointing authority decides that the vacancy is to be filled” and that this ~~obligation of transparency needs also to be respected~~allows for transfers under Article 7 of the Staff Regulations, ~~apart from very exceptional cases,~~ as recognised by the Court of Justice;

Amendment 95 #

Paragraph 19

19. Points out that in order to maintain an excellent and independent, loyal and motivated European civil service, the Staff Regulations need to be applied in letter and spirit: this requires notably that Articles 4, 7 and 29 of the Staff Regulations need to be fully respected so that all “vacant posts in an institution shall be notified to the staff of that institution, once the appointing authority decides that the vacancy is to be filled” and that this obligation of transparency needs also to be respected for transfers under Article 7 of the Staff Regulations, apart from very exceptional cases and duly motivated, as recognised by the Court of Justice;

Amendment 96 #

Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Takes note that the Court of Justice has admitted some exceptions for transfers under Article 7 but in a limited and restrictive way and that the Judges have pointed out that these transfers should be done only in the interest of the service which means that the situation has to be severe, serious and most of the time urgent; considers that in the interests of transparency and equal opportunities, the non-publication of a vacancy as a result of the interest of the service should always be justified in writing and made public, indicating the reasons for the exceptionality and the urgency and demonstrating that the negative effects in case of not adopting that decision are more serious than the failure to make that decision and finally, the invocation of urgency should not be imputable to the Appointing Authority;

Amendment 97 #

Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Is of the opinion that conditions for transfers in the interest of the service under Article 7 of the Staff Regulation need to be defined and justified more clearly; believes, in particular, that reassignments with the officials' post where the publication of a vacancy is not needed should only be used in exceptional circumstances; calls on the Commission to review and propose changes to its internal rules for the appointment of staff in this regard;

Amendment 98 #

Younous OMARJEE

Paragraph 19 a (new)

19 a. Believes that in order to respect the plurality of the European Union, the functions of Secretary General of the European Parliament, of the European Commission and of the European Council can not be occupied by officials of a same nationality. Calls on the three institutions to establish inter-institutional rules to address this problem and take that direction;

Amendment 99 #