Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-03-26-Speech-3-117"
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"en.20030326.7.3-117"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, I would first like to thank the rapporteurs for their splendid report. I do this in all sincerity and not just because it is my duty to do so. They have managed to achieve a wide consensus on a subject that is clearly onerous, difficult and complex. I would also like to thank the committee for the effort they have made in negotiations and in reaching an understanding that has resulted in this positive outcome.
My fellow Member Mr Corbett, who was the rapporteur for the opinion of the Committee on Constitutional Affairs, has been kind enough to let me speak in his place. This shows the extent to which members of this committee worked in harmony with each other: a member of one particular group is prepared to allow a member of another group to replace him. We all understood that the task was to amend the Commission’s proposal in order to make it more effective. The two rapporteurs have just explained some of these amendments. I would like to refer to one of these amendments which I believe to be very important for Parliament and for the other European institutions. The amendment distinguishes between an institution supporting decisions regarding staff and the decisions themselves. The latter have to be made by each of the institutions.
As for the elimination of correction coefficients for pensions, I agree with what the two rapporteurs said. I would like to make one further comment. Those who have made equal contributions during their working life as civil servants have the right to equal pensions when they retire.
Mr President, this is how the Committee on Constitutional Affairs has contributed to the report. The Group of the European People’s Party (Christian Democrats) and European Democrats will vote in favour of the report. We are convinced it represents an improvement on the Commission’s proposal and that it will make the already excellent European civil service even more dynamic and efficient. Indeed, this is the aim of the reforms. I would like to echo the previous speaker’s praise of the civil service. It is ready to incorporate the know-how of civil servants from the ten countries who will become members of the European Union next month. In this process of reunification, the European Union will practically double in size and its population will increase by a third. A large number of new civil servants from different cultures will have to be incorporated into the complex system and its administrative procedures. The new civil servants will need to assimilate to the culture of the European civil service.
I think therefore we were right not to introduce a radical reform but rather a gradual one. This reform allows the most antiquated concepts to be eliminated. At the same time, it allows new civil servants to benefit from the wealth of experience of current civil servants who have served the European Union for many years. These are the staff who have ensured that the European Union is more than a mere alliance or a group of countries. They have ensured that the Union has brought peace to many and a whole host of benefits to its citizens."@en1
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