A group of nine member states, including Germany, the Netherlands, and the Czech Republic, has issued an official protest against the European Commission's plans to hire 2,500 new officials. The signatories of the letter point to a glaring contradiction between EU demands for austerity in national budgets and the planned increase in administrative spending by €1.4 billion. Meanwhile, after a seven-year hiatus, prestigious recruitment competitions for the permanent EU civil service have been launched.

Opposition from nine capitals

Ministers from 9 countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, are protesting against the expansion of bureaucracy in Brussels.

Billion-euro costs of the reform

The planned hiring of 2,500 officials involves an expenditure of around €1.4 billion from the community budget.

Prestigious AD5 recruitment

After 7 years, competitions for EU administrators have been launched, with starting salaries exceeding 28,000 PLN.

A group of nine European Union member states has expressed strong opposition to a proposal by the European Commission to significantly expand its staff structures. In a joint letter addressed to Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin, ministers from Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, the Netherlands, and Sweden called for the abandonment of plans to hire 2,500 additional employees. The signatories emphasize that the additional expenditure of €1.4 billion on salaries is unacceptable in light of the pressure for savings that Brussels exerts on national governments. The European Commission defends its strategy, citing new tasks and the need to fill competency gaps in key operational areas. Meanwhile, EPSO has announced, after a seven-year break, the AD5 competition, which is the main pathway to the permanent civil service. The starting salaries offered, reaching up to €6,000 gross, are attracting immense interest – it is estimated that there may be as many as 80 candidates for a single position. Poland was not among the countries signing the protest letter, which has sparked commentary in domestic media. EU administration has been a subject of public debate in Europe for years, where critics point to excessive growth of bureaucratic structures, while supporters emphasize the increasingly broad scope of competencies transferred from the national to the community level since the Lisbon Treaty came into force in 2009. The dispute over the administrative budget is taking place in the shadow of negotiations on the new multiannual financial framework. Countries referred to as "frugal" are demanding greater efficiency and modernization instead of simply increasing the number of positions. This situation places Commissioner Piotr Serafin in a difficult position as a mediator between the institution's ambitious plans and the fiscal rigor of the largest net contributors to the EU budget.

Mentioned People

  • Piotr Serafin — EU Budget Commissioner, to whom the protest letter from member states was addressed.