On Tuesday 24 September 2019, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) will publish a special report on the impact of the 2014 reforms package of the EU staff regulations.
ABOUT THE AUDIT
The ECA assessed the effectiveness of the 2014 reforms, with a specific focus on the European Commission, which is the largest employer among EU institutions. The auditors examined whether the measures taken achieved the expected budgetary savings, while improving the HR situation. They also looked at how these reforms had been prepared and their consequences monitored. The report is expected to conclude that the 2014 staff reforms are generating big savings, but with consequences on human resources and EU’s attractiveness. Auditors are expected to highlight that both positive results and negative impacts reflect how the 2014 package was designed and implemented. They will make a number of recommendations to better address weaknesses identified and future challenges.
ABOUT THE TOPIC
The European Union employs about 60 000 staff. Around half (32 000 persons) are employed by the Commission, whose HR budget was €3.2 billion last year, out of €5.5 billion for all EU staff. The Staff Regulations provide the framework for the employment of officials and other staff at the EU institutions, bodies and agencies. After a first far-reaching reform in 2004, the rules were again amended in 2014 in an effort to reduce staff expenditure and further streamline the EU civil service.
The ECA’s special reports set out the results of its audits of EU policies and programmes or management topics related to specific budgetary areas. The ECA selects and designs these audit tasks to be of maximum impact by considering the risks to performance or compliance, the level of income or spending involved, forthcoming developments and political and public interest.