Council of Europe Staff Regulations (Resolution (77) of the Committee of Ministers)
Recommendation 832
(1978)
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- See Doc. 4128See Doc. 4128, report of the Committee on the Budget and the Intergovernmental Work Programme. Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 14 March 1978.
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
2. Having regard to the letter from the Chairman-in-Office of the Committee of Ministers' Deputies to the President of the Assembly, dated 5 July 1977, setting out the final decisions of the Committee of Ministers with regard to Staff Regulations, and informing him that the Committee of Ministers is willing to review if necessary certain provisions of the appendices to Resolution (77) 23 in the light of any observations of the Assembly (
Doc. 4005) ;
3. Having taken note of the report of its Committee on the Budget and the Intergovernmental Work Programme, giving an opinion on the Council of Europe Staff Regulations (
Doc. 4128) ;
4. Noting with surprise and dismay that, despite repeated undertakings and assurances given by the Chairman-in-Office of the Committee of Ministers, this Committee has ignored the Assembly's numerous requests to be consulted on the new Staff Regulations when in draft form, and before taking a final decision ;
5. Being of the opinion that the transmission of the text post facto is the very negation of proper consultation between the Committee of Ministers and the Assembly, and convinced that on such an important issue, with a direct bearing on the staff in the Office of the Clerk of the Assembly, it was essential to proceed to a prior exchange of views with the Assembly ;
6. Considering that the new regulations only concern Articles 6 to 9 of the old regulations, and cover recruitment, promotion and transfer of staff, thus constituting only a part of the general revision of the Staff Regulations still under way in the Committee of Ministers ;
7. Recalling that it insists on being consulted, as requested, on the other chapters of the new Staff Regulations before any final decision is taken ;
8. Having regard to the motion for a recommendation on staff representation at the Council of Europe (
Doc. 4077), currently being considered by the Committee on the Budget and the Intergovernmental Work Programme, which will examine the whole relationship between the staff, the Secretary General and the Committee of Ministers,
9. Deplores the lack of concern in the new regulations for the concept of a European civil service and a developing career within international organisations ;
10. Expresses its concern on the possibility to appoint grade A6 and A7 officials from outside the Secretariat General under a special procedure, thus jeopardising the already limited career possibilities of the staff serving the organisation, and is of the opinion that, in general, all vacancies in the A grade category above A4 should be filled by internal promotion ;
11. Recommends that the Committee of Ministers take immediate steps in order to :
create better prospects of a career for officials serving the Council of Europe, by twinning or dual grading certain grades and, where not possible, creating a number of additional steps within each grade, thus reducing the risk that a capable official may have to remain during his whole working life in one particular structure without any chance of promotion ;
request the competent intergovernmental expert committee to draft a European convention to encourage, with a view to the widening of experience, an exchange of officials serving international organisations, either with national civil servants or with members of other international organisations outside the co-ordinated system, thus ensuring that secondment does not develop into a one-way traffic working to the disadvantage of the international officials ;
make appropriate provisions, as long as paragraph ii has not been implemented, to limit the secondment of national civil servants to posts where a specific expertise is essential, and normally for a period not exceeding two years ;
give special attention to changes in career structures and opportunities which may take place on the accession of new member states to the Council of Europe, and which can potentially act to the real disadvantage of existing officials ;
delete, in Article 23, paragraph 2, of the new regulations on appointments, the reference to the 45-year age limit for the possibility of promotion from category B to category A ;
amend Article 24 of the regulations on appointments in such a way as to give the Assembly the right to approve the appointment by the Secretary General of the two highest officials of the Office of the Clerk, of grades A7 and A6, before they become effective.
