Third Report of the Working Party on the European Civil Service

Report | Doc. 1013 | 09 July 1959

Thesaurus

Contents

SUMMARY

Introductory Note - 2

Recruitment techniques

Part One : General

CHAP. I : Qualifications of European Civil Servants - 6

CHAP. II : The principle of free choice and disposal of staff - 9

CHAP. III : Current recruiting practice of the Organisations - 13

Part Two : Methods - 18

Section I. — Open recruitment - 18

CHAP. I : Competition - 18

CHAP. II : Short-listing of candidates - 23

CHAP. III : Selection 24

A. Assessment of aptitudes - 24

B. Classification and its effects. 27

CHAP. IV : Part played by Governments - 31

Section II. — Offer of appointments to international and national officials - 36

CHAP. I : Ties retained by civil servants with their Governments - 38

CHAP. II : Selection of candidates from national Civil Services and International Secretariats - 42

CHAP. III : Part played by Governments in recruitment from national Civil Services - 44

Part Three : Co-operation between Organisations - 46

CHAP. I : For the future : a Central Appointments Office - 48

CHAP. II : What can be done now - 51

Conclusions - 53

I. — Fields of recruitment - 54

II. — Open recruitment - 55

III. — Loan of staff from national Civil Services - 57

V. — Centralisation of recruitment — Immediate and future action - 58

Position of officials lent by national or international administrations 59

Training problems

Training of European officials - 64

I. Statement of the problem - 65

II. Existing practice - 68

III. Possible solutions - 73

IV. Practical proposals - 79

V. Recommendations - 86

Institutes for European teaching and research - 90

I. Teaching 90

A. Private Foundations - 90

B. University Institutes - 92

II. Research - 93

A. Private Foundations - 93

B. Public Institutes - 94

Appendix : List of Experts present at all or some of the meetings of the Working Party and Committees - 95

I. Experts from the organisations - 95

II. Governmental experts 96

1 Introductory Note

1. The Working Party on the European Civil Service stated in the introductory note to its second Report that during 1958-59 it would give priority to questions of staff recruitment and training. These two important subjects form the subject of this, the third Report.

2. A list is appended of the experts of participating organisations and Governments. The membership of the Working Party has expanded because :

a With regard to organisations, the EEC and Euratom Commissions, in response to the invitation referred to in the second Report, are now regularly represented. The High Authority of E. C. S. C, it will be remembered, has attended the meetings from the beginning. Similarly, the three institutions common to the six-Power Communities have also taken part.

b On the governmental side, Austria, Greece and Italy have delegated experts, thereby joining those countries of the Member States of the Council of Europe which have been members of the Working Party since its inception. Although all the Member States of the Council of Europe are not yet participants, the Working Party, thus supplemented, can at least claim to be fully representative of the European Organisations. It has therefore felt able to comply with the suggestion of the Committee of Ministers that it should, itself, whenever it deems expedient, put forward proposals as to its future status.

3. Following the wish expressed by the Consultative Assembly in its Recommendation 155, the Working Party has proposed to the Committee of Ministers that it should be transformed, for a period of three years, into an Advisory Committee on the European Civil Service. Its new function, in addition to the studies and co-ordination work already accomplished, would be to give advice on all problems of staff status, when requested by the Organisations or Governments. It would also be the Advisory Committee's task to prepare a draft statute for a permanent Committee on the European Civil Service, whose functions are still to be determined.

4. The present report analyses in turn the technical problems of staff recruitment and training in the European organisations.

5. As regards recruitment, it was necessary to make a careful distinction between proposals which could be made at the present stage and those based on the optimistic but necessarily cautious views which may be held about the future of the European organisations. Recruiting is one of the fields in which the institutions display the most lively independence. Moreover, the interests of States and of the Organisations must necessarily play their part.

6. Bearing this somewhat delicate situation in mind, and to avoid offending justifiable susceptibilities, the Working Party has had to confine itself to proposals which are modest insofar as immediate practical results are concerned. But, although recruitment is one of the spheres in which closer co-operation between the organisations is most difficult to achieve, it is probably the one with the brightest future.

7. In the case of training, on the other hand, unanimous agreement may easily be reached, and the practical proposals of the Working Party for the most part require nothing more than exchange of information between the Organisations and individual effort on the part of each.

8. Since its second Report was published, the Working Party has not devoted itself entirely to the preparation of the third. It has also considered in what fields administrative cooperation might take place between the Organisations. It did not consider that the resultant analysis was suitable for inclusion in its reports, but it has made it available to administrative officers of the organisations as a reference document which might suggest ways and means of promoting collaboration.

9. In accordance with what was stated in the introductory note to the second Report, the Working Party has begun its study of the following subjects :

detailed analysis of the special residential position of junior staff engaged locally :

system of staff efficiency assessment;

system of advancement and promotion

10. These studies will form the subject of the next report.

11. Finally, the Working Party felt that its work was now so far advanced that it could usefully turn its attention to the drafting of model staff regulations. It will be recalled that this was one of its key terms of reference under Resolution (55) 19 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe. The regulations thus formulated would not be applied ipso facto to any one Organisation, but could be drawn upon by each of them as may be convenient. They would thus contribute to the progressive co-ordination of the present staff regulations.

12. In submitting its third Report, the Working Party would recall that the experts appointed by both international Organisations and Governments have worked in an independent capacity. Hence they alone are responsible for the conclusions of the Report, which must not be regarded as necessarily reflecting the views of the Organisations or Governments concerned.

2 Recruitment techniques

2.1 PART ONE - General

13. As techniques are simply the methods adopted to realise systematically and under the best conditions the desired objectives, the Working Party, at the cost of going back over some of the ground covered in their 1957 report, thought best to preface this study of recruiting methods by stating the main principles or aims of a true European Civil Service. The first is laid down in most sets of staff regulations : officials must be of the highest integrity and ability. The regulations contain provisions designed to bring home to staff the importance of the second : loyalty to the institution, expressed in the solemn declaration normally required. But there is a third, which is to some extent the corollary of the second. The institutions must be absolutely independent of all outside authorities in selecting and posting their staff. It is proposed to illustrate these principles in Part One of this report, which is introductory in character. In Chapter I the essential qualifications which must be required of staff are analysed. Chapter II shows that an Organisation's freedom of choice and disposal must not be fettered by the need, which sometimes arises, to limit the field of recruitment to particular circles, even if this bring the organisation into contact with outside authorities and if such authorities retain certain ties with their nationals. The final Chapter of Part One is a survey of current recruitment practice in the organisations, based on the most accurate figures available, having regard to the fact that some institutions are still in the early stages of their growth.

2.1.1 CHAPTER I - Qualifications of European civil servants

2.1.1.1 Education

14. It is a sine qua non that officials should have received a general education which fits them to perform their duties adequately —-school or university according to grade. In the case of Category A [(1) See Second Report of the Working Party, chapter on the standard classification of posts, paragraph 17, page 50.] it may be supplemented by specialised training at an institute of European studies; the Working Party have made a point of looking into this question, in particular in their report on Training. These educational standards, indispensable in a candidate applying for a post a the bottom of the scale on completing his studies, are equally so for someone who seeks to enter the service at a higher point on the strength of his professional experience. The latter is no substitute for the former. The only difference is that, when it is important to appoint an experienced man to a certain post immediately, he will begin at a higher step in the classification. It is not absolutely essential for this experience to have been gained in a national or international administration. The Organisation must make its own assessment of the value it places on such experience, whereas the assessment is virtually automatic in the case of paper qualifications.

2.1.1.2 Personal qualities

15. Everything that has just been said would apply equally well, mutatis mutandis, to recruitment for a national administration or private undertaking, but the qualifications we are now going to discuss are peculiar to European Organisations. These Organisations, which do not yet constitute a European administration, have a right to require a more definite and far-reaching commitment of their staff than the traditional loyalty of national civil servants. International officials, who arc frequently called upon to be the moving spirit and to exercise great initiative in newly conceived undertakings, should have an active faith in the purposes of European co-operation. They must, in other words, be inspired by a genuine ideal. It follows, above all, that an official must be capable of rising above narrowly national considerations. The belief that European problems can be solved only through European co-operation, and particularly through the agency of the institution for which he is working, is fully as important as his general culture or professional equipment. Finally, those who work in European organisations must be capable of displaying the team spirit essential among an international staff.

2.1.1.3 Professional aptitude

16. The aptitudes with which we are concerned here relate primarily to staff in Category A, although they are also necessary in a lesser degree for staff in intermediate grades. Called upon to contribute to a task of as yet undefined scope, and without the support of tradition and a powerful administrative machine—-the twin pillars of national administrations— European officials have to innovate, to create. They can do much to facilitate or to hinder European enterprises, whose success depends on their energy and sense of responsibility. One of the first qualities to look for in candidates and develop in officials is initiative. The nature of the Organisations, moreover, is such that a large part of their work is done in committee. It follows that officials must have a special gift for explaining themselves either orally at meetings or in written reports. They must therefore be good speakers and lucid draftsmen. Lastly, the existence of parliamentary and ministerial bodies in most of the Organisations frequently means that the work is often of a spasmodic nature. Staff—at all levels—must therefore be capable of working at times under high pressure and in difficult conditions.

2.1.1.4 Knowledge of languages

17. Almost all the Organisations use at least two official languages. This peculiarity entails the provision of a much larger linguistic establishment (interpretation and translation) than is usual in national administrations. It need hardly be emphasised that such staff must possess both the appropriate technical qualifications and all the general qualities listed in (a), (b), and (c). Furthermore, many of the staff have to use different official languages in their day-to-day work. Hence the Organisations generally require of candidates an excellent knowledge of one official language and a working knowledge of another. This requirement entails a number of consequences. In the first place, candidates, apart from those from member countries where one of the official languages is in use, are less numerous than if only one foreign language were expected. Secondly, Organisations may be obliged to prefer a candidate who is up to the linguistic standard, even if he is not the best in all respects.

18. There is a difficulty here which it is important to resolve. Recruiting methods must be directed primarily towards securing candidates with personal and professional qualities which fit them to carry out their duties to the best effect. It cannot be denied that knowledge of languages is one of those qualities. But the Working Party feel that, owing to the manner in which languages can be acquired, it is less important for a candidate to have already reached the required standard when his general suitability is being assessed as in the case of the other qualifications. It is enough, then, if it is clear from a candidate's knowledge of and aptitude for languages at the time of recruitment that he is capable of profiting by further studies. But the Working Party recommend that final appointment—which it is suggested in the report on that subject should be confirmed only after completion of a period of training— should depend on an adequate knowledge of the stipulated languages. They consider it essential, moreover, to insist on a good working knowledge of at least one official language on initial appointment. Finally, the practical aspect of knowledge of official languages is not the only one : there is also the aspect-—in Organisations whose regulations prescribe recruitment by "competition"— of equality in the conditions of entry. That is why those institutions demand an adequate knowledge of an official language other than the mother-tongue.

2.1.2 CHAPTER. II - The principle of free choice and disposal of staff Fields of recruitment

19. Recruitment into the European Civil Service should be as broadly based as possible, for open competition implies the largest possible number of entries. Hence the invitation to compete for vacancies is addressed to the entire body of Europeans with an inclination to the International Civil Service and the required qualifications. Looked at in this way, the field of recruitment comprises all the ablest young Europeans who wish to devote their career to European institutions But, besides ensuring higher qualifications, a wide range of entries is also essential in connexion with another fundamental principle : the freedom of the Organisations to choose and dispose of their officials. The organisations must not be in any way dependent on an external authority for the recruitment of their staff, unless by their own express request. Just like a State with its own nationals, they must be able to go direct to the European labour market without the intervention of any group or Government.

20. But practical needs may compel Organisations to depart from this principle to some extent. The considerations underlying such departures may be either temporary or permanent. We shall deal first with the permanent considerations :

20.1 Some highly technical posts must be held by specialists whose qualifications can only be obtained through appropriate training and experience in a particular field. The Organisations are restricted to that field for the selection of such officials. Secondly, it may be in the interest of some institutions working on highly specialised subjects, according to their specific needs and by a procedure to be defined, to employ such officials for a limited period only, even though the need may be permanent, if the nature of the speciality dictates that the official should from time to time be reabsorbed in his former environment. Recourse to a specialised field then becomes a method of recruitment for periodic occupations, an official either remaining only a short time with the Organisation or else making repeated stays interrupted by a return to his original post.

20.2 There may be a case, in the interests of mutual understanding between the Organisations and certain national circles invited to collaborate with them, for designating such circles as permanent fields of potential recruitment. On the other hand, the considerations which follow are of a temporary nature and will cease to he valid when a true European Civil Service exists.

20.3 It is not enough for new staff to have book-learning acquired at university or school : they should also be capable of making themselves useful immediately : in other words they should have practical experience enabling them to deal efficiently with the business entrusted to them. Secondly, the filling of senior posts in each category by promoting the best of the more recent arrivals can only gradually become the regular practice; it does not meet the immediate staffing needs of Organisations in process of formation or rapidly expanding.

20.4 New staff with only academic preparation can gain practical experience systematically and fairly quickly if given suitable training after their initial appointment. The Working Party have made a special study of this important problem. But it has to be recognised that no such system yet exists and that, until it does, new officials are reduced to training themselves empirically in their contact with the life of the Organisation, with colleagues and with departmental heads. That, however, presupposes the existence of an experienced administrative nucleus. This condition can only be fulfilled, in the case of Organisations in process of formation, by inviting candidatures from circles whose members have already acquired sufficient training and experience in the course of their previous work. This procedure is si ill more vital, of course, in filling senior posts.

20.5 It must be borne in mind that first-rate candidates will not be attracted to the European service unless they can count on a career comparable to that offered at the same level and for similar work in the corresponding national sectors. Pending such arrangmcnts, it may therefore be necessary to borrow suitable persons from the appropriate sectors; such persons would be willing to work for European Organisations temporarily, because they would be assured of going back to their place in their original professional sphere and continuing their former career on termination of their European contract.

21. Thus a European Civil Service may, as a second string, rely to some extent on particular fields of recruitment, either for ephemeral reasons or on permanent grounds of expediency or specialisation. Attention may be drawn to certain temporary features of the situation : the present lack of any specific systematic training for a European Civil Service ; the needs, especially in the more responsible posts, of Organisations in process of formation or rapid expansion, the inadequacy of guaranteed career prospects in the institutions. The Working Party find that this combination of circumstances tends to lower the standard of recruitment and that it is accordingly essential to invite applications directly from candidates with qualifications which will enable them from the outset to measure up to the tasks and responsibilities that go with the senior posts.

22. The Working Party note that, for this purpose, existing European Organisations and national administrations of member countries offer particularly suitable material. The staff of existing Organisations constitute a useful field of recruitment. Such officials are particularly suitable by their experience of the workings of international institutions and their knowledge of the subjects handled to occupy higher posts which may be offered them when their personal qualities are sufficiently developed. National civil servants are also a valuable reservoir of qualified candidates. In the first place, posts which are comparable as between one Organisation and another are also generally comparable with those of national Civil Services, so that work done in the latter is a fitting preparation for European appointments. Secondly, the devotion to the common weal which is expected of national civil servants and the ability to see problems in general terms will find a natural place in the European Organisations which, for their consolidation and development, have need of utter disinterestedness and a profound sense of public service in their senior officials.

23. The Working Party believe it perfectly possible, by following suitable procedures, to limit certain appointments to the special fields just designated, while preserving to the full the Organisation's freedom of choice and disposal. These methods will be described in Part Two. But two principles may be stated at this point, bearing in mind that national and international administrations, at least during the phases of formation and growth of European institutions, provide an important field of recruitment. First, the Organisations must be free to invite applications directly from national civil servants if their regulations permit. Secondly, national officials who have been recruited, whether directly or with Government intervention or assistance, must henceforth be immune from any form of pressure by their Government.

2.1.3 CHAPTER III - Current recruiting practice of the Organisations

24. This chapter is intended to give a brief indication of the methods at present used by the European Organisations. They are presented in tabular form for ease of comparison.

25. The first thing is to estimate the annual rate of intake of each Organisation. The figures given below are for 1958. It should be noted that this was the year in which the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community were founded. The demand for staff was exceptionally heavy for that reason, and pre-existing Organisations were all affected in varying degrees. It follows that the figures given are probably higher than those for a normal year. Some Organisations have been unable to give useful information on this point, either because they are of too recent date or because their staff is so small as to render an annual figure meaningless. E. C. S. C.—High Authority : 54 including 50 in Category C; Council of Europe : 46; 0. E. E. C. : 120 including 63 shorthand- typists ; N. A. T. 0. : 90; C. E. R. N. : 188; W. E. U. : 20.

26. The practice of the Organisation [(2) As regards the four tables which follow, institutions common to the three six-Power Communities, marked with an asterisk, are applying the methods — not yet codified — of the new Communities in recruiting new staff. The former staff were recruited according to rules laid down in the ECSC Statute,' as shown against the High Authority of E. C. S. C.] in seeking potential candidates varies widely. en ce qui concerne la recherche des candidatures témoignent d'une grande diversité de solutions.

	Applications invited from within the Organisation	Approach to Governments	Advertisement	Personal connections of departmental heads concerned	Government nominees
Central Rhine Commission					Yes
Customs Co-operation Council	Yes		Yes		Yes
Council of Europe	Yes, with priority	Yes	Sometimes	Sometimes	Yes
European Parliamentary Assembly [(3) Common institution.]
Council of the European Communities [(4) Common institution]
Court of Justice of the European Commun. [(5) Common institution]
E.C.S.C. - High Authority.	Yes		Yes
O. E. E. C.	Yes	Yes	Sometimes		Yes
N. A. T. O.	Yes	Yes for Cat. A	Yes for Sh/T.		Yes
C. E. R. N.	Yes	Yes	Yes		Yes
W. E. U.	Yes, with priority	Sometimes	Sometimes	Sometimes	Yes

27. Methods of selection also vary widely, and the same Organisation often makes use of more than one. The following table shows the position and, where possible, indicates the category of posts to which a given method is applied.

Selection on qualifications	Selection after aptitude test	Examination with order of merit
Central Rhino Commission	All staff
Customs Co-operation Council	Cats. 1 et 2	Cats. 3 et 4	Cats. 3 et 4
Council of Europe	As a general rule	Sh./T., Interpreters, Translators,	No
European Parliamentary Assembly [(6) Common institution]
Council of the European Communities [(7) Common institution]
Court of Justice of the European Communities [(8) Common institution]
E. C. S. C.-High Authority			All staff [(9) The Staff Regulations provide that a different selection procedure may bo established for Directors, Counsellors and Deputy Directors.]
O. E. E. C.	As a general rule	Sh./T., Interpreters, Translators, Skilled workers	No
N. A. T. 0.	All staff except	Translators, Interpreters, Sh/T., Typists, Assemblers
C. E. R. N.		All staff
W. E. U.	Grades 10 à 15	Sh./T.	Translators, Interpreters

28. Plusieurs organisations ont mis en vigueur le recrutement par concours. Il a paru intéressant de procéder à une comparaison entre les conceptions diverses qu'elles ont de la composition et des attributions du jury.

		Composition	Papers set by
Graduates of National Universities	Officials of the Organisation	Mixed	Board	Administration
Customs Co-operation Council		Yes		Yes
European Parliamentary Assembly [(10) Common institution]
Council of the European Communities [(11) Common institution]
Court of Justice of the European Communities [(12) Common institution]
E. C. S. C. High. Authority		Yes		Yes
C. E. R. N		Yes		Yes

29. All the Organisations have had to face up to the problem of their attitude to Member States in the matter of candidates. They have solved it in various ways and have usually made allowances for the special case of national civil servants.

	Candidatures submitted for comment	Candidatures submitted approval	Candidatures submitted information
Central Rhine Commission		The case has never arisen
Customs Co-operation Council		Automatically for Conseil de Coopération doua-candidates put nière forward by Governments
Council of Europe	Yes	No	No
European Parliamentary Assem- Assemblée Parlementaire Eu-bly [(13) Common institution]
Council of the European Communities [(14) Common institutio]
Court of Justice of the European Communities [(15) Common institutio]	No	No	No
E. C. S. C. High. Authority	No	No	No
0. E. E. C.	Yes	No	No
N. A. T. 0.	No	Yes, for civil sorv.	Yes
C.E. R. N.	No	No	No
W. E. U.	Tho r is no strict rule

2.2 PART TWO

2.2.1 Methods

30. Recruitment falls into three stages : applications—as many as possible are invited; a short list is drawn up, having regard to the type and level of the post and the field of recruitment; a final objective choice is made. In Part Two we shall consider suitable methods of carrying out these operations. For the reasons given in Part One, Chapter II, (No. 11), Part Two is divided into two sections :

lSection I, on methods of open recruitment;

Section II, on methods applicable to candidates from particular fields, mainly national and international administrations.

2.2.1.1 Section I - Open recruitment

2.2.1.1.1 CHAPITRE Ier - Competition

2.2.1.1.1.1 The rule and its application

31. It is important that the conditions of appointment should be highly competitive. An effort must be made to attract strong candidates from all appropriate fields thereby increasing the scope of selection of the organisation. Preference may, of course, have to be shown in certain cases (see above) to applicants from a particular sphere, in which they have already gained the experience required for a given post. But, apart from such cases, which will become rarer as a real, permanent European Civil Service is built up, competition should be open, irrespective of background.

32. This can only be ensured by the publication of an announcement which should reach all circles from which applications may be forthcoming. For the publication of vacancies, the following points must be settled : form and content of the announcement, method of distribution, time-limit for applications.

33. The announcement must be printed, although it may, of course, be made also in other ways, e.g. over the radio. It should begin with a brief description of the vacant posts, giving their number and the salary offered. This should be followed by a list of formal requirements, viz. nationality (as laid down in the rules of the Organisation), age, physique, education, written qualifications and regularised position as to military service in the country of origin. Then there should be an indication of the method of selection and the nature and standard of any tests which may be set. Finally, the time-limit for applications must be stated. This seems to be all a potential candidate will need to know. Anything less, how-over, would tend to place an undue burden on the secretariats of Organisations, which would have to supply further particulars.

34. Announcements of vacancies should in general be circulated as widely as possible : in the buildings and official bulletin of the Organisation; in buildings, official gazettes and national press of Member States; sometimes for certain technical appointments, in professional journals (these are the methods in current use at E. C. S. C). They need not all be used at once, when only specific fields of recruitment are to be explored—e.g. when applications are invited only from national or international officials.

35. Announcements must be published in time for candidates to obtain any further information they require and to supply before the closing date their own personal particulars and any other material needed in support of their applications. The Organisations will also need a certain time for enquiries and consultations regarding the applicants. That time will normally run from the closing date for applications to the final date set for short-listing. All these factors must be borne in mind in deciding when to make the announcement. It follows that Organisations must look well ahead; in fact, a serious recruitment policy will have to be worked out.

2.2.1.1.1.2 The rule of open competition; temporary relaxations and exceptions

36. While a high standard of recruitment depends in part on the principle of open competition, it may sometimes gain by limitation of that rule, as has been shown in our discussion of fields of recruitment. Such relaxations are called for mainly in the development stage of a European Civil Service. We have seen, however, that some will still be justifiable after the original grounds for their adoption have disappeared.

37. There is no doubt that once an Organisation is at full strength, with a regular intake as in national administrations, and once special training is organised and careers are assured, the starting appointments will have to be filled by competition between trained candidates. But higher posts may be filled by two methods which may be combined in proportions to be determined by each Organisation according to circumstances and expediency :

first, officials of the Organisations who qualify for promotion may be invited to apply;

secondly, applications may be invited from "outside candidates", so as not to deprive the Organisations of proficiencies they may be short of, but without losing sight of the importance of offering existing staff an assured career which might be prejudiced if this procedure were followed too freely.

38. But, even when a European Civil Service has reached this stage in its development, there will still be advantages in mixing international and national officials, inasmuch as the systematic contact which the special training is designed to foster will be prolonged, and both worlds will be enriched by their interpénétration.

2.2.1.1.1.3 Candidates with special training

39. If a special training system for a European Civil Service is organised, the question arises what place it is to be given in the recruitment process. Should starting appointments be reserved exclusively for candidates who have undergone such training? Or, in view of the value of open competition in maintaining the standards of a European Civil Service, should such candidates be accorded priority only in cases of equal merit and technical qualifications? Or, finally, should one merely reserve for these candidates a certain percentage of of the vacancies to be filled by competition? An answer to this question is of importance— in the limited context of the present study—for the choice of recruiting methods. The problems are comparatively simple on the first hypothesis, where only candidates who have undergone special training would be allowed to compete, and on the third, where selection would take place separately within each category group. On the second, however, trained candidates would be competing directly with untrained candidates, so that their merits could be compared at an early stage in the selection process; this means that some criterion for the final selection would have to be adopted, for example by awarding extra marks to trained candidates.

40. The Working Party, however, for reasons set forth in their report on Training, believe this to be a wrong way of stating the problem of seeking trained candidates. Special training is not confined to the period before entering the European Civil Service. It is a lasting process which is pursued at more advanced levels after appointment. Inasmuch as previous training is planned more to stimulate the mind than to inculcate unduly specialised knowledge, certain suggestions are made below as to the relationship that should be established between the different stages of training and the recruitment procedure.

41.

a Previous training must not confer automatic privileges; in other words, must not be compulsory and must neither earn a candidate extra marks nor exempt him from any tests. Selection tests or examinations will be based on studies with a European emphasis; in view of the subjects set and the treatment required, entrants will have an inducement to attend special training institutes in order to he well prepared. Thus, candidates who have attended a "European" institute will, other things being equal, be rewarded by enjoying a substantial advantage over those who have not, assuming that the latter are allowed to compete. We may add that, with Europe on the road to integration, the best students in each country, whether destined for the European Civil Service or not, will have to devote some of their time to learning about and reflecting upon European problems, both in their general aspects and with particular reference to their own future work. University and school curricula must make provision for this.

b Examination papers, if set in accordance with the principles indicated above, will necessarily be theoretical in character appropriate to the previous training. For the European civil servant to be finally fitted for his job, he will have to undergo further training after appointment. Only the candidates accepted will receive this practical training essential to the satisfactory exercise of their profession. Doubtless they will not immediately be "good value" for the Organisation which has to bear the cost of the second stage in their training, and permanent appointment will depend on its satisfactory completion.

2.2.1.1.2 CHAPTER II - Short-listing of candidates

Candidates can be placed on the short list only if they satisfy certain conditions, some of a moral or intellectual nature and others legal or factual in character. The latter usually include nationality, age, physique, degrees, training (including previous experience) and régularisation of the position regarding military service in the country of origin. These prerequisites, being concrete, are normally easy to check. Moral and intellectual qualities, on the other hand, are subjective, and their assessment involves a power of discretion. Thus, while it may be necessary to refer to outside authorities, e.g. for inquiries, the Organisation is entitled to have the final say.

In drawing up the definitive short list an Organisation exercises a right of its own which is shared with no other authority. Information, particulars or opinions solicited for its own enlightenment confer no right of decision on the authorities supplying them. The only question here is how far the Organisation should be bound by opinions submitted to it. It would appear that opinions on legal or factual prerequisites should always be binding. If, for example, the regulations provide that, in the absence of the prescribed degrees, a candidate may nevertheless be admissible if he has certain alternative qualifications, they will at the same time refer the matter to the selection board, whose opinion should be binding on the Organisation. But, in the case of moral and intellectual qualities, as we have said, the Organisation has full discretion.

2.2.1.1.3 CHAPTER III - Selection

42. In selecting the best candidate for a given post, certain processes are used in order to ascertain whether candidates possess the necessary degree of ability. We must therefore begin with a comparative study of the usual methods employed. Next comes the question of how far an Organisation, in making its final choice, may properly depart from the strict classification arrived at.

2.2.1.1.3.1 Assessment of aptitudes

2.2.1.1.3.1.1 Methods and results

43. Selection can be based either on the candidate's background (degrees, references, etc.), or on special tests, or on a combination of both (in which case the paper qualifications are a prerequisite of admission to the tests).

44. The paper qualifications indicate, on the one hand, the extent of the candidate's general education and the level attained in special subjects; on the other hand, they show the nature and scope of any work he has already done and of the experience he has acquired. The conclusions which can be drawn from an examination of his past constitute an indirect assessment of his suitability for a given post. By means of tests, on the other hand, a candidate's qualifications, including intellectual calibre and bent as well as general and But a test, while adapted to the evaluation of mental qualities and technical knowledge does not give a complete picture of character and behaviour [(16) The Working Party do not feel called upon to study in this report the methods of applied psychology. At tho same time they would not reject them out of hand; the European Civil Service might indeed consider using them, but only after careful investigation, paying particular attention to recent experience in Great Britain in the selection of civil servants.]; a background check, on the other hand, having a more empirical basis, often enables the personal qualities essential to success in certain posts to be estimated.

45. To sum up :

the system of background checks is particularly useful for posts requiring previous general or specialised experience by which the necessary practice and personal qualities can alone be acquired; the examination system is useful for beginners in the service who need only an academic preparation;

the examination system also enables candidates to be more exactly compared and placed in strict order of merit according to the sum total of their qualifications.

2.2.1.1.3.1.2 Choice of methods

46. The relative value of these two methods can only be assessed in detail by considering the type and level of the posts offered and the field of recruitment.

47.

a In relation to the type of posf.Wlien candidates only need to show quasi-technical knowledge which can be put to immediate use in a straightforward manner, the tests will reproduce the conditions of the actual work. These tests may be supplemented, particularly if a degree is not demanded in proof of a specific level of education, by an examination in the general knowledge needed to do the job properly. This will be the case for posts peculiar to European Organisations (group (al) as defined in Chapter II of the Working Party's 1957 Report) and certain technical executive appointments (Category B as defined in tbe chapter on standard classification of the 1958 Report). On the other hand, paper qualifications are vital in assessing candidates for highly technical posts, where the choice is based on reputation, writings and attainments and limited by the narrowness of the specialisation.

48.

48.1 In relation to the level of the post. For appointments requiring a combination of wide general knowledge, technical knowledge and experience of men and affairs, the choice between paper qualifications and tests is bound up with the relative importance of those three factors, which depends on the level of the post according to category and grade (as defined in the chapter on standard classification of the 1958 Report). In practice, the problem arises with the senior and, to some extent, the intermediate appointments placed by the working Party in Categories A and B respectively. Candidates for posts at the bottom of these categories are only expected to display intellectual knowledge and capacity. These are easily determined by suitable tests. But, to rise within a category, an official must develop certain qualities whose original presence, potential growth and actual improvement are not to any great extent amenable to direct methods of assessment. Such, aptitudes are revealed mainly by the degree of success in previous posts. Promotion by selection within a category is governed exclusively by success and by qualities which are suitable for the higher post and can be assessed through the actual performance of duties. But what is true of the machinery of promotion from within is equally so in the case of appointment from outside, i.e. the direct entry into a relatively high post of a candidate who was not in the same category. Assessment of such a candidate's ability to do the job will therefore be based on consideration of the posts he has already held and the manner in which he acquitted himself.

49.

49.1 In relation to the field of recruitment. Finally, the choice between background checks and special tests depends on the nature of the field of recruitment. This problem will be considered in Section II of this part, which deals primarily with inviting applications from national civil servants.

2.2.1.1.3.2 Classification and its effects

50. Once their suitability for a post has been determined, by whatever means—background check or tests—candidates will be classified, either as suitable or unsuitable or in order of merit. It is all the more important to define the nature and effects of these two methods, since they are not always clearly distinguished in practice—e.g. in connection with the extent of an Organisation's freedom of choice with regard to the candidates short-listed.

2.2.1.1.3.2.1 Methods of classification

51. The system of "pass lists" means, in general, that candidates arc merely divided into two classes without further differentiation : those with the required qualifications and those judged unsuitable. In the system of "graduated lists" candidates passed as suitable are placed on a list in order of priority according to ascertainable merits. If the latter procedure is adopted, it is clear that the methods used for assessing qualifications must be sufficiently accurate in the measurement of aptitudes to allow of very precise comparisons. The competence and independence of the authorities responsible for assessing aptitudes—the second prerequisite of objective selection—are, however, of equal importance in both systems. We have already seen that selection by examination is more precise selection than by consideration of paper qualifications. It therefore seems advisable to prefer it wherever it is not as such unsuitable for the type of post on the grounds given above and wherever an order of merit is to be drawn up,

52. The authorities responsible for judging candidates must be competent and independent. In a European Civil Service where ability is the supreme criterion for recruitment, assessment of such ability must be strictly objective and uninfluenced by extraneous considerations. That does not mean that nominations should not depend on other conditions or factors as well. But these should carry no weight in the selection process.

53. The institution of the selection board, on which persons at once competent and independent can be invited to sit, is the answer to the problem. A number of persons—educationists, international officials, specialists, etc. —can be brought together for the purpose of reaching an agreed verdict; their professions, background and experience are a guarantee that qualifications will be carefully examined; the competence of the board is assured. The same principle of joint decision by persons from different walks of life also secures their independence of the Organisation. The board may be composed both of persons outside the Organisation, i.e. not subject to its authority, and of senior officials of the Organisation itself (in which case it can nominate the officials best placed to appreciate certain finer points of special significance to the Organisation, notably in connexion with the personal qualities so important in an international Civil Service).

2.2.1.1.3.2.2 Effects of the two types of classification compared

54. The main difference between the effects of the two methods of classification described above lies in the organisation's freedom of choice in regard to the applicants selected. The inclusion of a name in a pass list carries no prior claim to appointment and therefore leaves considerable latitude to the employer. But a graduated list, since it is designed to show the best man for the job, tends to be accepted automatically; it therefore tends to confer on each applicant a claim to appointment according to his place on the list when the appropriate number of vacancies have come up. However, since the number of applicants listed is in principle equal to the number of vacancies forecast over a fixed period, the right to appointment is only temporary and lapses if the vacancy corresponding to an applicant's position on the list arises after that period. The greater flexibility of the pass list, on the other hand, enables an Organisation to build up a reserve of qualified applicants who can be drawn upon when needed. The applicants listed will, for their part, have an incentive to hold themselves available since their inclusion gives them a claim which will hold good for a certain time. The pass list can be continually renewed by successive selections and its level adjusted to estimated needs, for the employing organisation can take applicants in any order, appointing one of long standing or a recent candidate as it pleases. Finally, such a method may be useful for selection of preliminary selection for expanding Organisations. The system of pass lists is the technical answer in another case—when both methods of selection are used at the same time; this may happen if different types of applicant are called forward, some being judged by the results of special tests and others on paper qualifications. Applicants judged by such widely separated standards cannot be accurately ranged in order of merit.

55. To sum up :

55.1 Listing by order of merit is suitable when a fixed number of posts are to be filled within a limited time and for beginners in the service; the pass list makes it possible to establish a temporary reserve of qualified applicants upon whom the Organisation is entitled, up to a point, to draw as it pleases.

55.2 The first method answers more effectively to the European Civil Service's pursuit of quality and protects Organisations from influences extraneous to that purpose.

55.3 Nevertheless, recourse to pass lists may be justified on special grounds, either technical or dictated by circumstances.

56. LWe realise that, although the graduated list seems in theory the system most likely to lead to the best appointments, there may in existing circumstances be difficulties in the way of putting it into force, owing largely to the reluctance of Organisations to be tied down indefinitely by an order of priority. Nevertheless, in view of the goal set by the European institutions, which is ultimately the same as ours, we recommend that graduated lists should be drawn up in the course of selection whenever it is seen to be possible, on the understanding that the lists would be only for the guidance of the Organisations themselves and would not be made known outside. Applicants would simply be notified of the results of selection by publication of a pass list.

57. Finally, we feel bound to emphasise the connexion between the relative strictness of selection procedures and the rights they in fact tend to confer on applicants passed as suitable. We have already alluded to one aspect of this connexion when comparing the effects of pass lists and graduated lists. But it must also be mentioned when comparing the psychological effects of selection by background check and selection by examination. In the former process, when an applicant's qualifications are assessed in terms of his past, he does not have to make the active effort which is required of him in the second process and which, if the result is favourable, gives him the feeling of having earned a real title to the post sought. It follows that the strength of the title and of the rights derived therefrom increases with the amount of effort required. This is also relevant to the problem of an assured career. Staff will feel better justified in demanding assurances on this point if they have gone through a stricter process of selection, involving greater personal effort. The quality of the applicants also depends on the prospects held out.

58. These considerations—irrelevant in a full-grown European Civil Service, but significant at certain stages of its formation—cannot be ignored when choosing methods of recruitment. If the Organisations want to secure first-rate personnel, they must guarantee security of tenure and prospects of a career in their staff regulations. But, so long as circumstances prevent them from introducing such regulations, it is difficult for them in practice to apply very stringent methods of selection. Being virtually confined to selection on paper qualifications for Categories "A" and "B", it is in their interest to recruit staff whose abilities lend themselves naturally to assessment in that way. But, where they use that method in engaging applicants who ought normally to be selected by means of tests, it can only be regarded as a kind of pre-selection to be followed up, once regular careers are established, by a definitive examination of qualifications.

2.2.1.1.4 CHAPTER IV - Part played by Governments

59. Decisions in the matter of appointments are the preserve of the Organisations. But, as we have seen in Chapter II, it may involve some action on the part of outside author ities by way of co-operation in various forms. There seems to be no urgency about making a full-length study of this question. Co-operation from Governments does, however, by reason of the level at which it takes place and the issues of principle it may raise, call for special attention. There are two sides to the part played by Governments. In the first place Governments, like other authorities, such as the European institutions themselves, can relieve the Organisations of some of the tasks involved in recruitment which they could not complete satisfactorily alone; this kind of help, which is demanded by the nature of the methods used, is all to the advantage of the Organisations, who therefore take the initiative in asking for it. In the second place, however, Member States have an interest in the employment of their nationals in Organisations as laid down by the rule of geographical distribution. They may thus wish to exercise a certain influence on the choice of their nationals, to a degree determined by the nature of the juridical relation between the public authorities and the different sections of the population in each country. This time there is not merely the question of help rendered to the Organisations by Governments but also that of wishes expressed by the latter and on which the former have to decide. We shall consider first the assistance that Governments can give Organisations in the recruitment process and then the position of Member States regarding the candidature of their own nationals.

2.2.1.1.4.1 Assistance

60. Governments are indisputably in a position to afford great assistance to Organisations during the recruitment process. Indeed, as things stand at present, it is hard to see how the Organisations could do without such collaboration. Some services, moreover, can only be rendered by Governments, whatever methods may be evolved and whatever powers may later be given to the Organisations, within a general institutional framework, for recruitment to the European Civil Service.

61. Here Governments can play their part either in their natural capacity or because they possess resources not available to the Organisations. In their natural capacity they can assist, for example, by making enquiries regarding the character of applicants and they can announce vacancies in the official gazette or on official notice boards. To investigate thoroughly an applicant's record, moral character and loyalty, the services of the police may need to be called upon. Since the authorities are under Government control, this must be arranged through the Government.

62. Owing to their greater material resources, Governments enjoy facilities which are not available to Organisations, at least at present, even in the countries where they are established. Advertising, for example, is only a partial solution to the problem of making vacancies known. It would often be of value to canvass certain circles which, if they were better informed, would respond more readily to offers of appointments from the Organisations. Here Governments can back up the Organisations in their attempt to make general and special requirements known in the right quarters. Governments, like other international Organisations, can also help in the material arrangements for recruitment. It is to be hoped, however, that the Organisations may one day be able to handle these services themselves and so relieve Governments of a task which is not really theirs and which they only discharge in order to help the institutions to carry on their work.

63. Thus governmental collaboration in recruitment has both permanent and temporary aspects. It is permanent in so far as it derives from the essential nature of the State, which has a monopoly of certain organs of enquiry and official publicat ion. Other tasks are performed by the Government only in the absence of the relevant institutions which the European Organisations do not yet possess but which would not normally come under the Government.

2.2.1.1.4.2 Candidates

64. The right of Organisations to draw up the list of candidates for selection has been brought out sufficiently clearly, and there is no need to emphasise that there is no question of sharing it. We have only to consider, first, whether and in what circumstances Governments may be entitled to put forward their views regarding the candidature of their nationals and, secondly, how far the Organisations are to be influenced by such views.

2.2.1.1.4.3 Consultation with Governments

65. Member States of an Organisation, being interested in the application of the rule of geographical distribution, i.e. in having a certain quota of their nationals employed in an Organisation, may also be concerned about the quality of those nationals. Of course, with the aid of the processes described earlier— competition and selection—the Organisations are equipped to secure recruits of high character and ability. The Governments, which alone are in a position to gather information for the Organisations about candidates' characters, may use the opportunity of replying to an enquiry to draw attention to some aspect of the applicant's record or conduct which would render his appointment inadvisable; but the initiative for such consultation must come from the Organisations, and it does not imply any assurance that Governments will always have an opportunity to express their opinions. Governments may also have serious grounds other than moral ones for deprecating the candidature of one of their nationals. Finally, and more constructively, Governments can certainly guide and advise Organisations as to the professional circles from which they should invite' applications for certain posts. In the chapter of our 1958 Report on distributing posts among Member States, we mentioned that the presence of nationals of a State on the staff of an Organisation helps to maintain its confidence in the work of that organisation. But that would not be so if the applicants chosen by the Organisation did not enjoy the esteem and confidence of their Government.

66. While recognising the value of consulting Governments on the candidature of their nationals, we do not think it should become a universal practice. The initiative lies normally with the Organisations, which will not lose sight of the advantages of maintaining an atmosphere of confidence in their relations with Governments and of obtaining useful information from them. Consultation is thus an ad hoc matter. We realise that certain Organisations, on account of their character and structure, will feel the need of resorting to it more often than others, and that it is more important for high appointments than for junior posts. In order to preserve the Organisation's right of initiative—•which we maintain to be essential—applications should only exceptionally and unofficially be channelled through Governments, since all candidates must be considered absolutely free to approach an Organisation direct.

2.2.1.1.4.4 Scope of consultation

67. In the chapter of the 1958 report referred to above, we implicitly set a limit to the effects of consultation by pointing out that the systems of apportioning posts among Member States must not be a means by which a country can gain control or direct influence over certain of the Organisations' activities. Governments should confine themselves to expressing an opinion, giving reasons if necessary; but an Organisation must on no account be bound by their opposition to any candidature. It is for the Organisations to initiate consultation, and they must choose procedures which will obviate any difficulties of this kind.

2.2.1.2 SECTION II - Offer of appointments to international and national officials

We have already explained why and in what circumstances Organisations may be led to offer appointments to national or international officials.

1 In the first place, these reasons may be of a transient nature. In the absence so far of special training in the principles and methods of a European Civil Service, national administrations and the secretariats of existing institutions provide a natural preparation. They can supply candidates possessing experience that can be used immediately, the selection procedure undergone before their initial recruitment being a guarantee of their qualifications. Two points must be borne in mind. First of all, what we have just said is only valid, in the case of candidates from national Civil Services, for appointments in Category A and for some of those in Category B. It assumes greater importance for posts some way up the scale than for those at the beginning. It is essential that officials in responsible positions should already have wide experience of the methods of, and be capable of the co-operative attitude particularly required in, an international Civil Service. It is on them—on their adaptability, on the example and inspiration they can give their subordinates—that the development of the spirit of a European Civil Service depends.

2 But the offer of appointments to national and international civil servants will continue to be justified up to a point even after special training has been organised such as will make feasible the recruitment of staff from wider circles.

a In the first place, it seems essential to make permanent arrangements for mixing national and international officials to some extent. It is important that the European Civil Service should not be cut off from national affairs and should be invigorated from outside, just as national Civil Services must be conversant with European affairs. Much can doubtless be absorbed through training schemes based on exchanges and meetings; but this process could with advantage be prolonged by actual recruitment : national officials, instead of paying short visits to an Organisation under an exchange scheme, would spend a longer time and more active part in the work. The European Civil Service would surely gain much, directly and indirectly, from the resultant mutual understanding and adjustment of men and methods. Organisations should therefore always bear in mind the merits of a recruiting policy that includes the regular admission, for a limited time so as to ensure rotation, of officials from national administrations.

b Secondly, the offer of appointments to other Organisations can help towards the creation of a real European Civil Service by enabling staff to move from one institution to another; it would mean widening the prospects for individual careers which an Organisation cannot usually provide by itself for two main reasons; smallness of establishment and the expediency of securing "outside talent".

We see no difficulty in offering appointments to international civil servants. European officials may either be permanently transferred or temporarily attached. The former hypothesis seems remote. In the first place, it presupposes that the staff regulations of the different institutions have been brought into line, so that transfer is technically possible on the basis of comparable conditions (recruitment, promotion, pay, etc.) and constitutes a continuation of the career. Secondly, there must be technical arrangements to avoid any break in continuity of the accumulation of pension rights (e.g. joint pension funds). But the second method—the "loan" of an official—is already allowed for in the ECSC Staff Regulations under the form of temporary attachment preserving his rights to promotion in the institution from which he comes, contribution towards retirement and resumption of his former employment at the end of his secondment. We also hold that the system of secondment, as provided for in the ECSC Staff Regulations, should be examined by the Organisations without delay with a view to its general adoption except where it is forbidden by the statutory recruitment rules of certain Organisations.

At the same time, the offer of appointments to national civil servants raises some delicate problems which we have pondered at length; our conclusions are set forth in the next three chapters. We are concerned to avoid two dangers : restricting the freedom of the Organisations in their choice of staff and indirectly providing Governments with a means of exerting influence independently of the institutions. Certain conditions must be fulfilled relating to :

1 tie s retained by civil servants with their Governments;

2 e procedure for the choice of national civil servants ;

3 th e part played by Governments in the recruitment of national civil servants by Organisations.

2.2.1.2.1 CHAPTER I - Ties retained by civil servants with their Governments

We have already emphasised the importance of what we called the personal qualities of a European civil servant. When a national civil servant takes up an appointment in an international Organisation, he must realise that his loyalty to that Organisation takes precedence over any other allegiance. There seems no reason a priori why he should find this any more difficult than other officials. Particularly if he has volunteered for the post, he must be presumed just as ready as his colleagues from other sources to comport himself solely as a faithful and active servant of the institution employing him. More generally, it may be asserted that the habit acquired from the outset of his professional career of devoting himself in thought and deed to the common weal has developed in the national official a sense of public service which finds natural expression and extension in the European context.

But, although an official from a Government department is automatically fitted to display a European outlook, it is still advisable that he should be given an administrative status which will ensure that he owes allegiance, both practically and morally, only to the Organisation employing him. This raises the question of an official's administrative independence vis-à-vis his parent department-—-in other words the nature of the ties between it and him.

The immediate justification for resorting to national administrations being that they provide previous training, one might suppose that their role would be limited to acting indirectly as training centres for the European Civil Service. On that view, national civil servants who elected to make a European career would break completely with their parent department and depend henceforth only on the institution they entered. Without underrating the possible advantages of such an extreme solution, we find it unrealistic. It would ignore the interests of the officials themselves and, hence, those of the European Civil Service. In the first place the officials would not necessarily have the security of tenure and the promotion they could count on in their parent departments—at least until there was a fully-fledged, permanent European Civil Service which would guarantee a comparable career. But it is especially in the infancy of institutions that they look to the national administrations for their staff. Such officials would hardly be prepared, for a precarious status, to give up safeguards they enjoy in their own countries—and would generally decline to enter the Organisations. Secondly, the solution ignores the interest of the European Civil Service, once European careers become as secure as national careers; we have already pointed out how a European Civil Service could be enriched by interchange, in limited numbers and for a limited time, with national administrations.

We therefore consider it essential that a national civil servant working for an institution should, at least for the time being, and particularly during the teething period of the Organisations, retain the right to return to his own department—i.e. that he should not be constrained to sever his official ties. But those ties must neither restrict the authority of an Organisation over its staff nor perpetuate certain forms of governmental influence over then.

For these reasons, and in view of the importance to a European Civil Service of using Government officials, we believe that national regulations should :

a facilitate the entry of officials into the service of European Organisations while enabling them to resume their careers in their parent department later;

b release their officials, while working in international Organisations, from all ties involving professional subordination and direct disciplinary control, and waive the right to vary the application of the rules governing those ties.

An analysis of current national regulations (see Appendix) shows that these principles are not uniformly applied. We accordingly feel called upon to recommend that the regulations be harmonised on the basis of such principles.

We have no intention of framing any-specific rule, hut suggest that the following considerations should he taken into account :

a Entry into European service will be facilitated if it does not jeopardise a civil servant's career, in particular by depriving him of the normal advancement he would expect in his parent department, and if resumption formalities are automatic. Service in the Organisations must not constitute so serious a risk as to dissuade national officials from taking up European appointments. At the same time, an official's advancement in absentia, or his re-establishment on return, must not be left to the discretion of the lending department; that would destroy his independence of the national authorities, which is indispensable while he holds a European appointment.

b In the case of temporary transfer to an Organisation, it would be undesirable for the retirement pension paid by the country of origin to be scaled down in respect of the period of absence. On the contrary, the question of combining such pension with any benefits provided by the Organisation should be looked into.

c Finally, the loan of national civil servants may take on another aspect when it is for more than a certain number of years. Both Organisations and Governments may in the long run decide that the pursuit of two parallel careers is anomalous and that the person concerned must choose between them once and for all. This would seem to be a problem for the Organisations rather than the Governments.

2.2.1.2.2 CHAPTER II - Selection of candidates from national Civil Services and International Secretariats

68. To invite applications from national Civil Services and international Organisations is in effect a form of selection since the applicants are already qualified and experienced. They will already have been through a selection process, often more severe in the case of national civil servants, in their own country or Organisation. As the general qualifications required by national Civil Services and European Secretariats are similar, at least for comparable appointments (Category A and many Category B posts), the previous selection will, of course, be taken into account. When, moreover, Governments are asked their views on applications from their own officials, their comments, especially if they cover several candidates from the same source, constitute a supplementary element in selection.

69. The results of these successive processes must be accepted, and applicants from national Civil Services will not normally be asked to sit for examinations. As regards officials from European Organisations, however, two remarks are called for. The first is that selection is not at present carried out uniformly in different Organisations; this applies both to the previous training required and to the nature and strictness of the methods of assessing qualifications. The second follows from the first : when recruitment systems have been standardised within a proper European Civil Service based on interchange-ability of staff in the same category or specialised branch, it will be justifiable to introduce for such staff a system of transfers in which examination of background will be carried out just as for promotion inside an Organisation. These internal promotions, however, are normally confined within the same category. So if it is considered practicable from now on to apply the rule of examination of background to candidates from European Organisations, this can scarcely be done in the case of applicants for posts of quite different character from those previously held.

70. While the procedure for selecting candidates from national Civil Services may not conform to the general rule, being consistently based on examination of background, the element of competition is just as important as in other cases. Nevertheless, when a competition is restricted to a particular field, it obviously need not be advertised as widely as recommended in point 19 above. Publication may be limited to that field, in other words handled by the authorities controlling the field or by bodies duly appointed to represent it. We believe that, in the case of Government officials, the nature of competition requires that institutions should place the matter in the hands of national administrations. Government departments are equipped to ensure the widest publicity, for they have facilities for circulating the whole of their staff, whereas professional associations often cover only part of the Civil Service and, moreover, may not all be known to the institutions.

71. We have seen that selection according to qualification only is justified by the manner in which national civil servants are recruited originally. It is also noteworthy that this system makes it technically possible for candidates other than civil servants to enter, thus enlarging the field of competition.

72. Thus competition, which alone can secure first-rate selection, also safeguards the Organisation's freedom vis-a-vis Governments by enabling officials to compete both among themselves—and it is in an Organisation's interest to have as many applications as pos-sible-and also applicants from other fields.

2.2.1.2.3 CHAPTER III - Part played by Governments in recruitment from national Civil Services

73. In the Western democracies, the State cannot prevent its citizens from taking up any lawful activity insofar as the legal conditions of its exercise are observed. It follows that any ordinary citizen may apply for employment with and be engaged by a European Organisation; as far as the personal rights and duties of the citizen are concerned, it is no business of the Government.

74. The situation is quite different for national civil servants, whose de jure relations with the public authorities, which have special powers over them, are exceptions to the general rule. An official is normally expected to work only for his department and for the Government and any exception to this rule, whether involving full-time or part-time activity, must have Government sanction. In the former case, he is given a special status which leaves intact his legal ties with his department or with the Government while releasing him from his normal professional obligations and obedience to superiors so that he may devote himself exclusively to other tasks. Whether he is transferred at his own request or by Government direction, whether he is merely to work in another Government department or for an outside authority, the government has the last word. For a national civil servant to take up a post in a European Organisation therefore involves, in municipal law, a power of decision to which the Organisation must in practice defer. Refusal by a department to make one of its officials available should not, in this case, be regarded as interference with recruitment but as an external consequence of the application of internal regulations.

75. It is clear, then, that an organisation cannot recruit a national civil servant without obliging his department to take a decision, which may mean refusing its consent. So the question arises of the attitude of the Organisations. Should they ignore a national administration when recruiting one of its officials? If not, should they consult it on the applications received, or even accept only those forwarded by a Government?

76. We consider that this problem should be approached with caution and not settled by sweeping or inflexible rules. In the first place, it assumes different forms in different Organisations. Some are under a constitutional obligation to ask Governments to provide officials; most, however, enjoy full freedom of choice. Secondly, although it is undoubtedly advantageous in cei'tain cases to consult Governments, or even ask them to put forward candidates, we believe it inadvisable to lay this down as a rule; the institutions are better left free to follow this procedure unofficially according to needs and circumstances.

77. With these provisos, we think the following observations and recommendations are necessary :

a The principle of subordination of civil servants to their Government does not seem incompatible with their right to apply direct for a post in the European Civil Service. On this view, the principle of an Organisation's entire freedom in matters of recruitment, in particular vis-a-vis Governments, is respected.

b When an Organisation receives an application direct from a national civil servant, it may in theory take one of two courses : either it may leave it to the applicant to obtain When an Organisation receives an application direct from a national civil servant, it may in theory take one of two courses : either it may leave it to the applicant to obtain

LWe feel that the second course, which we recommend as being more courteous to the Governments and as being a natural one in an integrated Europe where Organisations and Governments collaborate on a basis of mutual confidence, in no way detracts from the principle of the independence of institutions. A clear distinction must be drawn, in our opinion, between a general decision to seek a candidate from the ranks of the Civil Service, which is the institution's own affair, and the administrative process leading to an actual appointment, which, by obliging the Governments to take a part, involves agreement between the two sides.

78. We hold, further, that this procedure represents the least on which relations between Organisations and States can be founded. We therefore recommend that institutions, whenever they consider that their freedom of choice is not implicated—and we have shown that it is sufficient to take certain precautions—should initiate informal, ad hoc consultations with the Governments or even some more far-reaching form of collaboration.

2.2.2 PART THREE - Co-operation between Organisations in the field of recrutment

79. Since this report deals with recruitment methods, we have naturally paid special attention to Recommendation 155 (1958) of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe, which advocates setting up "a central bureau for the sole purpose of receiving applications for employment and circulating them to the Secretariat of the European Organisations". When doing so, though aware that we were' going beyond the strict intention of the text, we took the apportunity of considering the whole problem of co-operation between the Organisations in the field of recruitmen [(17) In the sense of competition and selection, but not appointment, which rests exclusively with the competent autority of the employing Organisation.]

80. Indeed, the operations of recruitment, if they are to he conducted properly, seem to make certain heavy demands. In the first place they require adequate material resources, without which the choice between available methods is liable to be determined more by practical considerations than by the aim pursued. Secondly, they presuppose periodical recourse to interested circles and, hence, coordinated action between the Organisations. It may therefore be to the advantage of the Organisations, at least of those which cannot set aside a sufficiently large department for these tasks, to pool their efforts, making suitable arrangements for liaison among themselves.

81. Apart from this purely practical aspect of recruitment, identical standards and selection procedures would ensure a homogeneous corps of European civil servants, which is essential and cannot be realised merely by harmonising regulations. Co-operation between the Organisations in this matter is in line with the Working Party's terms of reference.

82. That is how we came to consider the possible forms of such co-operation. There are two :

82.1 An institutional form : delegation of certain powers by the Organisations to a joint body—no doubt difficult to achieve at the present stage;

82.2 lA limited form : concerted bilateral or multilateral action, probably realisable right away.

We therefore propose to consider :

a the functions which might be vested in an inter-organisational Appointments Office;

b the technical prerequisites for setting up such an Office;

c what can be done pending the establishment of a European Civil Service.

2.2.2.1 CHAPTER I - For the future : a Central Appointments Office

2.2.2.1.1 Purpose

83. European Organisations would be relieved of the burden of seeking the best candidates, a task which at present takes up much of the time of personnel divisions. The latter while continuing to make the final assessment of the applicants considered, would communicate only with the Appointments office. That office would act as a clearinghouse for applications, which it would elicit, sift over, select and pass on to the Organisations, thus saving them time arid labour. It is reasonable to hope that the Central Appointments Office, given over entirely to these activities and in close touch with Government authorities, would obtain better results than the Organisations individually. It should succeed in reaching certain professional circles hitherto ill-informed about openings in European Organisations, finding recruits in countries which have previously supplied but few European officials and stimulating interest in each new vacancy. This is essentially publicity work which cannot be performed to the same effect by individual personnel departments, unprepared and unequipped for such a specialised task. At present, Organisations frequently compete against and outbid each other in their recruiting, thus raising a serious administrative obstacle to the establishment of a true European Civil Service. The existence of a Central Appointments Office, capable of allocating the available resources of the labour market between them without clashing and of facilitating the interchange of staff, would remove that obstacle. A centralised service would contribute to this desirable result in another way : selecting applicants by a uniform system, it would ensure that the Organisations had the same standard of recruitment and, hence, would greatly facilitate transfer between Organisations. is surely not unreasonable to hope that, this point once reached, member Organisations will see no further obstacles to holding joint competitive examinations in order to build up a corps of European civil servants.

84. The States, which subsidise the Organisations from their national budgets and are therefore anxious that they should function rationally and economically, would welcome the improved efficiency that would undoubtedly result from the activities of a Central Appointments Office as described above.

85. The staff would certainly be among the first to benefit from centralised selection for the European Organisations. The organisations, too often lacking the necessary facilities, cannot always provide satisfactory conditions for open competition. Officials who are thus unable to stand their chance on equal terms with candidates from outside the Organisations may justly feel their legitimate ambitions to be prejudiced. It will be seen that, from this angle, we are very close to the essential notion of a career, which is still only embryonic in the European Organisations. By facilitating transfers between Organisations and by increasing the number of applications for each vacancy, centralisation of selection would contribute to fair competition between officials and outside candidates. Assured of more openings than now, existing staff, especially of the smaller institutions, would be more easily reconciled to recruitment from outside their Organisation, because they might benefit from the practice themselves some day. The atmosphere of confidence generated by sound staff management would certainly make itself felt before long.

2.2.2.1.2 Prerequisites

86. However, the establishment of an Appointments Office presupposes certain conditions not all of which are fulfilled as yet.

2.2.2.1.3 Joint selection

87. Joint selection is technically possible only if :

a the posts involved are identical in nature and classification, i.e., call for the same qualifications, which can then be assessed according to standards;

b the regulations of the Organisations provide for the same recruitment procedure;

c applications are not framed with an eye to a particular Organisation, but relate to a category of post in the European Civil Service. Only on these terms is it possible to allocate the candidates found suitable without favouring a particular employer.

88. If we reflect on these prerequisites, we come to the following conclusions :

88.1 Onl y the "specific" posts at present meet the first requirement. Thus the joint examinations held by the institutions of the six-Power Communities are for linguistic staff and shorthand-typists. It is doubtless possible—and our terms of reference point in that direction—to make a systematic comparison of posts in each Organisation in order to arrive at a common classification based on the findings of our report on standard classifications. But that is a task for the future.

88.2 It would be fairly easy to introduce uniform regulations on recruitment procedure if certain staff rules did not provide special guarantees, such as the machinery of appeal available to officials dismissed by E. C. S. C, which call for special study.

88.3 Overriding the personal preferences of applicants, the third prerequisite implies :

88.3.1 that institutions must accept the results of clasification by order of merit (which, for the moment, contradicts what was said above under point 46);

88.3.2 qthat posts which are to be filled by means of a single recruiting operation should carry the same starting salary and increments, irrespective of the Organisation to which a candidate is assigned. It is therefore important to carry through the standardisation of remuneration that has already been begun and to establish comparable careers; this will greatly facilitate movement between Organisations, which is of significance to the smaller Organisations and to those which, by their nature, cannot offer their staff a complete career.

2.2.2.1.4 Joint enquiry for candidates

89. There are three aspects to consider :

89.1 advertisement of vacancies, cir-cularisation in interested quarters, offering or sending particulars;

89.2 centralisation of applications received.

On these points :

a Joint advertisement presupposes joint selection, to which, as we have just seen there are certain obstacles at present.

b Circularisation would be pointless unless directed towards recruitment for posts carrying the same career guarantees and the same remuneration. Otherwise the best candidates, whether from existing Organisations or from outside circles, would inevitably be attracted to the Organisations offering the greatest advantages in these matters.

c Centralisation of applications comes up against the same objections as joint advertisement.

2.2.2.2 CHAPTER II - What can be done now

2.2.2.2.1 Recruitment

90. Although there are real obstacles in the way of setting up a Central Office responsible for finding and selecting candidates, they may be removed with greater or less ease according to their character. The requirements listed in paragraph 89 («), (b) and the second sub-paragraph of (c) are purely administrative or legal and can therefore be fulfilled after due consideration. On the other hand, the obligatory character of the graduated classification (1st sub-paragraph of (c) ), which. entails some renunciation of powers by the Organisations, raises a political problem which seems insoluble for the present.

91. We hold that, for the foregoing reasons, it would be premature to introduce joint recruitment but that this useful practice would in any case have to start with the "specific" posts. We accordingly recommend to the Organisations that their first efforts towards harmonisation should relate to those special categories.

2.2.2.2.2 Information on potential candidates

92. While refraining for the moment from recommending the establishment of a card-index of applications, we are convinced that it is helpful to the Organisations to be informed of all candidates for the European Civil Service who have not found employment. We accordingly consider that steps should be taken forthwith to exchange information on the files of personnel departments. There seem to be two possible ways : At the. request of an Organisation, a search might be made for potential candidates by going through the files of the other Organisations; or the Organisations might notify one another of actual and prospective vacancies, so that each could refer applicants for whom they have no place to the Organisations interested. The second method seems much the better, because it is automatic and simple; it requires no search by personnel departments and thus causes no appreciable extra work. The information might be confined to personnel departments—it would be to their mutual advantage, to forward to interested Organisations any applications they did not propose to keep on their files or make use of themselves; or it can be extended to potential candidates by the personnel services posting up all the information received, when so requested by the Organisation concerned. The first method would substantially reduce the value of exchanging information; for Organisations would understandably tend to keep the best candidates to themselves. The second, certainly more effectual, may come up against the fear in certain quarters of competition from other Organisations which pay more and offer greater scope for a career.

93. We do not deny that these are real difficulties;-they are yet another consequence of the lack of a unified European Civil Service. But we are convinced that the problem of standardising salaries must be solved and that a special effort must be made in the matter of information about openings in European Secretariats; we therefore recommend Organisations to initiate the exchange of information concerning applications forthwith, in the belief that the posting of vacancies may become more readily acceptable once agreement has been reached over remuneration.

2.3 CONCLUSIONS

94. In endeavouring to define the best methods of recruiting staff for European Organisations, we set out from the assumption that methods must always serve principles and sustain them in the face of practical difficulties and necessities. We have thus undertaken a study of fundamentals, which are, however, constantly put to the test of hard facts : hence our conclusions are concrete in character; taking full account of the common reservoir in the national Civil Services and of current practice in the Organisations, they aspire to contribute towards building up a real European Civil Service. It must be of high quality and well fitted to its tasks. It must be loyal and faithful to the Organisations, whatever the previous allegiance of its members. Without denying anything of its national origins, which indeed make for a stimulating diversity, it must be conscious of its European mission and capable of reconciling attachment to the private values brought to it by its members with its necessary independence of action. Noting that recruitment for a European Civil Service necessarily involves national candidates, Organisations and Governments, we felt that the rights and interests of all parties should be safeguarded in a balanced system which we have been at some pains to define. Among the principles we have affirmed is the independence of the Organisations in the choice and posting of their staff. For it is important, in the first place, that they should be entitled to undertake direct recruitment without being bound to go through outside authorities. Secondly, if they are obliged by force of circumstances for standing technical requirements to engage staff from particular spheres which retain certain ties with their members, they are justified in guarding against the exercise of a surreptitious influence by those circles. We believe that this twofold purpose can be satisfied by suitable methods on the lines indicated. The recommendations with which we conclude this study are based on those general considerations.

2.3.1 Fields of recruitment

The proper field of recruitment for a European Civil Service should ultimately be the whole body of European elites, in particular young people, trained at universities and specialised institutes, who feel a vocation for international activities. But for various reasons, some permanent (highly specialised technical responsibilities, necessity for inter-penetration with certain national activities) and some temporary (lack of systematic previous training, pressing demand for experienced staff by rapidly growing Organisations, insufficient security of tenure in European employment), a European Civil Service is led, to some extent as a supplementary and provisional measure, to enrol staff already following, in their own countries, careers which they do not necessarily abandon for ever, above all, high-ranking specialists and national civil servants. We believe that a special recruitment procedure should be adopted for national civil servants, both because of their professional characteristics and because of the particular nature of their national allegiance. We accordingly distinguish between them and all other { candidates in our recommendations.

2.3.2 Open recruitment

95. It will be best to consider, in that order, competition, selection and the part played by Governments (training being the subject of a separate report).

a Competition. Recruitment of high quality presupposes the widest possible competition. This depends on the timely publication of announcements giving all relevant particulars, on the premises and in the official bulletins of the Organisation, and on the premises and in the official gazettes and national press of Member States. Previous training is necessary for entry into the European Civil Service, but it must not confer any official privilege or be the monopoly of certain Institutes; hence competition cannot be restricted to candidates who have attended courses at such Institutes, although their specific preparation will give them a de facto advantage over the others.

b Selection. The best available can- j didates are selected by examination of their | aptitudes followed by classification according j to merit.

95.2.1 Aptitudes can be judged either by paper qualifications or by the results of special tests. Tests will reveal a candidate's academic attainments and intellectual or technical qualifications. They are also a help in making an exact comparison between the candidates. Qualifications and recommendations give a better idea of the experience and personal qualities that may be essential to success in certain posts. It is consequently preferable to use the first method for posts at the beginning of Categories A and B and for intermediate or junior posts requiring common technical knowledge of a definite standard which can be put to immediate use. Candidates for higher appointments in Categories A and B, on the other hand, are better assessed on background.

95.2.2 CClassification may consist in sim- i ply drawing up a list of all the candidates capable of successfully occupying a post (pass list) or in arranging them in strict order of mer it (graduated list). The second method normally presupposes that the candidates have been judged on the results of tests. Both methods entail assessment by a competent, independent authority : a selection board, composed of persons from different walks of life (multivalent) and with full powers of decision regarding classification is the only answer to this requirement. The graduated list, by its precision, makes for a higher quality of recruitment and must, on that score, be regarded as a future criterion for beginners in the service. For the time being, however;

95.2.2.1 the pass list enables rapidly growing Organisations to build up a temporary reserve of qualified candidates;

95.2.2.2 Organisations are reluctant to have their appointments dictated exclusively by order of merit. It is recommended, in this case, that the classification should not be made public, as candidates not appointed in spite of their position would then suffer from a sence of frustration which would in the end defeat the purposes of competition;

95.2.2.3 since a stricter classification can be adopted when careers are more effectively guaranteed, the pass list is suited rather to conditions pending the establishment of a permanent European Civil Service.

c Part played by Governments. Even where recruitment is not done through them, Governments are in a position to afford material assistance to Organisations at certain stages in the process. We have also examined the question of consulting them on applications from their nationals.

95.3.1 It does not appear that there can ever be a substitute for the assistance afforded by Governments in their natural capacity : police enquiries regarding character and announcement of vacancies in the official gazette or on official notice-boards. It is only owing to the Organisation's temporary lack of facilities, on the other hand, that Governments are able to render certain other Services, such as assistance in canvassing circles to which vacancies are of special interest or in making certain practical arrangements.

95.3.2 Ail candidates should be allowed to submit applications direct to an Organisation without channelling them through their Government. The initiative for consultation with Governments should come from the Organisations, which will not, however, lose sight of its unquestionable value for the purpose of gathering information and maintaining the essential atmosphere or mutual confidence.

2.3.3 Loan of staff from national Civil Services

96. LThe national Civil Services, for the reasons given in connection with fields of recruitment, constitute a reservoir of specially qualified candidates. But, except when officials have severed their professional ties with the parent department, their national allegiance makes it necessary to take steps to safeguard the freedom of the Organisations in the choice and disposal of their staff.

96.1 An official coming from Government service should—at least for a time— retain the right to return to it without prejudice to his career, although absolved from professional and moral responsibility to it while holding a European appointment. The only way of satisfying these conditions seems to be for each member country to draw up regulations covering civil servants on loan to European Organisations. These provisions should ensure that an official's resumption of his career and the advancement to which he would normally have been entitled is not left to the discretion of the authorities. In due course, a problem of compatibility is likely to arise in the case of national civil servants who pursue a regular career in the European Civil Service while retaining their former ties. The problem calls for study, but seems to be a matter primarily for the Organisations. On the other hand, [the question of aggregating retirement pensions which might arise as a result of a dual career should be quickly settled by agreement between Governments and Organisations. Finally, Organisations should put themselves in a position, by suitably amending their staff regulations, to loan their own officials to another Organisation—or to a national administration—without prejudice to the international careers of the persons concerned.

96.2 Although national civil servants, who have already been through an exacting selection process, cannot as a rule be expected to take the usual examinations for entry into European employment, the independence of Organisations vis-à-vis national administrations can only be secured by a wide field of competition, embracing candidates other than the civil servants as well; the civil servants themselves would of course be selected according to qualification. The same procedure may be contemplated in the case of candidates from other Organisations, provided that the latter have the same strict standards of selection as national administrations.

96.3 The fact that national administrations have to decide whether or not to lend their officials to an Organisation does not mean that the Organisation, which may receive applications direct from the persons concerned, is under any obligation to consult the Governments. Courtesy and the necessity of maintaining an atmosphere of mutual confidence require, however, that Organisations should not ignore Governments but should approach them direct over the administrative arrangements for the loan of staff. Closer collaboration is desirable in this field, but the initiative should normally come from the Organisations.

2.3.4 Centralisation of recruitment-Immediate and future action

97.

97.1 Finally, while believing that the foregoing recommendations can be applied without awaiting a settlement of this question, we have examined ways and means of effecting a certain centralisation of recruitment for the European Civil Service, following up the suggestions in Recommendation 155 (1958) of the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe.

97.2 In spite of the undoubted advantages, for Organisations, Governments and staff alike, of setting up a central body to compile a card-index of applications and offers of employment and to make arrangements for joint selection, we regard this as no more than a prospect for the future For :

97.2.1 the technical prerequisites for joint selection—identical appointments in different Organisations, uniform statutory procedures, strict classification in order of merit, standardised salaries and careers—must be fulfilled first;

97.2.2 Organisations are not now prepared, for various reasons, to allow a central office to hold a monopoly of access to fields of recruitment; nor, on account of the present disparity in rates of remuneration, are they willing for vacancies in other Organisations to be circulated among their own staff.

97.3 We nevertheless believe that it is already possible to take certain steps which would have the advantage both of being immediately useful and of gradually bringing the Organisations nearer to some degree of institutional collaboration in competition and selection for the European Civil Service. We therefore recommend that the Organisations should :

97.3.1 as a priority, endeavour to harmonise the specific posts, which are essentially identical in character, in order to facilitate the introduction of joint selection for those categories ;

97.3.2 conclude bilateral or multilateral agreements on the exchange of information concerning applications.

2.4 Position of officials lent by national or international administrations

This Note is based on information supplied by Member States of the Council of Europe and by E. C. S. C, the only European Organisation whose statutory provisions cover the loan of staff.

Four countries have not yet been able to produce the particulars required : Ireland, Iceland, Italy and the Federal Republic of Germany. In the case of the two last, their legislation is at present being amended.

Articles 32 and 33 of the ECSC Statute provide for the loan of staff, i. e. when an official is designated by his institution, with his agreement, to occupy a temporary post in a national, supranational, international or private Organisation, and for special leave on personal grounds at an official's own request.

In both cases, an official retains his pension rights provided he pays his contributions. In the first case only, an official preserves his rights to promotion and to immediate reinstatement in his former post. In the second case, an official has the choice of being reestablished in the first or second vacancy corresponding to his grade. He has a prior right to resume his former post within five years after re-establishment.

AUSTRIA

Austrian legislation is based on two rules :

a A civil servant cannot be compelled to change department or type of work.

b A civil servant may not engage in activities liable to interfere with the normal exercise of his duties in government service.

It follows from the first rule that a civil servant can only be lent to an international Organisation at his own request or at least his consent.

The second rule implies in theory that an official on loan, since he is no longer working for the Austrian State, should only be able to accept a post in an international Organisation if he is removed from the active establishment. But the entry of Austrian civil servants into an international Organisation may be deemed useful to the State, and that is in practice the solution adopted for all international Organisations of which Austria is a member.

BELGIQUE

Belgian regulations provide for the secondment of an official whom the Belgian Government wishes to assign to duties with a foreign Government or with an international Organisation recognised by Belgium, when the duration, importance or actual nature of such duties is incompatible with the performance of his normal work.

The decision rests with the Minister in the case of officials in the upper categories and with the Permanent Head of the Department, or the authority to which the power of appointment has been delegated, in the case of other grades.

During the period of secondment, an official may be authorised to retain his promotion and incremental rights. He may also receive a temporary salary, usually equal to his contribution to the Civil Service pension scheme. The period of secondment counts towards his retirement pension.

An official has certain safeguards regarding resumption of his post at the end of his secondment.

DENMARK

Danish civil servant taking up employment with an international Organisation may expect to be granted special leave for a maximum of three years. This may be prolonged for one year at a time if warranted by conditions in the Danish Civil Service.

The period of absence will not normally count for purposes of salary incre ments and pension rights. In order to encourage the presence of Danish civil servants in international Secretariats, however, administrative practice allows of exceptions. But a civil servant will not normally be promoted while he is with an international Organisation.

At the end of his leave of absence, he is generally allowed to return to his former post, which will have been occupied in the meanwhile by a temporary official.

FRANCE

Under French law, civil servants can take temporary employment in international Organisations. They arc then accorded a status of secondment.

An official on loan receives neither salary nor allowances from the French Government and is released from all professional and disciplinary ties with his parent department. Of his former status, he retains only the right to the statutory advancement and promotion to which he would have been entitled if he had stayed with the French administration and right to contribute towards his retirement pension.

The parent department has full power to decide whether or not to lend a civil servant. The period is limited to five years but can be renewed indefinitely on the original terms.

Secondment can be terminated by decision of the civil servant himself, by refusal of the parent department to renew it or by the employing authority's again placing the official at the disposal of the French Government.

The official is then compulsorily re-established in his parent department as soon as a vacancy arises. In some cases he may even be reinstated without waiting for a vacancy.

A second status is also known to French law : that of suspended service (hors cadre) by which an official loses his promotion and pension rights : the only tie he retains with the parent department is the option of requesting re-establishment, which must be granted to him as soon as a vacancy occurs.

There is no limit to the duration of suspended service. A civil servant is given that status at his own request only when he is already on loan.

This status, however, applies only to officials who have completed fifteen years' effective service to the State.

GREECE

When a civil servant accepts a post with an international Organisation of which Greece is a Member, he is treated as being on unpaid leave. Absence may not exceed ten years.

He continues to enjoy his pension and incremental rights.

During his absence, he must continue his contributions to the superannuation fund.

LUXEMBOURG

There are no special provisions governing the position of civil servants on loan to international Organisations.

In practice, the persons concerned are sent on unpaid leave for indefinitely renewable periods of six months.

The effects on career benefits are subject to discussion. The administration has moreover the greatest difficulty in replacing officials on loan.

Consideration is being given to a scheme based on the idea of loan with retention of career benefits, for a limited period and for a limited number of civil servants.

NORWAY

UA Norwegian official who enters the service of an international Organisation is sent on unpaid leave. He retains his seniority and may be authorised to continue contributions towards his retirement pension for a period of two years. After that, the special authorisation of the superannuation fund is required and is granted only if it is considered in the public interest for the official to remain with the Organisation. Otherwise, contributions may be resumed only when the official returns to his parent department.

NETHERLANDS

A Netherlands official who enters the service of an international Organisation is granted special leave only with the Government's consent. It is a privilege and not a right. The maximum is six months, if his absence is of interest only to the official himself; one year, if of some interest to the State; and three years, if the Government considers it highly important for the official to work for the Organisation. These limits may be extended by special dispensation of the Cabinet.

The official is not paid by the Netherlands but retains the right to contribute towards his retirement pension. If the Organisation has no arrangements for retirement benefits for its staff the official will actually pay only part of his contributions. The period of leave normally counts towards superannuation only up to one year, unless the superannuation fund agrees to more favourable treatment; it will not do so if the official has an opportunity of acquiring pension rights in the Organisation.

If an official cannot be taken hack immediately at the end of his leave, he is placed on suspended service and receives a retaining salary.

UNITED KINGDOM

The normal procedure, known as "approved employment terms", enables a British civil servant to be loaned to an international Organisation for a specified period or to be transferred permanently.

The officer ceases to be paid by his department, but may he promoted in absentia. The period of the loan, however, does not count for superannuation purposes. When it is over, he may return to the lending department, which has discretion to decide whether he shall resume at the pay point he would have reached had he not been loaned.

On short-term secondment (normally not exceeding two years), the officer continues to he paid and is allowed increments. His service while on loan counts for superannuation. His salary, however, plus a certain percentage to preserve his superannuation position, is recovered by the lending department from the Organisation or from the officer himself, who normally remains liable to U. K. income tax.

SWEDEN

A Swedish official entering the service of an international Organisation is sent on leave. But he may, at his request, receive increments during his absence and have them taken into account in reckoning length of service for the purpose of retirement pension.

These facilities, however, are no longer granted after two years' absence, unless specially authorised by the King in Council. Such authorisation is only given if the competent authority certifies that the official obtained his international post in the course of his duties and, in the case of pension rights, on the assurance that the international Organisation has no pension scheme and provides no equivalent benefit.

TURKEY

A Turkish civil servant may be loaned to an international Organisation with its seat outside Turkish territory for a maximum of five years. The period is reduced to two years if the Organisation's seat is in Turkey.

The official is granted either paid or unpaid leave. At the end of the specified period, he must either resign or return to his parent department.

3 Training problems

3.1 Training of European officials

98. The Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe, in Recommendation 155, I (iii) asked that the Working Party on a European Civil Service should give consideration to the question of special training for officials of European Organisations. In response to this request, we have undertaken a detailed study of the question and have endeavoured to make certain practical recommendations sufficiently modest in scope to be rapidly implemented if approved by the executive organs of the institutions. We have made a point of eschewing recommendations to set up new centralising bodies which might cost money. Being aware of the budgetary difficulties tbat might face the Organisations, we have, as will be seen, confined ourselves to suggesting schemes which would require little if any special appropriation.

3.1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

99. Preliminary training of European officials comprises all arrangements by which, after completion of their general education, and even after some technical preparation, they acquire the specific qualifications required for the performance of their duties in the international Civil Service. There is a necessary connection, in our view, between the concepts of preliminary training and further training while in service, i. e. arrangements for keeping officials up to standard and preparing them for higher appointments. These two definitions call for some explanation.

3.1.2 Preliminary training

100. In the first place general education, and even certain technical skills, must be carefully distinguished from training for the profession, which does not duplicate the others and usually comes later. Such training includes all those particular elements intended as preparation for a public appointment in an international, or more specifically a European, Secretariat. Every official of a European Organisation must start with the standard of general education required for this work and also, where applicable, more specialised qualifications related directly to the post he wishes to occupy {e.g. economic or legal). But possession of this stock-in-trade though a necessary, is not a sufficient, condition. By the time he takes up his duties in the international Civil Service, he must also have undergone some preparation for certain special responsibilities peculiar to that Service.

101. This preliminary training may comprise very diverse elements : further academic studies, highly practical matters and instruction in administrative methods. It may take place at different times :

a It may come •— at least in part — under what is sometimes called "pre-entry training" : preparation of potential candidates for posts in the international Civil Service. This type of training, which is necessarily rather theoretical, is given in establishments of higher learning : universities and independent national or European institutions.

b It may be imparted with a more practical bias to an official already recruited after passing through a process of selection. This kind is sometimes known as "initial post-entry training". For the best use to be made of an official, he should first be prepared for his duties by a period of appropriate training.

102. Preparatory training is not necessarily tied to the idea of an international civil service career in the sense defined by the Working Party on an earlier occasion. One can conceive —and we have been given actual examples [(18) In the U. S. A. inter alia.] — of training courses for public administration even where there is no standard career pattern. It must be conceded, however, that the idea of organised training squares better with an administrative system where careers are the rule. But one must be flexible in this matter, especially at a phase in the evolution of European institutions when the idea of a career is not yet entirely accepted. The absence of a standard, co-ordinated or unified career is no excuse or argument for putting off training plans till later.

3.1.3 Further training

103. The importance of making arrangements for further training may seem less obvious. It might be thought that officials, simply by doing their job, adapt themselves sufficiently well to its demands. But experience proves that qualifications acquired in this manner are not enough. In the first place, the same official's duties frequently evolve with time and circumstances, setting him entirely new problems. This is particularly so in the economic sphere, where new techniques may suddenly create absolutely new political or administrative problems. It is, of course, the mark of a conscientious official to keep abreast of the times, to make himself familiar with all that may closely or remotely affect his job. But it would be all to the Organisations' advantage to help their officials to develop in this way. Intelligently organised assistance can fill the gaps, or enable the official to fill them more quickly than if he is left to his own devices. Let us not forget that officials are often overworked and that for them to keep their eyes open for everything that may be of interest to them in the plethora of topical material is a somewhat heavy demand. The object of training during service should be to ease their task by guiding them, saving them fruitless searching about and giving them the necessary time and facilities. Secondly, suitable "in-service training" also prepares officials to occupy higher posts than those to which they were first recruited. This conception becomes particularly important in Organisations which claim to offer their staff a career. So the demand for "on-the-job train-ning", already accepted at the national level in the private sector and in many public administrations, and exemplified in various and interesting schemes—of which more hereafter —is now gaining ground at the international level [(19) See in particular M. Armand Daussin's study Perfectionnement des fonctionnaires européens : rôle des organisations européennes in « La Fonction Publique Européenne » (Actes du Colloque de Sarrebruck) pp. 163 to 189. Stuttgart, W. Kohlhammer Verlag; Brussels, Librairie encyclopédique, 1956.]. In this report,we shall examine the problems of preliminary and further training as defined above. In the case of preliminary training, however, we have concentrated on drawing up proposals for "initial post-entry training". Previous, or "pre-entry", training belongs exclusively to the sphere of the State and involves the complex, traditional structure of national higher education. It therefore seemed otiose to make specific recommendations which would remain a dead letter or at least could not be put into practice in the foreseeable future. We have therefore not gone into the problem of previous training in detail, confining ourselves, apart from one recommendation concerning the introduction of special courses in universities, to general considerations.

3.2 EXISTING PRACTICE

3.2.1 In the Organisations

104. We do not consider it too broad a generalisation to say that there exists today no real organised system of preliminary training, either within European institutions or on a joint basis covering all or some of them. Nor is it otherwise with further training. We are talking about a training system, that is a body of concerted, carefully thought-out measures directed towards the goal defined above. Training is like speaking prose; it happens without you realising it. One cannot imagine any concern, any public or private administration, where the training of staff does not go on. Obviously, new officials are always to some extent initiated in their work by their seniors. It is equally true, moreover, that many of them try to qualify themselves, with or without the help of the service, for higher posts. Thus training exists, meted out haphazardly on an ad hoc basis; but it has not yet been translated into any significant concrete measures.

105. It would be unjust to infer that the Organisations have not tried to improve the performance of their officials. But they always seem to have been unable to make the material effort necessary to organise a comprehensive scheme. Besides, the lack of systematic recruiting methods helps to complicate the problem. For there is, as is shown by a study of national Civil Services, a close correlation between the mode of selection and recruitment, on the one hand, and methods of preliminary and further training, on the other. The empirical procedures which have hitherto prevailed in the recruitment of staff for European Organisations have actually made it more difficult to draw up a coherent training plan.

106. If, therefore, it is desired to train officials effectively, especially before entering upon their duties, it seems essential to solve the problem of recruitment on sound lines by thinking it out again from the beginning. In another report we put forward concrete proposals concerning recruitment. They can scarcely be treated in isolation from those we are about to make concerning initial post-entry training. They are two panels of a single diptych. One completes the other, and it is only by paying equal attention to both that one can be sure of employing officials "of the highest ability", as is laid down in so many words in the regulations of almost all the Organisations.

107. While insufficiency of material resources and the lack of a co-ordinated recruiting policy have hitherto prevented the Organisations from establishing a system of initial post-entry training, some of them have made a point of helping their staff to improve their general knowledge and knowledge of languages. At E.C.S.C., for example, officials who study one of the official languages receive a grant of 50 Belgian francs per lesson. The High Authority has also organised lecture courses for beginners and systematic training for interpreters and translators. The Council of Europe has tried the experiment of English classes for some of the staff, conducted by an official who had taught at the Berlitz School. C.E.R.N, has provided instruction in English and French, paying 50 % of the costs itself. There are also language classes at O.E.E.C., but they are not subsidised; O.E.E.C. does, however, assist some officials to attend courses on administration either in the evenings or during working hours. But it is no use pretending that these activities are other than sporadic—to be frank they do not begin to meet the need for initial and further training. At present training is carried out very casually, during the actual work, and its efficacity depends entirely on the teaching ability of an official's immediate superior and on the time both can spare for the purpose. That time, it must be said, is as a rule extremely limited.

3.2.1.1 That time, it must be said, is as a rule extremely limited.

108. Although there are no training systems organised by individual Organisations or by them jointly, a number of institutes founded by private or public initiative are of great significance for both types of training under consideration, prior to assumption of duties and during service. The progress of the European idea on the one hand, and the organisation of European or international public services on the other, have led to the establishment of working, research and training centres on which are focussed interests differing in character but all inspired by the desire to further the European idea on the intellectual plane. Institutes of European studies; development in higher education of the study of Organisations and the International Civil Service ; more with training international officials. These are developments which have been noted over the past few years, and they make a positive, though unco-ordinated and incomplete, contribution to the solution of our problem. The institutes of European studies and research have in common their interest in European culture. They vary widely in structure, allegiance and immediate purpose. Some are national institutions of public law, attached to State universities. Others are legally private bodies, but with a distinctly international character. Some have no concern with either immediate or remote preparation for public service. Others, without adopting such preparation as their exclusive object, allow for the fact that their students may find openings for useful careers in that field and draw up their curricula accordingly, going so far as to include specific courses on administration in general and international administration in particular. As international activities grow, it becomes increasingly important to give them a place i n education, including the study of public administration.

109. The institutes of European studies and research have in common their interest in European culture. They vary widely in structure, allegiance and immediate purpose. Some are national institutions of public law, attached to State universities. Others are legally private bodies, but with a distinctly international character. Some have no concern with either immediate or remote preparation for public service. Others, without adopting such preparation as their exclusive object, allow for the fact that their students may find openings for useful careers in that field and draw up their curricula accordingly, going so far as to include specific courses on administration in general and international administration in particular. As international activities grow, it becomes increasingly important to give them a place i n education, including the study of public administration.

110. The aims and activities of these institutes are set out in an appendix. Here, we shall merely give what we hope is a complete list of them.

3.2.1.1.1 Teaching institutes

Private foundations

1 Bologn a Centre of the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University

2 Colleg e of Europe, Bruges

3 Collège européen des sciences sociales et économiques Paris

4 Istituto di Studi Europei "Alcide De Gasperi", Rome

5 Academ y of European Studies, Turin

6 Oesterreichisches College, Vienna

University institutes

1 Centre européen universitaire de Nancy

2 Institut e of European Studies and Research of the University of the Saar, Saarbrücken

3 Centre universitaire des Hautes Études européennes, Strasbourg

4 Course o f International Studies in the Faculty of Law of Vienna University

5 Institut für Kontinental-Europäische Forschung, Munich.

3.2.1.1.2 Research institutes

Private foundations

1 Institut für Europäische Politik und Wirtschaft, Frankfurt

2 European Association for the study of refugee problems, Geneva

3 European Association for the study of refugee problems, Geneva

4 Institut international d'Archéocivilisation, Paris.

5 Institut havrais de Sociologie économique et de Psychologie des Peuples, Le Havre

6 Institut für Kontinental-Europäische Forschung, Munich

Public institutes

1 Centre de Recherches européennes de l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes commerciales de l'Université de Lausanne.

2 Institut für Europäische Geschichte, Mainz

3 Ost-Europa Institut, Munich

4 Institut international a"Archeocivilisation, Paris

111.

112. Some universities, without setting up independent institutes or schools, have likewise thought fit to revise their curricula in the light of the progress of European ideas and the birth of an international, supranational Civil Service. The universities of Western Europe are moving along this road rather timidly as yet, although the idea has long been familiar in the U.S.A. [(20) The most recent example is the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs of the University of Pittsburgh, opened a few weeks ago.]

113. Whatever conclusions one might draw from this brief survey, there is keen interest in the problem, we repeat, within the European institutions themselves. We may recall that the Saarbrücken discussion [(21) See the proceedings and documents collected under the title La [onction publique européenne (statut futur, formation, perfectionnement), Stuttgart, W. Kohlhammer Verlag. Brussels, Librairie encyclopédique.] on this question in 1955 was attended by a large number of experts and European officials; several members of the Working Party took an active part. The United Nations Agencies are following-it up as well. Among their work on the subject, we may mention a recent study made by M. Racine [(22) La formation commune des fonctionnaires internationaux. Report for UNESCO (unpublished).] for a specific purpose : jointly organised training for the staff of various Organisations. We are deeply convinced of the importance of the question and confident that, although its complete solution will take time and patience, effective measures can be taken without delay, and without much difficulty or expense. What is needed, above all, is the political will of the executive organs of the institutions. We have now reached the stage where we must expound the technical solutions and show the conditions for their realisation. The following pages contain :

a a short theoretical recapitulation of the possible solutions, for purposes of reference and reflection;

b some practical suggestions as to what can be done immediately on a limited scale.

3.3 POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

3.3.1 General

114. In examining possible training systems, it is important to remember a remark we made earlier in this study about the essential relationship between training and conditions of recruitment, including qualifications required for selection. In fact, from the time someone contemplates joining the Civil Service to the time his full personal and technical potentialities are brought to bear on his work, there is a continuous process. It is only by an abstraction for convenience of analysis that we break it up into phases, aspects or events to be studied separately. For example, if a recruitment system provides for selection by competitive examination, the subjects prescribed will determine the preparation required.

115. There is moreover, a fundamental principle to be observed at this stage. When studying the training of officials we may, like many others, be tempted to enlarge on suggestions for special methods of providing for it, systems of instruction before or after entry into service, "apprenticeship" or advanced training institutions. That is all useful and may contribute greatly to the aim in view; but it must not deflect us from the basic idea that it is, above all, by actually discharging administrative responsibilities that a national or international civil servant is trained. It is in action and through action that this type of man is moulded, takes the measure of the facts he has to deal with, adjusts his personality and his ideas—often academic and preconceived •—-to the urgent and sometimes disconcerting demands of real life, learns to pass from principles to their application and, conversely, to shape general policies by induction from experience. We must never lose sight of this fundamental rule. It must be embodied in every training system or process.

116. But this discharge of duties and administrative responsibilities, to have any training value and to become anything more that an initiation into the dispatch of current business, must be guided, considered, controlled. It must be guided by competent persons, accustomed to make newcomers to the job understand what is expected of them and to pass on their own riper experience of administrative methods. During the same period, these duties must be performed thoughtfully. At the beginning of his career, and again later, an official must be given leisure to think about his job. He must not be content with just learning how to do it; he must grasp its spirit and philosophy, think himself into the larger whole of which he is part, understand his place in the hierarchy and the meaning of his actions in the general course of affairs. Finally, during the preparatory period, an official must be controlled. He will, of course, continue to be so when, after his training, he takes over his duties on the same basis as his colleagues. But it is especially at the beginning that he must be made to feel the collective character of administrative work, the backing as well as the restrictions implied in being fitted into a specific place in the establishment and in the hierarchy.

3.3.2 Preliminary training

117. Since preparation of civil servants for their tasks began, very different training systems have grown up in many countries. In each of them they have more or less hardened into traditional processes and techniques, sometimes laid down in regulations, into institutions, into juridico-sociological "patterns". Thus there are several conceptions in Europe of the training of civil servants. It is not the purpose of this report to make an exhaustive analysis of them : that has been done in several technical works. We merely wish here to give examples of these miscellaneous systems, indicating their significance for any training system in the European Civil Service.

118. It is obvious that these national conceptions are going to influence the manner in which the problem of training will be tackled on a world-wide, or merely on a European, scale. This is a normal phenomenon. We are not starting from scratch, but from national situations where very different methods have been tried out and tested over a period of years, even centuries. These methods or conceptions will be confronted when the time comes to construct a training system applicable to one or more European institutions. The phenomenon occurs in the same form throughout the administrative life of those institutions : organic structure, working methods, etc. The solution adopted is often a compromise between divergent national tendencies, with one of them predominating openly or tacitly for personal or political reasons. It is therefore to be expected that each country's representative will approach a problem such as preliminary training at European level according to his own conception. But conceptions are often divergent and indeed contradictory. Let us take an example.

119. Since the Revolution of 1789, the French national tradition has remained faithful to a type of training for public appointments which involves intensive intellectual preparation, important examinations and the establishment of central schools. The latest example is the F\cole Nationale oVAdministration. After a very stiff entrance examination, future civil servants are immediately assigned for a period of instruction lasting some months to a provincial branch of a central department (often on the personal staff of a Prefect); for two years after this they receive specialised teaching of university standard according to the section to which they are assigned, interspersed with practical work, report-writing and periods of "cramming" for the passing out examination. Only after this, in accordance with their order of merit, do they choose from the posts offered by the department for which their section of the school prepares [(23) A reorganisation plan is in progress which is to introduce some major changes in the present system while respecting its spirit and fundamental aim.]. On leaving the school—and if we ignore military service to which some of them may be liable—the new civil servants immediately start on their administrative duties at a fairly high point in the scale. The same system applies to some of the other competitive examinations for less senior posts in the central departments. Although these examinations are not bound up with attendance at a central school, like that for administrative officers, they do in practice presuppose fairly advanced university studies and concentrated preparation for the examinations themselves.

120. Great Britain, on the other hand, is still opposed to a system of prior "apprenticeship" as a preparation for administrative officers. The Administrative Class of the Civil Service is based traditionally on higher education of the best quality but irrespective of specialisation. Direct preparation for the duties is carried out on the job within the service and after passing the examination. A school of administration is utterly alien to British ideas.

121. We could add examples from other countries such as Germany, in order to bring out the variety of types of training. For the European Civil Service, a solution will have to be found that is acceptable to all and which will be either a compromise between various systems or derived mainly from one of them. Hence, whether we like it or not, there is a theoretical connexion between existing national conceptions and the European practice to be inaugurated.

122. Methods of training officials, then, are extremely varied. They can, however, be classed in three main groups :

a Preparation prior to professional training in the strict sense, somewhat academic in character and dispensed by institutions of higher education, university institutes and specialised colleges of the kind listed above.

b A European school of administration on the model of the French Ecole nationale d' Administration. Such a school could take one of two forms. In the first place, it could serve all the European Organisations, each taking its recruits from a specialised section according to its own nature. In the second place, there could be a school for each Organisation.

c Post-entry training. This would be what is known in French as a "stage" in the true sense, i.e. a period of instruction, and not the sense in which it is commonly used (viz. a probationary period of a given duration, in which the official does not benefit by all the statutory or contractual safeguards, so that he can be more easily dismissed if not found satisfactory).

3.3.3 In-service training

123. We have already alluded to the growing place occupied by the idea of in-service training in the thoughts of the directors of all private and public administrations, and to the object they attribute to such training. This object may be summarised as follows : to keep up with administrative and technical developments; to master one's job and subject it to critical examination; to resist routine and preserve adaptability : to relate one's work to the general policy; to prepare oneself for the fresh scope offered by higher appointments. In the case of European institutions, a further argument occurs to us : a considered system of in-service training may to some extent mitigate the disadvantages of inconsistent recruiting methods and fill the gaps left by initial training.

124. The form and content of in-service training schemes adopted by the European organisations might well be modelled on certain experiments of differing types carried out at national level, in the public sector as well as in private enterprise. First, the method of periods of instruction ("stages"), already proposed for initial training, might be adapted to the needs of higher training. A period of instruction in some organisation other than his own is calculated to open new horizons to an official and furnish him with stimulating subjects for reflection. This type of "stage" could be arranged without too much difficulty by means of exchanges between organisations. Another fairly simple method consists in arranging for staff members of a particular group or category to attend courses of lectures given by qualified personalities, either on topics of a general nature or on problems of management peculiar to one or more organisations.

125. But nowadays it is acknowledged, in the light of experience, that the in-service training techniques which give the best results are those based on the formula "work in teams— personal reflection and action". Such is the method followed by the most important training experiments undertaken in recent years, which can form a valuable guide for similar schemes in European organisations. The French Centre des Hautes Études administratives brings together for a number of weeks senior officials from the four corners of the administrative world. It sets them to work on an important topical subject, of major concern to a modern State, and instructs them to deal with this subject in its different aspects. The students compare their results and discuss the problems raised. The WEU [(24) Originally Brussels Treaty Organisation.] Public Administration Committee, between 1949 and 1957, organised eight annual congresses where several dozen officials study a general subject illustrated by practical examples of administrative activity, making possible an analysis of the characteristics peculiar to the host country in civil service matters (e.g. the prefectoral system in France or the Rijhswaterstaat in the Netherlands) or which exemplify the role of the State in one of the primary aspects of modern life (e.g. food supplies or social security). Also well-known are the original methods tried out for several years at the Administrative Staff College at Henley-on-Thames, where courses lasting several weeks bring together leading officials of the public services and private business to study widely varying problems of management and administration. Mention may likewise be made of the experiments now being conducted at the Hochschule für V erwaltungswissenschaften at Speyer (Federal Republic of Germany) or the University of Bologna (Italy). Lastly, valuable lessons may be learned from studying the results obtained in several countries, especially Belgium, by the Industrial Management Training Centres set up at the universities in co-operation with the business world. Numerous courses for "young executives", middle grade executives and top management, attended by growing numbers of the public, show that business managements regard the in-service training of their staff as a fruitful investment from the standpoint of human relations and one which pays financial dividends too.

3.4 PRACTICAL PROPOSALS

The time has now come to make suggestions as to action which can conveniently be taken in the near future. The fundamental considerations which we have so far enunciated have, or so we hope, served to state the terms of the problem. If we are to pass on to the stage of practical achievement, other factors must also be taken into account, such as the following : the relative youth of the European organisations, the empirical and disparate nature of their recruiting methods, their particularism, which is comparable to that of public services in some States, the variety of national civil service traditions and their translation to the European sphere. These different factors limit solutions in advance and may complicate their attainment. But we should also emphasise the essential positive factor represented by the growing awareness of the categoric need for training European civil servants.

3.4.1 European Administrative College deprecated

126. The idea of an international European Administrative College will doubtless attract all those who are in favour of an "administrative apprenticeship" and who have had occasion to analyse the curriculum and working methods of certain national civil service schools, for example in France and Turkey. It is hard to imagine that each of the European institutions should set up its own college to provide material for its exclusive recruitment. However, it is possible, on paper anyhow, to conceive of a single European administrative college, recruiting, by competitive examination, batches of students, training them, and dividing them after graduation among the different Organisations as required. That is exactly how the French École Nationale a"Administration, for example, is used to fill junior vacancies in the French ministries and civil service departments.

127. Nevertheless, the Working Party abandoned the idea of a European Administrative College common to all the Organisations. The small numbers recruited, the great differences still prevailing in conditions of employment and the extreme variety of their staffing requirements lead us to think that an institute of this kind would serve no useful purpose. It maybe expected, moreover, that some Organisations would refuse to participate for obvious administrative and financial reasons and because of an independent spirit—which may be debatable, but which undoubtedly exists. And, in general, States would certainly also refuse to accept such an innovation, which might well be indirectly a heavy charge on their budgets. Furthermore, as we know, the common training of civil servants in a large college, although a system employed by the French administration, has not yet found favour elsewhere. In this respect France differs from the other Member States, whether these consider the system to be undesirable or feel it to be premature in their own case. Naturally, they would take the same view of a European Administrative College. Neither is it likely that any organisation taken individually would have any interest in setting up such a college to train its own staff. No one of them recruits sufficiently large numbers to justify this.

128. Other solutions are therefore indicated, and they may be grouped under the following heads :

128.1 Specialised university courses;

128.2 Initial post-entry training;

128.3 Further in-service training.

3.4.2 Specialised university courses

The Working Party, in view of the variety and importance of institutes of European studies, recognises that their activity presents considerable interest in that it creates a student élite, from which the higher grade (category A) posts in international organisations can gradually be filled. The Organisations should therefore study ways and means of supporting, encouraging and expanding the work of these establishments. Three methods are open to them and should be employed simultaneously. Material support. Most of these educational institutions (see Appendix) are privately run, and even where they are publicly financed their means of action are clearly restricted. Subsidies, even if only modest, can assist them to improve their output. The granting of scholarships is likewise a sure means of attracting the right kind of student. Establishment of close links. Such colleges have at present no sustained contacts with the organisations for which they are supposed to be training future staff. Closer links must therefore be established. Colleges should keep in close touch with the work of the Organisations, in order to assess more accurately their future needs and draw up curricula accordingly. They should also make it a more regular practice to invite senior officials of the Organisations to give courses or lectures. Students should be more fully initiated into the Organisations' work througb more frequent visits, possibly including attendance at public debates (e.g. European Parliament or Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe). Frequent regular contacts between the appropriate directorates of the Organisations and the Principals of the colleges are certainly the best means of forming enduring links, which need not, however, be in any sense organic nor take the form of a monopoly exercised by a particular Organisation in favour of any one institute. Placing of students. But all these efforts will remain a dead letter if the organisations, when recruiting, do not draw upon students trained in institutes of European studies. This is, of course, a delicate matter. Organisations cannot limit recruitment to the former pupils of such colleges without giving up their freedom of choice of candidates. It is unthinkable that there should be any such limitation on recruitment. It might be wondered whether the proper course would not be to award some preference, in selection and recruitment, to persons who have taken the trouble to study at one of these institutes. But in its report on recruiting techniques, the Working Party gave up this idea, and we shall therefore refrain from expatiating upon it here.

However, university training for the European Civil Service has another aspect. Although some universities (Nancy, Saarbrücken, Strasbourg) have set up special institutes, it would seem of the highest importance that the curricula of all the faculties of literature, law and political studies should gradually allot more space to European problems. Countries which officially declare, and confirm by their policy, that they desire to build Europe, owe it to each other to harmonise their school and even more their university curricula. But, while much has been done in the schools by the production of suitable textbooks and by round table conferences of teachers, the universities, being more traditionalist and frequently very independent, at present give little space to specifically European problems. They should be progressively induced to include such questions in the appropriate curricula. Indirectly, this policy, by helping to spread information, would stir interest among the students, some of whom might begin to feel that they had a vocation, as European civil servants. The Working Party is not unaware of the difficulties of such an operation, but it feels bound to recommend that Member States should devote close attention to the problem, and, in accordance with Recommendation 107, adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 8th January 1957, "encourage universities in their respective countries to introduce special curricula in those fields where the problems and the development of European integration provide a new subject for research and specialised teaching". Alongside this specialised teaching, the universities should also make an effort in future to broaden the teaching of certain subjects hitherto conceived on a strictly national plane, particularly the human sciences.

The Rome Treaties provide for the creation of a European university, whose form and functions are at present being closely studied by the European Communities. It would be desirable to consider whether this would not be a proper framework in which to include specialised university courses directly or indirectly preparing candidates for the European Civil Service.

3.4.3 Initial post-entry training

Once the young official has been recruited, he should, as we have said, be given a period of professional training before being finally attached to a department. This period in his life is, of course, the "stage", but, as we have already mentioned, the term is understood in a sense different from that generally attributed to it. The Organisations must find the necessary resources for creating, in accordance with their requirements, a number of non-departmental posts (especially in grade A1). These will be reserved for probationers, Avho, in the course of their instruction period, normally extending over several months, will work in turn in all important departments in order to familiarise themselves with their operation. They should be given the opportunity of prolonged contact with the senior executive staff, who should regard the time spent on such probationers not as time wasted, but as a sound investment for the future.

In addition, to strengthen relations and mutual understanding between Organisations, part of the instruction period could with advantage be spent in one or more other institutions by way of exchanges. Thus, before assuming any responsibilities himself, the young official will have become thoroughly familiar with the working of his Organisation and with the more general aspects of European politics and economics. All this will act as a powerful catalyst in the creation of a genuine European Civil Service.

3.4.4 In-service training

LIn-service training should be considered necessary to the orderly progress of the institution and as an investment that is certain to pay dividends. The system should be organised gradually at three distinct levels or stages :

a for officials who have been holding junior posts for some years and who must keep abreast of administrative, economic and technical development;

b for officials who are preparing themselves for the exercise, in the fairly near future, of higher functions :

c for the highest-level administrators, to enable them systematically to take stock of the way in which the business of their department is conducted. As to actual methods, there are various possibilities. Fruitful inspiration may be drawn from the most successful of the experiments at national level which we mentioned earlier.

It is up to the Organisations to arrange these activities themselves, or to entrust them to other Centres, such as institutes for European study and research.

The European research institutes, the main features of which are listed in the Appendix almost all have one thing in common, namely the organisation of annual study courses. It is a fact, however, that being taken up with their professional duties, and often unaware that such places exist, European civil servants rarely attend these courses, intellectually rewarding though they are. The closer links we have advocated between the Organisations and such colleges should make it possible for the senior officials, and even lower-ranking staff in Grade A, to attend the courses in turn, being divided up in accordance with their university training and the particular field with which their work is concerned. We are convinced that the Organisations should make the necessary effort to allow their staff to attend, and we are equally convinced that the colleges themselves have everything to gain by facilitating the attendance of the officials, who will be able to give them the point of view of technicians "in the field".

Where suitable equipment is available, Organisations might with advantage organise their own study courses, in charge of external lecturers, and consisting partly of ex cathedra talks followed by discussions, and partly of small study groups working on specific subjects.

Similarly, senior officials (e.g. from grade A5 upwards) should be called together perhaps once a year for a discussion of their common problems. Experience has shown how rewarding it is for an official with heavy responsibilities to escape from them for a few days and to compare his ideas with those of his colleagues of similar rank.

Although each Organisation should inaugurate a system of in-service training for its own staff, it is desirable that there should be inter-Organisation agreements whereby within certain limits this form of activity can take place in common. Such co-ordination may prove beneficial in the case of organisations whose headquarters or branch offices are situated in the same town.

Above all, it has the immense advantage which accrues from a meeting of minds between men from different backgrounds. It is this very type of meeting which has so stimulating an effect on the teamwork clone by the Centre des Hautes fitudes administratives in France or by the Administrative Staff College. The Working Party therefore recommends that in-service training programmes should give every encouragement to such meetings.

Similar meetings would also be highly useful between European and national civil servants, for the purpose both of training and of mutual understanding.

3.4.5 Administrative action

Finally, the Working Party recommends certain administrative measures to ensure the success of training programmes and refresher courses.

a Training should be a major permanent concern of all the senior officials and personnel departments of an organisation, but its conduct should preferably be entrusted to a suitable organ. Various British civil service departments have appointed their own education officer, whose function is to co-ordinate the study of these matters and organise training programmes and refresher courses: The Working Party suggests that each European organisation should have a similar officer, placed under the responsibility of the personnel director. The official filling this post might at the outset combine it with other functions, but when the time seems ripe he should be made full-time. It is he who would co-ordinate solutions to the problems we have mentioned. For example, he would be responsible for the proper conduct of instruction periods ("stages") and in-service training courses. But it would be understood that his presence would not absolve any departmental heads having authority over junior officials from their personal responsibility to be "guide, philosopher and friend".

b It is important that the different European Organisations should co-ordinate their training policies, whether these are conducted in common or on an individual basis. Theoretical co-ordination may be achieved by reference to works such as the present report, but it will also require constant adaptation to the changing conditions of international life. Practical co-ordination can result only from following the same aim and maintaining frequent contacts. Both forms of co-ordination will be ensured by regular meetings between personnel departments and also between the respective education officers.

3.5 RECOMMENDATIONS

In concluding this report, the Working-Party feels that the following recommendations should be made :

1 For immediate practical purposes the following suggestions are designed as a contribution to the training of European civil servants at all stages, particularly staff in the higher grades. They are so designed as to avoid the creation of new departments likely to prove expensive.

2 The training of European Civil Servants covers all those processes whereby, after they have acquired a general education or technical instruction, they may obtain the specific qualifications needed for their work. The concept of preliminary training is necessarily linked with that of in-service training, i.e. measures to keep staff abreast of the requirements of their post and fit them for promotion.

3 There are at present no properly organised training systems either within the European institutions or serving all or some of them jointly. The same observation applies to in-service training. Doubtless the organisations are concerned to improve the efficiency of their staff, but hitherto they do not seem to have evolved any satisfactory system.

4 While the Working Party is fully aware that the solution of this important question will require time and patience, it is convinced that effective action can be taken speedily, easily and cheaply. À fe w precise suggestions are made after a study, both theoretical and practical, of the problem at the national level.

5 First, the Working Party has abandoned the notion of a European Administrative College common to all the organisations. At the present juncture in the life of international institutions, no useful purpose would be served by it. There is no unanimous view on its advantages, and it would entail considerable expense.

6 The Working Party considers that better results will be secured by the following three processes :

6.1 specialise d university courses;

6.2 initia l post-entry training;

6.3 in-servic e training.

7 Specialised University courses The various institutes of European studies are of undoubted importance in creating a student élite well trained for higher international posts. Organisations may therefore with advantage support such bodies by means of subsidies, however small, and through scholarships and the like, and should establish close links with them, so that the curricula may be organised in the light of the Organisations' future needs. Contacts at Director-level on both sides are therefore recommended. Lastly, students graduating from European institutes should be urged to apply for posts in the organisations.

8 It is of the highest importance that apart from the specialised institutes of European studies, the curricula of all the University faculties of literature, law and political studies should gradually allot more space to European problems. In this connection the Working Party recalls the importance of Recommendation 107 adopted by the Consultative Assembly of the Council of Europe on 8th January 1957.

9 The Rome Treaties have provided for the establishment of a European University whose functions are now being studied. It would be desirable to consider whether this would not be an appropriate setting for specialised university training directly or indirectly preparing candidates for the European Civil Service.

10 Initial post-entry-training By this is meant the training of junior staff before they are finally attached to a department. It is a period of instruction, and must be systematically organised.

11 The first method suggested consists in creating in each organisation, according to its requirements, certain non-departmental posts, especially in Grade A 1, which will be reserved for probationers. Staff in these posts will thus spend the necessary time familiarising themselves with the working of the various departments.

12 Part of the instruction period might with advantage be spent in other institutions by means of exchanges.

13 In-service training This is necessary to the proper functioning and progress of the institution. It should be arranged at three separate levels :

a For staff who have been holding junior posts for several years and are required to keep abreast of administrative, economic and technical developments;

b For staff who are seeking promotion to higher posts in the fairly near future and to train them for these posts ;

14 For senior administrative staff to enable them systematically to take stock of the way in which the business of their department is conducted.

15 The most successful experiences to date in the national civil services may with advantage be taken as a model. The organisations might either carry out the schemes themselves or entrust them to other centres, for example to Institutes for European study and research.

16 Although each Organisation should arrange its own in-service training, it is desirable that there should be inter-organisational agreements on the common exercise of such activities, within certain limits.

17 European and national civil servants should also meet to exchange experiences.

18 A few simple administrative measures will greatly contribute to the success of all training schemes; for instance

a The appointment in each Organisation of an education officer to co-ordinate the study and implementation of training programmes. The post might be combined with other duties in the personnel department;

b Regular meeting between heads of personnel departments and the education officers of the Organisations concerned, to ensure the technical and practical co-operation of training programmes.

4 Institutes for European teaching and research [(25) Except where otherwise stated, the information below is taken from the 1957 Yearbook of the International Association of Institutes for European Studies, published by the European Cultural Centre.]

4.1 TEACHING

4.1.1 Private foundations

4.1.1.1 Bologna Centre, School of Higher International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore.

Purpose : Higher teaching on economic, legal and political questions affecting Austria, France, Germany and Italy.

Length of course : One scholastic year.

Number of pupils : Limited.

Teaching staff : European and American university graduates.

Curriculu m : Economic, financial and social problems of Western Europe; International and administrative law; Comparative law; History of contemporary European diplomacy.

Diplomas : Certificate of studies on termination of the course; preparation for the American diplomas awarded by Johns Hopkins University.

4.1.1.2 College of Europe, Bruges

Purpose : Economic, political, social, legal and cultural training of a student élite, with a view to their future employment by European Organisations.

Length of course : One scholastic year.

Number of pupils : Forty.

Teaching staff : European and U. S. university graduates.

Teaching staff : European and U. S. university graduates.

Diplomas : Either a certificate of studies, or a diploma awarded on presentation of thesis defended before a jury.

4.1.1.3 Collège Européen des Sciences Sociales et Économiques, Paris

Purpose : to familiarise non-European students with European problems. To give European students an opportunity of broadening their knowledge of certain subjects of common interest.

Length of course : One month (July).

Number of pupils : about 50.

Teaching staff : French university graduates.

Curriculum : European and French political problems; European and French economics; the European institutions; Social problems; Cultural questions.

Diploma : None.

4.1.1.4 Istituto di Studi Europei "Alcide De Gasperi" Rome

Purpose : Training of candidates for posts in European organisations.

Length of course : One academic year.

Teaching staff : Italian university graduates.

Curriculum : European history and politics; European economic and financial policy; Comparative studies of European laws.

Diplomas : A diploma is issued on examinations and presentation of thesis.

4.1.1.5 University Institute of European studies, Turin

Purpose : Specialised training for students interested in questions of European integration.

Length of course : Two academic years, the second being specially devoted to research.

Number of pupils : 30 fellowship holders + paying pupils.

Teaching staff : professors from West European universities.

Curriculum : European and diplomatic history; International and European institutions; Comparative law of European countries; Social questions; European economic problems.

Diplomas : Examinations entitle successful candidates at the end of the first year to a certificate of higher European studies and after the second year to a Diploma of higher European studies.

4.1.1.6 Oesterrcichische College, Vienna

Purpose : To re-establish the universality of university studies.

Length of course : three weeks (22nd August to 11th September) at Alpbach (Tyrol).

Number of pupils : no specific limit.

CTeaching staff : European university graduates, supplemented by well-known personalities of Western political and economic circles.

Curriculum : A new subject is selected each year.

Diplomas : No examination. A certificate is issued on request.

4.1.2 University Institutes

4.1.2.1 Centre Européen universitaire, Nancy

Purpose : Instruction in the principal subjects of interest to contemporary Europe.

Length of course : four months (25th February to 15th June).

Number of pupils : 35.

Teaching staff : Professors of Nancy University, supplemented by eminent personalities in the economic, political and social fields.

PCurriculum : four sections : study of civilisations, economic, political and social sciences. The curriculum is changed each year.

Diplomas : A diploma of higher European studies is awarded after examination and the submission of a monograph at the end of the course.

4.1.2.2 Institut d'Etudes et Recherches européennes, University of the Saar

Purpose : Preparation of students for posts in European organisations.

Length of course : one academic year.

Number of pupils : No specific limit.

Teaching staff : German and foreign professors. Officials of the German ministries and European organisations.

Curriculum : History of contemporary European diplomacy. Comparative constitutional history and economic geography of Western Europe. European political and social problems. The press. Elements of nuclear physics. Comparative law. Study of European organisations. Economic theories. West European economic and financial problems. Technical, legal and economic vocabulary in Grench, English and German.

Diplomas : A diploma is awarded after examination.

4.1.2.3 Centre Universitaire des Hautes Etudes européennes Strasbourg [(26) Information taken from the 1958-1959 guide of the Centre Universitaire des Hautes Études européennes.]

Purpose : Study of contemporary European problems.

Length of course : One academic year.

Number of pupils : No specific limit.

Teaching staff : French and foreign university professors and European personalities.

Curriculum : Five courses of study : the subjects are changed each year.

Diplomas : A diploma is awarded on presentation of a thesis on a European subject.

4.1.2.4 International Study Courses at the Faculty of Law, University of Vienna

Purpose : Preparation for a diplomatic, consular or international civil service career. Open to outside students.

Length of course : Two years.

Number of students : No limit.

Teaching staff : Professors of the University of Vienna and the Higher Commercial College, Vienna.

Curriculum :

1 s t year : 1) Diplomatic history ; 2) International economics; 3) Public international law; 4) International relations.

2nd year : 1) Economic geography; 2) Commercial terminology; 3) International organisations; 4) Contemporary foreign policy; 5) Private international law.

Diplomas : A diploma is issued after an examination, to which only those students are admitted who have followed the course after completing normal studies in law, political science, history or commerce, or have qualified as interpreters.

4.2 RESEARCH

4.2.1 Private Foundations

4.2.1.1 Institut für Europäische Politik und Wirtschaft Frankfurt

Purpose : Study of European political and economic problems.

Activities : Scientific research. Publications Documentation : (Card index of 980,000 cards on the activities of international organisations and the European Movement).

4.2.1.2 European Association for the Study of Refugee Problems, Geneva

European Association for the Study of Refugee Problems, Geneva

Activities : Committee of experts. Annual general assembly (100-150 members) with discussion of memoranda, which are subsequently published in the Quarerly Review "Integration".

4.2.1.3 European Cultural Centre, Lausanne

Purpose : To contribute towards European unity by affording a meeting place for national cultures.

Activities : Organisation of conferences. Seminars. Documentation and publications.

4.2.1.4 Institut Havrais de Sociologie économique et de psychologie des Peuples, Le Havre

Purpose : Research centre for problems of economic sociology and psychology affecting West European peoples.

Activities : Quarterly review. Short courses (one week during the summer). Preparation of a Dictionary of the European peoples.

4.2.1.5 Institut für Kontinental-Europaische Forschung Munich

Purpose : Study of history and of the present times in a European setting.

Activities : Discussion groups at Munich twice each half-year.

4.2.1.6 Public Institutes

4.2.1.6.1 European Research Centre of the Higher Commercial College, University of Lausanne [(27) See Les Nouvelles Européennes et Mondiales No. 114, Paris, 25th July 1958.]

Purpose : Study of European economic integration and its effects on third countries.

Activities : Scientific research.

4.2.1.6.2 Institut für Europaische Geschichte, Mainz

Purpose : To improv e understanding of history among the peoples of Europe. Scientific study of the common roots of European culture.

Activities : Research, divided into two sections : world history and religious history. Periodical scientific discussion groups with the assistance of German and foreign professors.

4.2.1.6.3 Ost-Europa Institut, Munich

Purpose : Scientific research into the problems of Eastern Europe (historical, ethnic, economic, legal and religious aspects).

Activities : Publications. Seminars.

4.2.1.6.4 Institut International d' Archeocivilisation

Purpose : Scientific study of permanent cultural phenomena in Europe. Planning a new pedagogy for Europe.

Activities : Preparation of a European cultural atlas. Preparation of educational films and exhibitions.

Appendix APPENDIX

Liste des experts qui ont participé soit à quelques-unes seulement, soit à toutes les réunions du groupe de travail et des commissions

EXPERTS FROM THE ORGANISATIONS

Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine : M. H. WALTHER, Secretary-General.

European Economic Community Com-mission : M. van KARNEBEEK, Director-General of Personnel and Administration; M. von GOLER, Director of Personnel; M. H. BRUNS, Head of Establishment Division (Division du Statut).

Euratom Commission : M. W. FUNCK, Director of Administration; M. L. SABBATUCCI, Deputy-Director of Administration; M. H. D. BUURMANN, Advisor on the status of staff.

European Coal and Steel Community — High Authority: M. DINJEART, Director of Personnel and Administration (Observer); M. T. F. NOYON, Secretary of the Personnel and Administration Division (Observer).

European Communities, Common Institutions :

European Parliamentary Assembly : M. GENUARDI, Head of Administration Division (Observer); M. J.-Cl. CAVOUKDJIAN-GALLI, Head of Bureau of Personnel (Observer).

Secretariat of the Councils : M. A. ZIPCY, Director (Observer).

Council of Europe : M. A. DAUSSIN (Vice-Chairman) Director of Administration; M. J. PICARD (Secretary), Administrative Officer.

Organisation for European Economic Cooperation : M. S. J. BERNIER, Director of Administration and Conferences; M. R. GREGOIRE (Chairman), Director of the European Productivity Agency; M. E. A. KERN, Head of Finance Division; M. J. F. PAPY, Director of Administration and Conferences; MME A. WACRENIER, Directorate of Administration and Conferences, Research Bureau.

European Organisation for Nuclear Research : M. R. W. PENNEY, Chief of Personnel (Observer).

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation : M. W. J. de VRIES, Chief of Personnel (Observer); M. MILLIEZ, Administrative Officer (Observer).

Western European Union : M. S. FREY, Legal Adviser; M. J. BERGEN, Head of Administration; M. THIEME, Head of the Administration and Legal Affairs Division of the Agency for the Control of Armaments.

GOVERNMENTAL EXPERTS

Austria : M. TURSKY, Minister Plenipotentiary, Director of Personnel at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Belgium : M. A. MOLITOR, Head of the Private Office of the Minister for Cultural Affairs, Director-General in the Ministry of Education.

FFrance : M. GAND, Director-General of Administration and Civil Service; M. J. M. LAMOR-LETTE, Civil Service Directorate.

Greece : M. N. ATHANASSIOU, Deputy Permanent Representative of Greece to the Council of Europe.

Italy : M. A. PITTALUGA, Counsellor, Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

Netherlands : M. N. C. de GROOT van EMBDEN, Financial Attache, Netherlands Embassy, Paris; M. G. H. van HERWAARDEN, Ministry of the Interior.

Federal Republic of Germany: M. BURSCHE, Counsellor, Ministry of the Interior; M. H. H. WALLICHS, Counsellor, Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

United Kingdom : Mr. R. W. F. JOHNSTON (Vice-Chairman), British Delegation to N. A. T. 0. and 0. E. E. C.

Turkey : M. N. IMRE, Ministry for Foreign Affairs.