Defence of the European borders opening a new era for the EU Civil Service?
The European Union is entering a new phase of strategic transformation, marked by a significant shift in budgetary priorities. The latest move—€800 billion earmarked for defence with “ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030 “-shadows the future Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). Last time EU invested just €8 billion for security and defence. This represents a hundredfold increase, amounting to 44% of the current MFF. It is clear that this shift in spending priorities will inevitably have repercussions for other areas, including the EU civil service.
The recently unveiled “White Paper for European Defence – Readiness 2030” highlights the urgency of rearming Europe in response to proliferating threats to European security and its way of life. According to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “The era of the peace dividend is long gone. The security architecture that we relied on can no longer be taken for granted…”
The paper outlines a large-scale effort to strengthen European defence capacities, increase military support to Ukraine, and consolidate the European military industry. While these measures address pressing geopolitical challenges, they also introduce financial pressures that will probably impact the EU’s administrative structure and workforce also in terms of new professional profiles needed in the defence area.
Past budget cycles have already seen considerable cuts in administrative expenditure, with a growing dependence on interim staff, temporary agents, contract agents, and local employees and contractors. If this trend continues, further budgetary restrictions could affect the stability and working conditions of EU staff, particularly those in non-permanent positions. The increased focus on defence spending raises concerns about whether administrative costs will be further reduced, potentially limiting the EU’s ability to deliver its policies effectively.
Ensuring an efficient and well-functioning civil service is essential for managing EU programs, policies, and strategic initiatives—including those related to defence and security, but also for everything else the EU does, from climate action to health and economic development of less developed areas of the continent. As discussions on future budgets advance, a key challenge will be how to balance new defensive priorities while maintaining a strong institutional foundation and maintaining the EU values of transparency, professionalism, integrity, stable and fair employment and equal pay for equal work for its own Staff.
The question now is whether policymakers will acknowledge this growing imbalance—or whether the erosion of a stable, professional civil service is the price they are willing to pay for a more secure European Union.
As the EU Civil Service faces these mounting challenges, it is crucial to consider the broader implications of these shifts. From the precariousness of employment within EU institutions to the evolution of staff mobility and changes in pension systems, the consequences of these budgetary and policy shifts are far-reaching. In this edition of AGORA #94, we explore a range of perspectives and offer deeper insights into these complex issues through a series of in-depth articles that examine both the current state and future of the EU workforce.
