Internal competitions for UK members
Participation of UK Members of the Commission Staff to internal competitions During the United Kingdom's exit process from the E.U., the Commission, especially by the then Commissioner in charge of Administration and Personnel, Gunther Oettinger, repeatedly stated that British staff could rely on the fact that their acquired rights and legitimate expectations would be upheld. It should be acknowledged that both the Juncker and Von der Leyen Commissions have delivered indeed on their commitments and that British colleagues have had their rights and expectations safeguarded. There is however one aspect on which British colleagues (those with no nationality other than [...]
British MEP’s : it’s only goodbye
The British MEP’s, hand in hand with those of other nationalities, sing together : It’s only goodbye. The image is strong : sadness and hope. The Brexit sounded the death knell for an idea of the European Union that could only grow: for the first time, it was shrinking. And this shrinking is not just the exit of a weighty member from the club. It is also the acknowledgement of failure and the threat that others may seek the path of the wide-open door. There is nothing to blame in a process that, however tormented, has occurred in accordance with [...]
BREXIT: USF open letter to Agencies
Brexit : USF open letter to the directors of Agencies and Governing Boards On 29th March 2019 the UK will leave the European Union. For a few hundred employees of the European Union this day could have life-changing consequences. Concerning Temporary and Contract Agents in the agencies, Article 47 of CEOS states: “Apart from cessation on death, the employment of temporary staff shall cease…where the servant no longer satisfies the conditions laid down in point (a) of Article 12(2), subject to the possibility of authorising an exception under that provision...”. The European Commission has made commitments that staff on indefinite [...]
Agencies: Flaw in Governance & Management
Agencies: Flaw in Governance Structure and Management DONWLOAD THE USF FLYER On 6 June 2018, Jose Carreira, the executive director of the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) has been released from his duties with immediate effect by the Management Board of the agency amid allegations of misconduct in procurement procedures, irregularities in human resources management, possible breaches of data protection, bullying and psychological violence. This happens after a long screening by diverse bodies on the management of EASO, including the USF, after the dismissal of a senior Commission Official (who was employed by EASO as Temporary Agent) who had voiced [...]
Brexit & EU officials legal status
Brexit and the EU officials of British nationality legal status The negotiators of the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK) agreed in principle across the 3 areas under consideration in the first phase of negotiations (protection of the rights of the citizens, the circumstances in Northern Ireland and the financial settlement). "Agreement in principle has been reached on the package as a whole, as opposed to individual elements" (Joint report from the negotiators TF50(2017)1) . The discussions of the second round will begin in order to explore the vision of the future relationship. Decisions have been taken [...]
Exchange of Views with BREXIT Coordinator
Exchange of views with Brexit coordinator On 4 September 2017, the EP's Constitutional Affairs Committee (AFCO) held an exchange of views with the EP's Brexit coordinator, Guy VERHOFSTADT, who updated the committee on the state of play in the Brexit negotiations and the EP's perspective on the developments. He recalled his idea of tabling a resolution at the October I plenary (on citizens' rights, Northern Ireland and progress achieved) and announced the publication of a working document with the EP's comments on citizens' rights (here). In this area, the right to family reunification and the UK's plans to have EU [...]
Why Has Brexit Led To Falling Real Wages?
Why Has Brexit Led To Falling Real Wages? This might seem easy. The depreciation immediately after Brexit, plus subsequent declines in the number of Euros you can buy with a £, are pushing up import prices which feed into consumer prices (with a lag) which reduce real wages. But real wages depend on nominal wages as well as prices. So why are nominal wages staying unchanged in response to this increase in prices? Before answering that, let me ask a second question. Why hasn’t the depreciation led to a fall in the trade deficit? Below are the contributions to UK [...]
BREXIT: International Trade meetings
Brexit: International Trade meetings The Department for International Trade (DIT) aims to make Britain “the world’s natural business partner” and it is dedicating copious amounts of ministerial time to hearing from big business about its post-Brexit international trade demands. Of the 318 lobby meetings held by DIT ministers from October 2016 to March 2017, business interests dominated. 90 per cent of meetings held were business lobby meetings. We looked further into who actually attended DIT’s meetings – for instance, if six groups attended a meeting, we counted that as six encounters. Business interests represented an overwhelming 90.5 per cent of [...]
Lobbying with UK & EU Brexit Negotiators
Lobbying with UK & EU Brexit Negotiators Corporate lobbyists have enjoyed the biggest share of consultations with the UK’s Department for Exiting the EU and the EU Brexit Task Force. New research by Corporate Europe Observatory and Global Justice Now reveals their privileged access and the secrecy around these lobby meetings, which risk to sideline the wider needs of civil society and smaller businesses in an upcoming Brexit deal. The far-reaching Brexit agreement that will govern the UK’s exit from the European Union is not only being shaped at the negotiating table, but also by the lobbyists who are trying [...]
Brexit: London agencies
Brexit : EU agency staff who don’t want to leave London agencies set to miss out on benefits Employees from countries staying in the EU will be potentially tens of thousands of pounds worse off than British nationals. Non-British employees who opt to leave the two EU agencies relocating from London because of Brexit are set to miss out on financial settlements worth potentially tens of thousands of pounds. Staff from the 27 countries remaining in the EU who do not wish to move from London with their agency will be forced to resign, meaning that they miss out on [...]