Germans snub jobs within the institutions of the European Union and prefer to remain in their country of origin where they would find apparently more favorable economic conditions. The consequence is that when it comes to the number of officials, the nation is well below the guidance rate set by the European Union. Those who are far too present in the institution are the Belgians, the Maltese and the Estonians.
The main critical issues
This was revealed by a new report from the European Court of Auditors on the employment situation within the European institutions, which urges Brussels to improve the management of its staff. Among all the problems listed, three main issues stand out: the difficulty of hiring certain specific profiles, the precariousness of contracts and geographical imbalances.
This, the court’s auditors warn, can put business continuity at risk. Indeed, when temporary contracts expire, there may not be enough qualified staff to carry on the work smoothly. Other critical issues concern the aging of the workforce and the reduction in available positions despite the increase in the workload in recent years.
“Despite offering modern and flexible working conditions, the EU institutions still struggle to attract specific profiles and nationalities,” said Jorg Kristijan Petrovič, the member of the Court responsible for the audit. As regards the “specific” profiles, reference is made above all to IT technicians, essential for the work of the EU but very difficult to hire and retain.
“Our recommendations are aimed at helping EU institutions to better manage their employees, to become more attractive employers and to improve the career prospects of their staff,” Petrović said.
The under-representation of some nationalities
Although the European institutions, first and foremost the Commission, offer working conditions in line with those offered by other international organisations, many difficulties are still encountered in hiring candidates from all member states in a geographically balanced manner.
The report highlights that staff working in the EU who come from Germany, but also from the Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, France and Spain are below the “guiding rate”, i.e. that level aimed at ensuring fair representation between the various nationalities, below which a country is considered underrepresented.
The difficulties in recruiting staff of some nationalities, such as Germans, into roles in EU institutions are linked to various factors. The report explains that citizens of economically stable countries, such as Germany, often find the national job market more attractive, which reduces their interest in EU opportunities. The report mentions that the “Better Life” index of the Organization for Co-operation and Development in Europe (OECD) is related to the interest of candidates: nations with high standards of living participate less in European competitions. Furthermore, the lack of accessible information on EU working conditions was also listed among the reasons.
On the contrary, Belgian national staff are over-represented by more than 500%, presumably due to the geographical position of Brussels, home to the main EU institutions. Italians would instead be in line with the level desired by the EU.
