Who works for the European Commission? We check the age, sex and nationality of EU officials [Analysis]

ine.org.pl 1 year ago
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Analysis briefly:

  • The European Commission employs around 32 000 employees: permanent and contractual.
  • EC staff are active in various areas of activity of institutions, including law, justice, abroad affairs, agriculture or the economy.
  • The persons employed in the Commission come from 27 associate States of the European Union, the United Kingdom and outside the Community.

The analysis of employment in the European Commission (EC) covers respective main aspects, specified as the origin of workers, their age and gender. The text besides looked at data on the number of people employed in circumstantial posts in the EC, their jobs and the number of employees in selected Directorates-General (DGs).

The figures utilized in the survey are from the statistical bulletin of the European Commission and present the state at 1.01.2024 [1].

Positions

The European Commission employs around 32 000 staff and contract staff. Permanent staff are part of a European Union civilian service appointed for an indefinite period. They are divided into 3 categories: Administrators (ADs), Assistants (ASTs) and Secretariat/Office Workers (AST/SC).

The largest group are administrators who deal with various areas of activity of the institution, including law, justice, abroad affairs, agriculture or the economy. They make policies, draft legislation, participate in global negotiations and carry out a number of another duties. They are provided with different grades which reflect the scope and importance of their duties. AD 5, the lowest level of grade, is intended for fresh employees, usually fresh graduates of universities. The top 2 groups – AD 15 and AD 16 – are reserved for CEOs.

The tasks of assistants (AST) usually include operational and method duties. They play a very crucial function in the interior management of the institution. They have a responsibilities akin to that of administrators, but bear little responsibility. Assistants are graded in groups AST 1 to AST 11.

The secretariat/office staff (AST/SC) shall operate the office and supply method and administrative support. They are employed in grades AST/SC1 – AST/SC 6 [2].

Permanent permanent staff in the European Commission. State at 1.01.2024. (source: own development).

In terms of AD, AST and ASC/SC grades, the Commission besides employs temporary staff. They execute tasks in various areas of the institution's activities. They study, conduct investigation and supply legal support [3]. They represent a tiny part of the EC staff. The percent of temporary staff is 4.8% in AD grade, 2.3% in AST and 2.1% in ASC/SC.

Contractual Workers (GF) is the second largest group of EC employees. They shall be employed for a limited period of time by means of a permanent CAST selection procedure or under an ad hoc procedure. They work in different positions in 4 function groups (GFI, GFII, GFIII, GFIV) in different areas of activity of the institution. They carry out administrative and physical tasks [4].

The another staff of the EC are local workers (4.8%), employees employed under the government of the country of origin of the worker (1.6%) and peculiar advisers (0.2%).

The EC besides employs people for managerial positions. elder managers are general directors, deputy CEOs, directors and chief advisors. They are EU civilian servants at the highest level and are straight subject to the Commissioners. The Commission has 386 elder managers. Mid-level managers include unit heads, department heads and task force heads [5]. The Commission has 1141 people in this position.

PositionNumber of employeesPercentage
Administrators (ADs) employed indefinitely1148335.3%
Assistants (AST) employed indefinitely585518%
Office staff (AST/SC) indefinitely employed7552.3%
Contractual staff772923.8%
Temporary administrators (ADs)15664.8%
Temporary assistants (AST)7502.3%
AST/SC temporary staff6852.1%
Local staff15624.8%
Staff employed under the government of the country of origin of the worker5221.6%
Special advisers500.2%
Senior Managers3861.2%
Mid-level managers11413.5%

Staff of the European Commission. State at 1.01.2024. (source: own development).

Directorate-General of the European Commission (DG)

The Directorates shall be the administrative departments of the institutions liable for the various activities of the Commission. Directorates develop, implement and manage EU backing policies, laws and programmes. Each DG is headed by the Director-General, whose task is to manage the work of the unit. The Directorates are divided into 4 groups: Directorates-General for Policy, Directorates-General for External Relations, Directorates-General for Services and Directorates-General for interior Affairs [6].

The most many Directorate-General for global Partnerships (INTPA). There are 2,953 people working there, accounting for 9.1% of all employees. The second largest unit in terms of staff is the Joint investigation Centre (JRC), with 2,649 employees (8.2%). The least people work for DG HERA, the Office for Preparedness and consequence to Emergency Situations in the wellness Service. Only 79 people work there (0.2%).

The number of employees of the Directorate may show the scale of activity, rank and importance of the unit.

DirectorateNumber of employeesPercentage
Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and civilian Protection (DG ECHO)9172.8%
Directorate-General for Communications (DG COMM)9382.9%
DG Agriculture and agrarian improvement (DG AGRI)8512.6%
Directorate-General for Budget (DG Budget)5431.7%
Directorate-General for Climate Action (DG CLIMA)2940.9%

Employment in selected Directorates-General. State at 1.01.2024. (source: own development).

Place of employment

Persons employed in the EC do not work only in Brussels or Luxembourg. Each EU associate State is represented by the European Commission. In Poland, the office of the Representation are in Warsaw, while the regional office in Wrocław. In addition, EC staff besides represent an institution outside the European Union.

The main seat of the EC is Brussels and it is there that the most people are employed. There are 21,830 people working in Belgium, accounting for 67.2% of all employees. 3,670 people (11.3%) are employed in Luxembourg. Apart from Brussels and Luxembourg, there are 3 354 people (10.3%) working in the EU and outside the EU 3 630 (11.2%).

The European Commission's place of employment. State at 1.01.2024. (source: own development).

Nationality

The Commission's staff come from 27 associate States, the United Kingdom and outside the Community. The largest group are Italians – 4,504 people, then Belgians – 4,356, French – 3,318, Spanish – 2,672 and Germany – 2,042. The lowest staff comes from Luxembourg – 89.

1 608 Poles work in the Commission, which, given the population of the country, makes Poland an underrepresented country. Poland and Romania make the least usage of the limit of seats in the EC. According to the regulations, Poles could make up 8% of the Commission's staff and represent only 5% [7].

Employment in the European Commission by nationality. State at 1.01.2024. (source: Key Figures on European Commission Staff on 1t January 2024, https://dashboard.tech.ec.europa.eu/qs_digit_dashboard_mt/public/sense/app/87fb97de-d12e-444a-a828-73a2e35242e4/sheet/b87ca14d-15a6-45dd-be10-b521cb0a0d82/state/analysis).

The above graphics present a disparity in the origin of employees. For example: The Belgians are about 12 million, or more than 25 million little than Poles, and in the institution there are about 3 1000 more workers. In the Commission, Spain represents more than a 1000 people than Poles. Disproportion is besides seen in nominations for higher posts.

878 Poles are employed at the positions of Administrators (AD). Only 1 individual from Poland is employed in grade AD 16 for 40 posts. Meanwhile, 4 French, 4 Germans or 3 Belgians are employed in the same position. In the second highest category, AD 15, 8 Poles work. Whereas Germans 29 and French 20. The most many grade is AD 12. As many as 2153 people work there, of which only 36 Poles.

A full of 6,605 people are employed at the AST, including 352 Poles. Not a single individual from Poland works in the highest assistant positions (AST 09, AST 10 and AST 11).

In 2004, erstwhile Poland joined the European Union, Poles actively joined the EU's organisational structures. Interpersonal contacts have been merged and institutionalised. In 2013, almost a decade after Poland's entry into the EU, the Commission had 1,440 employees [8]. Currently, around 1,600 Poles work in the Commission. This is simply a tiny increase, given that Poles could make up 8% of the Commission staff (about 2500 people).

The Commission is simply a strategical institution whose decisions affect the functioning of the Union as a whole. That is why it is so crucial to have a appropriate representation in the institution. The implementation of the interests of the associate States does not depend solely on those representing the country in political positions. Officials shall besides guarantee that policies are designed to be beneficial to the associate State.

Gender and age

Women (57.1% of employees) are overwhelming among the Commission staff. The EC employs 18,555 women and 13,929 men (42.9%).

In the category of grades AD 16 and AD 15, i.e. in the highest positions, 27 and 107 men (13 and 67 women) work respectively. A full of 3972 men and 3014 women are employed at mid-level positions (AD 10 – AD 14). 89 men and 60 women work in the AST 11 grade. In the categories AST 07 – AST 10 there are 935 officials and 2027 officials. The clear dominance of women is seen in contract staff positions.

Function groupsMaleWomen
GFIV1 7032 029
GFIII496899
GFII4201 521
GFI447214

Representation of women and men in contract positions in the European Commission. State at 1.01.2024. (source: own development).

Interestingly, from 1,608 officials from Poland as many as 1106 are women. Similarly, there is simply a large disparity in Romania – 1 122 of 1,696 officials are women.

There are people of all ages working in the Commission. For women, the age group is 45-47 and for men is 55-56. The average age of the authoritative was 46.1 years and the average age was 48.2 years. In January 2024, only 42 people aged 21-24 (of which only 2 between 21 and 22) worked in the Commission. However, only 0.01% of all employees are over 68. The main age group employed is 43-58 years.

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Employment in the European Commission by sex and age. State at 1.01.2024. (source: Key Figures on European Commission Staff on 1t January 2024, https://dashboard.tech.ec.europa.eu/qs_digit_dashboard_mt/public/sense/app/87fb97de-d12e-444a-a828-73a2e35242e4/sheet/b87ca14d-15a6-45dd-be10-b521cb0a0d82/state/analysis).

Conclusion

  • Among the staff of the European Commission, there is simply a clear disparity between their origins and their appointments to higher positions. Taking into account the population of the associate States, Poland and Romania make the least usage of their capacity limits in the EC. Both countries stay under-represented in contrast to Belgium or Italy, for example, whose citizens are the second largest group among the staff of the institutions. 1 608 Poles work in the Commission, according to the regulations Poles could make up 8% of the staff of the Commission, and represent only 5%
  • As many as 57.1% of employees are women, which makes them the majority of EC staff.
  • The age group that dominates women is 45-47 and 55-56 for men. The average age of the authoritative was 46.1 years and the average age was 48.2 years.
  • The European Commission is simply a strategical institution whose decisions affect the functioning of the full European Union. Officials deal with the activities of individual institutions, including law, justice, abroad affairs, agriculture or the economy. They make policies, draft legislation, participate in global negotiations and carry out a number of another responsibilities.
  • In view of the Commission's importance, appropriate representation in this institution is essential. Equal division of positions on grounds of nationality allows for the interests of associate States and institutionalisation of contacts. However, equal representation by sex and age provides a variety of perspectives and a better knowing of EU challenges.

Bibliography

[1] Statistical Bulletin HR – January 2024, the European Commission, https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/93d769bf-0caf-4435-b33f-1baac29538f6_en?filename=static-bulletin-20240101.zip (accessed 23.07.2024).

[2] Categories of EU workersEUcareers, https://eu-careers.europa.eu/en/eu-careers/staff-categories#tab-5 (accessed 19.07.2024).

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

[5] European Commission managersthe European Commission, https://commission.europa.eu/jobs-european-commission/job-opportuniities/managers-european-commission_en (accessed 19.07.2024).

[6] Directorate-General, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Directorate-General (accessed 19.07.2024).

[7] Poles in the EU institutions, https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://zpe.gov.pl/pdf/Pnr3YhGIH&ved=2ahUKewiXy7j4vrOHaxVeRvEDHSNXCp0QFnoECBwQAQ&usg=AovVaw0IBcmk7ndayZez7O1VRoA (accessed 19.07.2024).

[8] Marta Witkowska, The importance of Poles in the institutions and bodies of the European Union together with the employment balance. Reflections after the decade of Poland's membership of the European Union, [in:] The balance of Polish membership of the European Union, Warsaw 2015, p. 113.

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