OUR 22 PROPOSITIONS

Independence and neutrality are among the core values of the European civil service. For too long political affiliation has taken precedence over competence and merit in a number of cases, to the detriment of the Institution as a whole. If we want the EP’s voice to matter vis-à-vis other institutions, each Management post must be filled by the best candidate for the job and not the best-connected! We have seen some improvement in the recent past. We vow to support EP Management to make the “merit revolution” a reality.
Such revolution should apply to all posts, not only the managerial ones that are decided by the Bureau. In many DGs, colleagues coming directly from political groups (via the “passerelle”) or cabinets are regularly appointed to administrator or assistant posts without any publication of the vacancy or opportunity for internal candidates to apply. Job transfers continue to rely heavily on the ring-book system, where positions are exchanged informally between acquaintances. Recruitment becomes a matter of personal networks rather than competence. When a small number of posts are eventually published, their profiles are often tailored to fit a pre-selected candidate, making the procedure purely formal.
This situation leaves ordinary staff members - who have dedicated their entire careers to the administration without cabinet or political experience - with virtually no career development. If the Institution truly wants motivated and satisfied staff, it must address these practices with determination.
We call on the Administration to adopt transparent, merit-based and inclusive procedures for all posts, ensuring equal opportunities for every staff member.
In a situation where the establishment plan is not going to evolve due to budgetary constraints, existing vacant posts should be filled in full compliance with of the procedures defined in the Staff Regulations.

The recent past has shown that the EP needs specific profiles that EPSO is not always able to provide. In addition, EPSO competitions have been riddled with technical problems linked to the remote testing platforms used and other difficulties. Selection procedures need to be faster and more efficient. We are in favour of more EP-specific competitions and internal competitions to make sure that we select and retain talent to cater for the needs of a rapidly evolving institution. Internal competitions need more transparency and fair and equal treatment between the administration staff (ASTs and temporary agents) and political group candidates.

Contract agents make up a sizeable portion of EP staff, they have been trained to acquire highly necessary skills. We cannot afford to lose them to other employers! The possibilities offered by the Staff Regulations should be exploited to the fullest to allow as many CAs as possible to sit internal competitions. Better still, we should put our money where our mouth is and offer better contracts (for example as temporary agents) for duties that are vital to the functioning of the Institution. The establishment plan has been stagnating for long enough, more EP clout calls for more talents!

The Staff Committee is consulted by the EP Management according to the official referral procedure. It has made and continues to make valuable contributions on the adoption of new rules or the revision of existing rules. Its amendments are increasingly being taken on board by the Secretary-General. We advocate for Staff Committee consultation even before Management undertakes a new project. Ex ante input by staff representatives could channel relevant feedback from all colleagues on the ground and significantly enhance ownership of new projects as well as make implementation faster and more efficient. We call for a consistent upstream consultation of the Staff Committee.

The certification procedure for ASTs should be transparent and clearly explained. This procedure is unclear and demotivates staff. We need to fight the perception that only the well-connected get a fair chance. The “merit revolution” we want to see should include certification as well and we will closely monitor the implementation of the newly introduced rules.

Somebody said not long ago that they wanted EP staff to be “happy”. We could not agree more! Happy staff is also motivated and productive, so it’s a win-win! That is why we will fight for any measure in favour of staff well-being and occupational health. We are also firm believers in conflict prevention: we wholeheartedly supported the creation of the Mediation Service as a tool to avoid a toxic work environment. We are in favour of zero-tolerance on harassment and will continue to support victims of harassment in their quest for redress. Duty of care should be a reality, a permanent requirement and a constant preoccupation in the quest for solutions to foster well-being at work. We also welcome the creation of the Confidential Counsellors as a positive step.

Promoting staff well-being is not just a moral duty; it is also key to motivation, productivity, and institutional excellence. Many cases of workplace conflict or harassment could be prevented if managers were consistently selected for their competence, leadership skills, and understanding of staff and financial regulations. A truly professional and well-prepared management culture reduces the risk of toxic environments, conflict escalation, and misuse of hierarchical authority. This is why we strongly support all measures that reinforce the duty of care, strengthen prevention mechanisms, and provide confidential and accessible support to staff. A workplace where managers are chosen for their merit is a workplace where people can feel respected, protected, and able to thrive.

We are not blind to the benefits of mobility, which can foster innovation and job satisfaction. At the same time, we advise against a one-size-fits-all solution. Why should someone who is very good at what they do and satisfied with their job relinquish their post only because they have reached the fateful 6+3 years? We acknowledge the progress made with the new rules, but we still believe that mobility should be voluntary for all or to the very least implemented in a very flexible fashion to make sure that staff remain motivated, and the Institution does not lose precious skills and know-how. This is particularly true for ASTs, who are the backbone of the Institution and its historical memory for all things procedural and beyond. As a result, they should not be obliged to leave their posts if they thrive there.

Colleagues working at EPLOs across Europe should have the same rights and access to facilities as all other staff, their working conditions should not be defined by their place of employment. While we know that some specificities are inevitable, we believe that those colleagues should enjoy equal treatment in terms of access to training, child-care facilities, public transport, canteens, language courses, medical expenses etc. There is also a need to review the weightings for several EU Member States.

We celebrate the fact that DG LINC finally has a competent professional at the helm. Social dialogue is thriving, and past tensions seem to be a distant memory. However, there is still work to do: the negotiations on remote interpretation are reaching an end and we will take a good look at their outcome and its implementation to support interpreters in their rightful demands for good working conditions and health protection. In this context, the interpretation hub will have to ensure good working conditions for remote interpretation. We also ask that the system put in place to ensure sound quality thanks to top-quality microphones be complied with by all stakeholders.
Furthermore, we will closely monitor the cases of outsourced interpretation while we reiterate our stance: outsourcing is a form of social dumping and is not worthy of our Institution, which should provide a top-notch service with our excellent in-house interpreters.

After years, the renovation of the SPAAK building is fast approaching. Taking into account the experience – and mistakes, or “teething problems” – of the ADENAUER construction, we want to ensure that staff is duly consulted. We know that construction projects are lengthy and may entail a significant staff turnover with regards to the teams involved, but we need coherence and sound management to ensure we offer our staff the most adequate work environment. We will monitor every step of the project, striving to ensure adequate working space (no to hotdesking and to open spaces!) and that our facilities, including parking areas and soft mobility measures, are thought through from the onset. Special attention should be given to finding solutions to avoid putting extra pressure on the already existing building and office space limited availability.

While we believe in the importance of team cohesion, we also think that it is compatible with more flexibility in the implementation of telework rules with a reasonable increase in the number of days of telework from outside the place of employment. The specificities of each service and profession should be duly taken into account.

In 2024, Ethos Europe successfully and decisively contributed to the introduction of a specific housing allowance for staff living in Luxembourg to mitigate the effects of the high housing costs in the country. We also gave a fundamental contribution to the granting of a compensatory allowance for Parliament staff employed in Luxembourg on salaries lower than the Luxembourg minimum social wage. We will redouble our efforts to improve the situation for all categories of staff in the historical house of the European Parliament. In the long run, we will strive for an appropriate correction coefficient for Luxembourg. Long gone are the days where the Brussels/Luxemb0urg parity matched the economic reality...

We fully understand the need to channel human and financial resources towards the EP’s parliamentary activities to make sure that our Institution fully exercises its hard-won powers. However, this paradigm shift should be carried out without disrupting other services. There is a limit to the “do more with less” old adagio. If we are to avoid staff burnout, we need to ensure a sustainable workload and satisfactory working conditions for all colleagues. ‘Policy DGs’ cannot work without the support of adequately staffed technical DGs.

What can we say about this procedure which is exhausting for all those concerned and satisfactory for nearly no one? Heads of Unit have a huge amount of work because of it; the staff being assessed often feel that it does not serve any purpose; administrative staff spend months to manage it all.
We recognise the steps forward already taken by Management in cooperation with staff representatives with the aim of simplifying it as much as possible. However, we still have work to do. And lest we forget, merit must always be rewarded!

In addition, what about having staff assessing their managers’ skills (management, content knowledge, soft skills, etc) in order to improve middle management quality? Other institutions already implement a 360-degree evaluation of staff including Managers, we believe this practice could yield positive results and offer ways for Managers to receive constructive feedback from their team members.

Ethos Europe acknowledges the need to outsource certain services, excluding core business activities. We firmly advocate for fair, equitable, and respectful treatment of all colleagues, whether they are statutory staff members or external consultants. To this end, we propose an amendment to the European Parliament’s Code of Conduct to explicitly incorporate this requirement for equity.

Furthermore, we believe that external agents working on-site under long-term outsourcing contracts should have distinct rights and obligations compared to external technicians performing ad hoc tasks. To address this, Ethos Europe proposes the establishment of a specific Accredited External Contractor status within the European Parliament’s regulations. This status aims to ensure enhanced protection as well as a harmonized and inclusive framework for long-term external collaborators across all DGs.

The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into our work environment calls for robust administrative governance, comprehensive staff training, and diligent oversight by staff members themselves. To support this transition, Ethos Europe proposes the following measures:

• A dedicated AI training section in Learn.EP: We advocate for the creation of a transparent, unified section on the Learn.EP platform dedicated to AI training. This section should include a mandatory introductory course to ensure all staff members acquire foundational knowledge of AI tools and their applications.

• The establishment of an EP Advisory Committee on AI, Cybersecurity, and New Technologies: We propose the creation of a dedicated European Parliament advisory committee to oversee AI, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies. This committee would focus on the following objectives:

o Safeguarding colleagues by ensuring the responsible and ethical use of AI and cybersecurity frameworks.
o Ensuring compliance between new AI and cybersecurity policies and the Staff Regulations.
o Prioritising staff well-being in the adoption and implementation of new technologies.
These measures aim to foster a secure, inclusive and well-regulated integration of AI, ensuring that staff are adequately equipped and protected while maintaining alignment with the European Parliament’s standards and values.

Ethos Europe will focus on the knowledge of the existing rules. For us, the best defence of our rights needs to be based on the full respect of the obligations that come from the same texts. Recurrent information sessions should be available, and the onboarding of new staff should be improved.

We all know that things can be organised in a million ways, that the rules and processes cannot define all possible problems in advance. This is why we do defend the principle of applying a very high standard of ethics and deontology. Even when the “rule allows” or the “rule is silent”, we should apply to our conduct the highest standard of behaviour. This is essential if we expect the same from our Management and authorities.

The Directorate-General for Security and Safety (DG SAFE) plays a critical role in facilitating the European Parliament’s activities by ensuring the protection of people, assets and information. Given the diverse and demanding nature of its responsibilities - which include physical security and crisis management - DG SAFE staff face unique challenges that require tailored working conditions. Ethos Europe is committed to advocating for caring and respectful rules that respect the specific characteristics and requirements of each job profile within DG SAFE, ensuring a safe, equitable and supportive work environment with the well-being of colleagues as a priority.

Ethos Europe closely monitors the evolution in working conditions for translators and translation assistants. We are well aware of the general restructuring tendencies in our House but remain wary of their underlying motives and scope. We will keep a very attentive eye on the often-mentioned AI revolution and its potential impact on translation in the EP. We want to ensure that the quality of the colleagues’ work is guaranteed – something IA cannot do – and that AI is used where it can bring added value, rather than to follow trends that do not bring benefits, either to staff or to the MEPs or - above all - to the European democracy. We also want to foster equality and fair treatment among colleagues, taking into consideration the characteristics and requirements of each and every one of the many job profiles in DG TRAD.

• The former DG IPOL reform shows that DG restructuring should have been better planned, considering the staff and logistical needs. Recruitments to cover the split of DGs and the setting-up of new directorates and units take time; meanwhile assistants in the new DGs have been overwhelmed for several months due to understaffing. The recruitment of contract agents has led to the need of more office space. In the Kohl building there is not enough space for everybody in the legislative DGs. Individual offices are now shared. And the recruitment is still ongoing!

• Ethos Europe supports DG ITEC’s mission to position the European Parliament at the forefront of technological innovation. However, to achieve this, we emphasize the need for a robust and transparent framework that clarifies governance, objectives, and processes while fostering collaboration to effectively eliminate silos. We call on DG ITEC’s Management to engage proactively with staff and stakeholders to ensure a smooth transition and a cohesive operational model.

• Future reforms: Ethos Europe would support future reforms. However, we urge the administration to learn from the challenges of recent restructurings by prioritising clear communication, inclusive engagement, streamlined processes and staff well-being. By adopting these principles, the EP would ensure a successful structural reform strengthening its capacity while fostering a cohesive and supportive work environment.

As regards Political Groups and their staff, we must enter a continuous dialogue and show solidarity on matters that affect us all. The time has come to recognise that Parliament is a single entity and that there is no reason for there to be any divisions between the staff of Political Groups and that of the General Secretariat. We are interdependent: Political Groups rely on the General Secretariat’s services for their work. Conversely, the General Secretariat needs political support to effect changes in the functioning of the Institution that ultimately benefit us all.