European Parliament administration
Bulldozing through of political appointments by Schulz shows disdain for democratic process
Last night, the European Parliament's bureau decided to confirm the appointments to top posts in the EP's administration of 3 staff formerly working directly for EP president Martin Schulz. The confirmation came in spite of a vote in the European Parliament on 3 April criticising the nominations by Martin Schulz. The Greens, who had called for a decision on the nominations to be postponed (1), hit out at the decision, with budget control and transparency spokesperson Bart Staes stating:
"In bulldozing through the appointments of his aides to high-ranking posts in the Parliament's administration, in spite of the recent critical European Parliament vote, Martin Schulz has demonstrated a disdain for this house and the democratic process. On Wednesday, Parliament is set to confirm its criticism of these politicised appointments but Martin Schulz and the European Parliament's bureau have simply ignored the democratic will of this house (2).
"Political nominations by the two largest groups have gotten out of hand and seriously affected the independence of the Parliament's administration at all levels. There is an urgent need to properly reform the process for recruiting positions in the administration. This means ensuring there are independent and open recruitment procedures, with standard recruitment criteria, taking into account qualifications and experience. While political nominations of candidates that meet such criteria to certain top posts may be justified, political affiliation alone cannot be the basis for appointments to such posts. Against this background, the correct course of action would have been for any decision on these latest posts to be postponed. The failure to do so casts another shadow over Martin Schulz's democratic credentials."
(1) See Green press release: http://www.greens-efa.eu/european-parliament-administration-12150.html
(2) The full text of the resolution on the discharge of the European Parliament's 2012 budget was already voted on 3 April, and included criticism of the appointments, but the final vote on the resolution was postponed until this Wednesday in an attempt to get Martin Schulz to reinstate a part of the text he had unilaterally ruled inadmissible.
