HL Deb 28 February 1991 vol 526 cc1096-8

3.6 p.m.

Baroness Young asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many of the recommendations of the Report of the European Communities Committee on Staffing of Community Institutions (11th Report, Session 1987–88, HL Paper 66) have been implemented, in particular those which would encourage more British people to apply for jobs in the European Community institutions.

Lord Reay

My Lords, almost all the recommendations addressed to the Government have been implemented, together with a number of other measures to improve the level of British representation in European Community institutions. We have encouraged the Commission to adopt those recommendations which fall within its own area of responsibility.

Baroness Young

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that encouraging reply. Has the number of people applying for posts in European Community institutions increased as a result of the report? Have some of the longer-term proposals such as the right of a civil servant to return to this country without loss of pay or status been implemented?

Lord Reay

My Lords, it is too early to see positive results from the improvements that have been introduced. British representation is poor in all the Community institutions. At the moment it continues to become worse. However, we hope that the measures that have been introduced, in particular the European fast stream, will eventually make a significant contribution to improving our representation in Europe. But it will take some time before we see results.

Baroness Elles

My Lords, will the Minister inform the House how many British citizens have applied for posts in Community institutions and how many have been accepted? Has there been any inquiry into the examination that is given to applicants throughout the Community? Do applications from the United Kingdom compare favourably with those from other member states?

Lord Reay

My Lords, the British are underrepresented in the institutions. There is no evidence that British candidates are disadvantaged by the style of the examination set. However, one of the problems has been that the examinations have tended to reflect the traditions of the original six members of the Community.

Lord Cledwyn of Penrhos

My Lords, as the noble Lord will recall, there was a proposal to set up a special unit in the Cabinet Office to act as a single source of advice for European Community careers. What progress has been made in and with that special unit?

Lord Reay

My Lords, yes, the noble Lord the Leader of the Opposition is correct. The European Staffing Unit has now been set up in the Cabinet Office to co-ordinate efforts to improve British representation in Europe.

Baroness Seear

My Lords, is there evidence that the number of candidates applying or succeeding is affected in any way by our alleged deficiency in foreign languages?

Lord Reay

My Lords, languages in the long run are important but some potential candidates are deterred because they assume that they need fluent French. In the long term they do; but O-level standard is all that is required at the recruitment stage.

Lord Clinton-Davis

My Lords, does the Minister acknowledge that the under-representation to which reference was made earlier was a direct result of the Government's inertia in influencing recruitment over many years? Is not the action that has now properly been taken very late in the day? It will not prevent a gap in British representation at certain important levels of the Commission, and therefore, our influence, which will emerge over a number of years.

Lord Reay

My Lords, the noble Lord's latter remark may be correct. However, an additional factor was that not until the party opposite had finally made up its mind no longer to seek renegotiation of the terms of entry was the cloud of uncertainty removed from over people who might otherwise have looked for jobs in Europe.