HC Deb 12 May 1981 vol 4 c259W
Mr. Knox

asked the Lord Privy Seal what is the total staff of the European Commission, both including and excluding interpreting and translation staff; and what proportion of total civil servants in the European Community and of the total population of the Community they represent.

Sir Ian Gilmour

Provision for posts for jobs for operational staff in the Commission in the 1981 Budget was for 8,850 posts, of whom 1,265 were directly involved in language activities. Owing to the differing definitions of civil servants in the member States, it would not be possible to provide a figure for the total number of civil servants in the Community, the population of which is just under 270 million. The operational staff of the Commission represents some 0.00327 per cent. of the population of the Community.