[autom.vertaling] De ondervoorzitter van de Europese Commissie bezoekt Letland (en)
Vice-President Neil Kinnock of the European Commission today met with the President, Ms. Vike-Freiberga and Prime Minister, Mr. Einars Repse, in Riga in order to discuss administrative reform and the recruitment of officials in the context of the forthcoming Enlargement of the European Union on 1st May 2004. During his visit in Latvia, Mr Kinnock focussed on the measures being put in place to recruit new European Union civil servants from Latvia. The visit also allowed Mr Kinnock to inform his colleagues of the most recent developments in the Commission's ongoing radical modernisation programme.
Commenting on the meetings, Mr Kinnock said: "Enlargement is now just a few months away and preparations are in full swing. It is clearly crucial for the Commission to discuss with the Latvian administration the changes that we have been making as an organisation, and to listen to their opinions on the challenges that are still ahead of us. One of the basic reasons we are undertaking the modernisation and Reform process is to prepare for the operational challenges arising from the admission of 10 new Member States. During today's meetings we can take a closer look at the practical implications that accession brings and exchange information and perceptions."
Recruitment targets have been set for each country according to population size, the weighting of votes in Council and the number of seats each country has in the European Parliament. As such, the Commission is looking to recruit approximately 155 officials from Latvia over the first seven years after accession. 29 Latvians have already been recruited to non-permanent posts designed to prepare the ground for enlargement. Recruitment procedures are now underway : the recruitment of linguists has already started, and the first exams for administrators will start in December. It is important to stress that these exams are not reserved to officials of national administrations but are open to all those who meet the criteria. Hence, the exams will be merit-based, transparent and carefully structured to avoid "brain drain" in Latvia.
One area where preparations are particularly active is in the linguistic services. Despite the increase in the number of languages by 82%, high quality linguistic services will continue to be provided at a cost of just over €2 per citizen per year. The training of existing linguistic staff has been under way since the mid-1990s, and recruitment drives have recently been launched to find talented new linguists.
Mr Kinnock added: "Today we can celebrate the linguistic diversity of the Union, which will be further enhanced by the new Member States.
But in order to put these fundamental tenets of multilingualism into practice we must ensure that we recruit linguists of the highest quality.
The Commission is actively engaged in helping the Latvian authorities to train interpreters and translators to ensure sufficient coverage after accession in May next year. I would also urge those interested in this profession to contact our linguistic services."
The Prodi Commission has been working for over three years on the Reform of the management and administration of the Commission. This radical reform programme is bringing with it modern management practices, particularly in financial management, strategic planning and programming, and improved personnel and administration policy. These changes will allow the Commission to tackle all the challenges stemming from enlargement and the deepening of European cooperation, while keeping administrative costs under control.
Other ministers also present during the programme were Mr Aivars Aksenoks, Minister of Justice, Mr Valdis Dombrovskis, Minister of Finance, and Mrs Sandra Kalniete, Minister of Foreign Affairs.