Chilly farewell vs very warm welcome
Chilly farewell…
In his farewell speech last week, Mr Borrell, while acknowledging the excellence of EEAS staff, deemed appropriate to declare that we were highly privileged and envied civil servants, who must “work harder and quicker” to live up to these privileges.
Whereas colleagues andR&D have already been able to “appreciate” the undiplomatic (to say the least) style of Mr Borrell vis a vis his staff, and while the implicit intention behind such admonitions may have been better than what they sounded, it is also true though that many of our colleagues have shared with us their sad disappointment at hearing their efforts and utmost dedication being thus explicitly denied. Too many indeed felt that such message from Mr Borrell were totally undeserved criticisms.
R&D cannot agree with Mr Borrell’s final remarks.
All the more so as we must not forget that unfortunately, such unfair reproaches and criticisms merely echo similar ones already stated by the same HR/VP in previous circumstances, notably at a seminar for heads of delegations held in Brussels in 2022, reported then by the international press worldwide.
This may also have something to do with the fact that, contrary to his predecessors and peers, M. Borrell regrettably never met with his staff representatives, despite the many invitations he received.
With all due respect to the former HR/VP, R&D shall clarify that EEAS staff have indeed worked “hard and quick”. And they have done so in often difficult and not-so-privileged circumstances.
…Wery warm welcome
Hopefully, our new HR/VP, Mrs Kaja Kallas, showed on Monday much more positive intentions and manners vis-a-vis her staff during the inauguration of her mandate in a memorable town hall gathering.
In sharp contrast with what was stated by her predecessor, HR/VP Kallas indeed kindly and humbly praised all colleagues for their dedication and high quality contributions to the design and implementation of EU’s external policy. HR/ VP Kallas’ enthusiastic introductory speech was highly appreciated, evidenced by the loud round of applause she received in return from colleagues attending, who have also appreciated her genuine and warm sense of proximity.
We were also much delighted to hear our HR/VP’s loud and clear denial of her support to any plans to reduce drastically the role, number and staffing of EU’s unmatched network of delegations. Such intentions were indeed exposed and properly commented in the international press last week (fact check : https://www.politico.eu/article/european-commission-eu-embassy-staff-africa-latin-america-eu-external-action-service-eeas-diplomacy.) These intentions were immediately denounced by R&D both at the EEAS and Commission’s highest level, together with some of its fellow unions and we thank once again our new HR/VP for her unequivocal answer.
R&D firmly opposes any decision that, would end up weakening the role and importance of our institution, harming thus also severely the European project which underpins the service and the role of the HR/VP herself. Although staff representatives are (yet partly) aware of the current budgetary dire situation (NB: our budget is rather modest compared to other expenditure chapters), we consider that this cannot serve as a blunt alibi for what, in actual facts, looks like a basic as well as fierce political, administrative and social dismantling operation, pre-cooked by some top managers of the EEAS and Commission over the last months of Mr Borrell’s tenure (obviously with his blessing, and in line with his harsh continuous assessment of the performance of his staff)
As HR/VP Kallas boldly stated, trying to play on her natural kindness and genuine good will to cooperate with her pairs of the College should certainly not result in considering her (nor EEAS staff) as an “easy cookie”. Fact check here, around minute 10: https:// intranet.eeas.europa.eu/video/political/heartfelt-welcome-our-new-hrvp-kaja-kallas?check_logged_in=1/.
In line with Mrs Kallas’s views, R&D agrees there is room for improvement of the overall EEAS management, and for a better alignment of its resources with its missions. However this should not imply calling into question the fundamental missions of the EEAS. Nor orchestrating behind the back of its staff any organizational chaos that would result inevitably into the rough termination of hundreds of contracts of colleagues employed by the EU around the world.
With this in mind, R&D appreciates HR/VP Kallas’ agreement to meet with EEAS staff representatives on a regular basis, and reiteratesour readiness to “work harder and quicker” with her administration in order to make the EEAS a respected European institution and a respectful European employer.
| Cristiano SEBASTIANI, President | Oren WOLFF R&D EEAS General Delegate |