*For Generation 2004 members only*
Dear Generation 2004 members,
We are launching a call for expression of interest for participation in the works of the subcommittees of the Steering Committee of Generation 2004.
The Plan for 2026, approved in the General Assembly of 26.03.2026, states that “2026 will be a year of delivery and consolidation, and above all a year of our members: reconnecting, engaging, and building the active community that makes Generation 2004 strong”. It also grants to the Steering Committee a key role to play in the consolidation of the organisation, particularly by resuming “its full work, renewing the activity of its subcommittees and re-establishing a structured approach to the key dossiers it oversees”.
The Steering Committee is empowered to issue political operational guidelines, recommendations and opinions. The purpose is to advise the governing bodies of the association (General Assembly and Board) and feed specifically the Board with proposals concerning the political action of Generation 2004 acting in the general interest of the staff without prejudice to the powers conferred on the staff committees by the staff regulations. The Steering Committee acting as a think tank is charged to develop together ideas and give advice on a particular subject(s). The Steering Committee acting as a forum for discussion shall promote debates helping to test out ideas, gather feedback, and discover new policy angles.
On 25.6.2026, the Steering Committee approved important documents for its internal operation: the 2026-2028 Action Plan, the constitution of 6 subcommittees, the guidelines for the functioning of the subcommittees and their mandates.
Subcommittees are an institutional tool at the disposal of the Steering Committee. They are created in ad-hoc basis to work on specific points of interest for the staff association. The subcommittees are not permanent. Based on the options expressed by its members, the Steering Committee set up on 25 June the following subcommittees:
- Subcommittee on Staff Regulations
- Subcommittee on career prospects for Contract Agents
- Subcommittee on career prospects for Assistants
- Subcommittee on Generation 2004 identity
- Subcommittee on EU attractiveness (geographical balance)
- Subcommittee on the use of AI within the Commission/other EU bodies and impacts on the way to work and job profiles.
It is therefore time to reconnect with our members and to renew the activity of the subcommittees. Your involvement in these debates is warmly welcomed.
To do so, please express your interest by completing the attached [1] table and by indicating your willingness to participate in the debates of the subcommittees.
Please do it by Friday, 18 September 2026 (c.o.b.), clearly indicating for which subcommittee you are applying.
For any questions, do not hesitate to write [2] to us.
Kind regards,
Marcela Válková
Chair of Generation 2004
João Simões de Almeida
Coordinator of the Steering Committee
Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (\'Staff Regulations [3] (SR)\') are rules stating:
• fundamental conditions of service
• basic rights, duties and obligations of staff.
The SR have been reformed x 2 (so far):
• 2004 (Kinnock White paper)
• 2014 (Regulation 1023/2013 [4])
For a summary of stated intentions and real outcomes of those two reforms check out: European Court of Auditors, 2019, Special report no 15/2019 [5]: Implementation of the 2014 staff reform package at the Commission – Big savings but not without consequences for staff
'); toolTips('.classtoolTips23','
Contract Agents (CAs) were created by the 2004 Staff Regulations Reform. There are two types of CA: those with unlimited contracts, 3A [6] (‘indefinite’) and those with time-limited contracts [7], 3B [8]. CAs can belong to 4 different function groups (\'GF\') with different responsibilities and salaries [9].
As the use of contract staff becomes increasingly common, there has been a corresponding increase in the diversity of status and pay of the Commission’s workforce. For example, GFIV contract staff meeting the same minimum recruitment requirements (education and experience) as junior administrators may earn 28 % less. (European Court of Auditors, 2019, Special report no 15/2019 [5]: Implementation of the 2014 staff reform package at the Commission – Big savings but not without consequences for staff, point 61, page 34)
We have a working group dedicated to the dossier, and in December 2012 we addressed the first of many letters (\'notes\') about Contract Agents to Human Resources of all Institutions and agencies [10] (here is the cover e-mail [11]).
As a background you can see the report of the Commission to the Council regarding the recruitment of the contract agents in 2010 [12] (in French, COM(2011)802 final 23.11.2011).
Our articles on Contract Agents [13]
'); toolTips('.classtoolTips47','Trade union or staff association (OSP) [Organisation syndicale et professionnelle]');