Since 2004 the European Union has massively increased in population, number of Member States and languages, and has further expanded its activities in various domains too. In order to cope with this new challenge, the Commission’s administration has increased its staff albeit not in direct proportion to the population increase, thus striking a wise balance between new duties and the budgetary possibilities.

The budgetary effort, though, took a very heavy toll on all newcomers, those who now must sadly bear the labels Generation 2004 and Generation 2014 staff. Our salary conditions, pension perspectives, career structure, precariousness of working status and very reasonable fringe pre-2004 benefits were affected adversely by two subsequent reforms of the staff regulations in 2004 and 2014. Continue reading DG TRANSLATION: Kids of a lesser god or just the preview of the EC of the future? →

As mentioned in our communication sent at the beginning of April, Generation 2004 is disappointed by the outcome of the Conciliation meeting that took place on 6 April to discuss the General Implementing Rules of the staff regulations for Contract Agents. You might wonder why we give so much importance to these negotiations. After all, one could argue that they are only about implementing rules, not about the future of the EU civil service. However, we do see a direct link here, because we sense this is part of a silent revolution that replaces more and more permanent officials with Contract Agents so that according to our estimates by 2030 non-permanent staff with precarious contracts will represent more than half of all the staff of the institutions. The most striking data about this creeping change come from the annual reports of our sickness scheme (the latest one covering the year 2015 – available on demand). Continue reading CA Dossier: Is the current situation sustainable? →