THE FUTURE OF THE EC DEVELOPMENT BUDGET
Decentralisation of Management and Staffing levels
within the Commission
65. DFID has supported increased decentralisation
of EC operations in its Institutional Strategy Paper: "We
will encourage delegation of decision making to country level,
recognising the need for appropriate staffing and systems to make
delegation work effectively."[124]
Philip Lowe also argued for "a greater effort in simplifying
and decentralising our activities so that decisions on individual
schemes can be taken nearer to where the realities are, on the
ground".[125]
We have, in a previous Report, commented on the need for increased
decentralisation of the EC aid management framework, provided
it is coupled with appropriate safeguards.[126]
Such moves could significantly improve the efficiency with which
the Commission is able to process commitments and complete contracts
and disbursements. We reiterate our previous support for measures
to decentralise the management of EC official development assistance.
66. It was pointed out to us during our visit to
Brussels that the EC had the lowest quota of staff per $million
in its external assistance budget of all donors: one third of
the level of the World Bank's quota and half the average quota
in national administrations of member states.[127]
This was cited as a reason for the inability of the Commission
to disburse its budget efficiently. DFID has argued, however,
that before any increase in the number of staff involved in external
action programmes, the Commission must reorganise its current
staff into a more effective structure and demonstrate an increased
capacity to implement its current budget:[128]
the problem was not the number of staff but their efficiency and
range of expertise.
67. We agree with DFID, that no increase in staffing
levels at the Commission should be approved until the Commission
has carried out a review of its current staffing arrangements
and reallocated its current human resources and mix of skills
so as to improve the effectiveness of its operations.
124 DFID Institutional Strategy Paper on the EC p.7 Back
125 Q130 Back
126 Fourth
Report from the Committee, Session 1997-98, 'The Renegotiation
of the Lomé Convention' HC 365, para 25. Back
127 Annex
p.xxxviii Back
128 QQ
212, 228 Back
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