CRITERIA AND INSTRUMENTS FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF TOP-OFFICIALS IN THE EU- MEMBER STATES AND THE EU-INSTITUTIONS – HOW ETHICAL AND MERITOCRATIC ARE WE IN PRACTICE?

摘要

Purpose – Literature assumes that politicization is increasing in Hrm policies in the public sector.is article will test this claim in the field of appointment procedures for top officials.Aims – e article analyses appointment procedures for top officials in the European Union (EU)member States and EU institutions. it focuses on the ethical dimension of appointment proceduresand how the different administrations and appointment committees manage conflicts of interest asregards political – (politicisation) and merit-based interests.Design/Approach–earticledrawsonaresearchassignmentfortheEuropeanParliament,followingthe appointment of a former Secretary General of the European Commission in february 2018 and thesubsequentEuropeanOmbudsmanenquiryandfindingofmaladministration. eresearchisbasedonacriticalreviewoftheexistingliteratureontheappointmentoftop-officials,theassessmentofEuropeanCommission and European Ombudsman documents, the review of appointment procedures in otherinternational,EuropeanandnationalorganisationsandinterviewswithcivilservantsininternationalandEuropean organisations, the EU institutions, and EU member States.Findings – e article finds that appointment procedures are highly opaque. Politicisation remainsa complex challenge but can be attenuated if positions are published and committees improve themanagement of conflicts of interest.Limitations – Because of the – often – complex nature of top-officials appointment procedures, it isdifficult to get access to “real life facts”. Also in the case of appointment procedures in the EuropeanCommission, we were confronted with opaque decision-making processes and found it difficult toget a real picture of processes.Practical Implications – e findings of this survey were presented to EU decision-makers andofficials from various EU institutionsOriginality–Still,thisstudyisbasedon–sofar–unofficialdocumentsanddatathatmadeitpossibleto get access to so far disclosed information.