Brussels Wants 2,500 Additional Positions, But Won't Say Why

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has repeatedly pledged to reduce EU bureaucracy since her re-election in 2024, including a promise last spring to cut corporate red tape by a third. However, her administration is now requesting 2,500 additional service positions across all EU institutions, with over two-thirds allocated to the Commission itself.

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We have made simplification a priority.

This move appears contradictory to the stated goals of deregulation. While the Commission is reviewing the Green Deal, suspending parts of EU law like the packaging regulation, and reducing reporting requirements, its administrative arm is seeking significant staff expansion. "Die Presse" inquired about the specific areas within the Commission facing personnel shortages and where staff could be saved through deregulation, but received an insufficient response. A Commission spokesperson stated they had "no further information to share at this time."

The administration's justification for the increased staffing centers on the new tasks arising from recent crises, such as the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, trade issues with the U.S., data protection rules, and cyber-attacks. Internal documents reveal that 33 positions were reassigned to manage the Safe military armament program, and 10 additional staff were needed for the Digital Market Act. The trade directorate also required personnel for implementing new trade agreements.

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We currently have no further information on this topic to share.

Historically, the EU Commission faced a 5% staff reduction between 2014 and 2020, totaling 1,254 positions. The current budget framework (2021-2027) maintained staff numbers due to a lack of additional funding, leading to what EU Commissioner Piotr Serafin described as an "extremely painful process" of reallocating staff between directorates to temporarily fill gaps.

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The EU administration has had to handle new tasks due to the crises of recent years.

Despite the perception of an inflated bureaucracy, only about 7% of the EU's budget is allocated to its own administration. The Commission currently employs 33,000 people to implement and oversee regulations for 450 million citizens and 32 million businesses, acting as the guardian of EU treaties and the EU budget. The article notes that large cities like Berlin, Paris, and Vienna employ significantly more staff proportionally.

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This was a reduction of 1254 positions.