BUILDING A CIVIL SERVICE FOR EU MEMBERSHIP: DEMOCRACY AND MARKET ECONOMY. Dr. Vidmantas Adomonis

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1 BUILDING A CIVIL SERVICE FOR EU MEMBERSHIP: DEMOCRACY AND MARKET ECONOMY Dr. Vidmantas Adomonis Lithuania Conference on Public Administration Reform and European Integration Budva, March 2009

2 LITHUANIA S CIVIL SERVICE ON ITS WAY TO THE EUROPEAN UNION LITHUANIA ( ) Capital - Vilnius Population approx. 3.5 million Ethnic composition: Lithuanians 84.6 % Poles 6.3 % Russians 5.1 % Official language Lithuanian National currency Litas (1 = 3.45 LTL) National bird White stork Application for accession 8 December 1995 EU accession 1 May 2004

3 EU MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA Geographical criteria and general policy criteria (the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht, Article 49) Political criteria* Economic criteria* Legislative alignment* * European Council Summit, Copenhagen, June 1993 Administrative capacity to apply the Acquis ** ** European Council Summit, Madrid, December 1995

4 MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA REQUIRE that the candidate country must have achieved: stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy, the rule of law, human rights and respect for and protection of minorities the existence of functioning market economy as well as the capacity to cope with the competitive pressure and market forces within the EU the ability to take on the obligations of membership including adherence to the aims of political, economic and monetary union

5 ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITY TO APPLY THE ACQUIS (HORIZONTAL CRITERIA) Professional civil service Well-developed accountability system Clear administrative structures Adequate horizontal management functions

6 ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITY TO APPLY THE ACQUIS (Horizontal criteria) Extracts from Commission Opinion on Lithuania s Application for Membership to the European Union (July 1997): Political independence of the civil service is recognized in Lithuania, although senior positions are not always free of party political influence. 18,000 civil servants are employed by central government. Pay and conditions are well below those in the private sector, leading to low morale and motivation. The framework for a permanent civil service exists. Despite the important progress which has been made, however, further development of the system will be necessary. The Lithuanian public administration is constrained by a lack of experience and resources.

7 ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITY TO APPLY THE ACQUIS (Horizontal criteria) Extracts from Commission Opinion on Lithuania s Application for Membership to the European Union (July 1997): The legal basis for the civil service is adequate. However, it will take sometime for a politically independent civil service fully to develop. The civil service is over-staffed. Reduction in its size would release funds for higher civil service salaries thus preventing high staff turnover and brain drain to the private sector. As in any public administration, some staff are of a high quality. It is difficult to assess the overall standard, but there are clearly deficiencies in many parts of administration. Public confidence in the civil service is not assured.

8 COMMISSION OPINION ON LITHUANIA S APPLICATION FOR MEMBERSHIP TO THE EUROPEAN UNION (July 1997) General evaluation: Lithuania s administrative structures will require a major, reinforced effort of reform if there is to be an adequate capacity in the medium term effectively to administer the Acquis.

9 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION REFORM IN LITHUANIA Law on the Adjustment of Public and Private Interests in the Civil Service enacted on 2 July, 1997 Law on Public Administration enacted on 17 June, 1999* Civil Service Law enacted on 8 July, 1999* Lithuanian Institute of Public Administration established on 25 January, 1999 * PHARE project on administrative reform in Lithuania,

10 EMERGING EUROPEAN ADMINISTRATIVE SPACE Public administration is not subject to community jurisdiction Condition for emergence uniform treatment and compliance of principles, rules, and regulations of public administration Acquis communautaire EU legislation regarding substantive sectoral administrative law Non-formalised Acquis commonly accepted principles of public administration Convergence of principles of public administration in EU member states

11 CONDITIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL & EFFECTIVE CIVIL SERVICE Separation between a public sphere and a private sphere Separation between politics and administration (de-politicisation of the civil service) Development of individual accountability of civil servants Sufficient job security and level of pay Clearly defined duties and rights of civil servants Recruitment and promotion based on merit

12 EUROPEAN PRINCIPLES FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION Reliability and Predictability * The Rule of Law * Legal Competence * Discretion * Proportionality * Timeliness * Professional Integrity (impartiality and professional independence) Openness and Transparency Accountability Efficiency and Effectiveness

13 PRINCIPLES FOR PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN LITHUANIA (Law on Public Administration, 17 June 1999) The rule of law Impartiality Proportionality Legal competence (prohibition against abuse of public powers) Inter-institutional co-operation

14 BASIC PRINCIPLES OF CIVIL SERVANTS ETHICS (Civil Service Law, 23 April 2002) Respect to the Human and the State Equity Unselfishness Decency Impartiality Responsibility Openness and transparency Exemplary behaviour

15 PRE-ACCESSION DEVELOPMENT OF THE CIVIL SERVICE IN LITHUANIA Typical elements of career system (C) Law on Officials 1995 Civil service law 1999 Civil service law 2002 Typical elements of position-based system (P) Recruitment only to entry positions Specific education for a specific career P P P Recruitment also to mid-career jobs C C C Specific skills as requirements for the specific posts Maximum age limit P P P No maximum age limit Training period for beginners P C C No training period at the beginning of the career Probationary period P C P No probation

16 PRE-ACCESSION DEVELOPMENT OF THE CIVIL SERVICE IN LITHUANIA Typical elements of career system (C) Law on Officials, Civil service law, Civil service law, Typical elements of position-based system (P) Formal procedures of recruitment Statutory remuneration scheme Automatic progression in pay, based on seniority No performancerelated pay C C C Recruitment methods same as in the private sector P C C Differentiated or individual pay P C C No automatic seniority based progression in pay C C P Performancerelated pay

17 PRE-ACCESSION DEVELOPMENT OF THE CIVIL SERVICE IN LITHUANIA Typical elements of career system (C) Law on Officials 1995 Civil service law 1999 Civil service law 2002 Typical elements of position-based system (P) Statutory promotion system P C C No set promotion system Permanent tenure P C C Employment on a contractual basis as in the private sector Compulsory inservice training Special statutory pension scheme Disciplinary legislation set by law P C C No compulsory training P C P No special pension scheme P C C No specific regulation for the civil service

18 CAREER VS POSITION-BASED SYSTEM ELEMENTS IN LITHUANIAN LAWS ON CIVIL SERVICE Legal acts Typical elements of career system (C) Typical elements of position-based system (P) Law on Officials, Civil Service Law, * 2 Civil Service Law, ** * Probation, special statutory pension scheme, no performance-related pay ** No probation, no special pension scheme, performance-related pay

19 PRE-ACCESSION DEVELOPMENT OF THE CIVIL SERVICE IN LITHUANIA Elements of the Civil Service Law on Officials, 1995 Civil Service Law, 1999 Civil Service Law, 2002 Scope of the Civil Service All public employees All public employees Only employees holding public authority or state powers Grading of Positions No Yes Yes Recruitment To any position To any position To any position Permanent tenure No Yes Yes Labour Contracts Yes No No Compulsory Training for Beginners No Yes Yes Probationary period No Yes No Remuneration Government resolution Statutory Statutory Seniority No Yes Yes Disciplinary provisions No Yes Yes Pension scheme General General+Special General

20 PRE-ACCESSION DEVELOPMENT OF THE CIVIL SERVICE IN LITHUANIA PHARE project on administrative reform in Lithuania, PHARE project Strengthening Public Administration Services, PHARE project Improvement of Public Service Management,

21 PRE-ACCESSION DEVELOPMENT OF THE CIVIL SERVICE IN LITHUANIA Turnover of staff: About 30 % following the 1996 parliamentary elections About 20 % in 2003* Training of civil servants: Training strategy for , approved by the Government of Lithuania in 2002 * OECD/SIGMA assessment of Lithuania in 2003

22 POST-ACCESSION DEVELOPMENT OF THE CIVIL SERVICE IN LITHUANIA Public Administration Development until 2010 Strategy, approved by the Government of Lithuania in 2004 The Government Programme The Government Programme

23 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION DEVELOPMENT UNTIL 2010 STRATEGY To increase administrative capacities of the civil service: - to organise systemic training of civil servants (Training strategy for , approved by the Government of Lithuania in 2006) - to simplify the procedures and rules of the civil service - to implement a civil service performance control system To improve the image of civil servants

24 GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME To improve the selection of civil servants and the procedures of performance evaluation for civil servants To remove the protectionism in the recruitment to the civil service To avoid the recruitment of persons to the civil service whose assets are not justified by their revenues To abolish all the privileges of civil servants To adopt codes of ethics for politicians, civil servants, and judges with legal and moral responsibilities

25 GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME To prepare a concept paper for the development of the civil service To define the status of persons, who occupy strategic positions To develop an effective motivational system of the civil service based on performance results To introduce partially centralised selection to the civil service To introduce a competence model in the civil service

26 POST-ACCESSION DEVELOPMENT OF THE CIVIL SERVICE IN LITHUANIA Turnover of staff:...in 2006 over 70% of all civil servants had served between 3 and 12 years, and only a small proportion of civil servants had less than 3 years of experience. These are highly unusual figures for this group of countries. *...the average level of dismissed civil servants has been rather low over the past three years. In % of all civil servants were dismissed, 8% in 2005, and 9% in ** * Source: World Banks s report, 2006 ** Source: Civil Service Department s report, 2006

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28 Mr. FRANCISCO CARDONA: Lithuanian bureaucracy is exemplary. In a positive sense. Newsletter Actualities of the Civil Service (in Lithuanian) No 15, Vilnius, January-February 2009

29 FIT WITH EUROPEAN PRINCIPLES OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (Comparison of New Member States) High fit Medium to high fit Medium fit Medium to low fit Low fit Lithuania Latvia Estonia Hungary Slovenia Poland Slovakia Czech Republic Source: Adapted from SIGMA report, 2009 by Jan-Hinrik Meyer- Sahling (University of Nottingham) & Vitalis Nekrošis (Vilnius University) in Modernising the Lithuanian Civil Service, 2009

30 LITHUANIA S ASSESSMENT AGAINST THE PRINCIPLES OF EUROPEAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION (Source: The SIGMA Report, 2009)

31 POLITICIZATION OF THE TOP CIVIL SERVICE Political pendulum in Lithuania (left right) LAW ON THE GOVERNMENT Year Position Status 1990 Deputy minister Political No Secretary of the Ministry No Deputy minister - Secretary/secretaries of the Ministry Political 1996 up to 3 Deputy ministers Political Secretary of the Ministry Career 2002 Deputy minister Political State secretary of the Ministry Career Secretaries of the Ministry Career 2009 up to 4 Deputy ministers Political Chancellor of the Ministry Career

32 CURRENT CHALLENGES FOR THE CIVIL SERVICE OF LITHUANIA Making public administration more efficient by delivering better results with less money Further strengthening of administrative capacities of civil servants linked with EU-decision making and implementation and preparation for EU Presidency in 2013

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34 Mr. FRANCISCO CARDONA: There will never be the best time for the civil service... Newsletter Actualities of the Civil Service (in Lithuanian), No 11, Vilnius, January 2008

35 THANK YOU!.