The European Commission (EC) is expected to abandon plans to hire around 2,500 new staff and increase administrative spending at a time when member states are calling for budgetary discipline. Ministers from nine European Union countries, including the Czech Republic and Austria, stated this in a letter to Budget Commissioner Piotr Serafin, TASR reports, according to a Friday report by the Politico portal.
- The European Commission plans to hire 2,500 new employees.
- Ministers of nine countries sharply criticized this plan.
- They emphasized the need for efficiency and budgetary discipline.
- The cost of new officials would be 1.4 billion euros.
Criticism of the plans of the European Commission
Ministers praised the EC’s intention to streamline the future EU multiannual budget, known as the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF). At the same time, they criticize the EC’s request for additional funds for new employees and the expansion of administrative capacity. The total cost of around 2,500 new officials over the period 2028-2034 would amount to around 1.4 billion euros, according to ministers.
They emphasized that they expect ambitious and quantified proposals from the EC, including a proposal for an EU administrative system corresponding to current challenges. “In this context, the proposed increase of 2,500 jobs (in the EC) as well as the overall significant increase in spending in Chapter 4 (administration) is contrary to the declared goals of efficiency, restraint and reforms and threatens to weaken the credibility of the broader MFF proposal,” the ministers from Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands claim in the letter.
Budget negotiations
They emphasized that the EC should apply the same principles to itself as it demands from the member states. “The pressure on national governments to increase the efficiency of public spending is increasing. Member states, often at the request of the EC, have responded with tough reforms to increase efficiency, reduce staff and achieve savings,” the letter also states.
Member countries are currently negotiating a new EU long-term budget; The EC presented its original proposal in July 2025. The complex process takes several years and involves the three main institutions of the Union – the EC, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament. At the same time, the EC is conducting a large-scale review of its internal processes with the aim of greater efficiency, Politico reported.
