One of the least common questions I get is about the role of the Sec-Gen. Fortunately, most lobbyists ignore them, and focus on the Services, even when the issue is politically sensitive. I hope it remains the case.
In their own words “The Secretariat-General is at the heart of the European Commission as an institution and of its civil service. Under the authority of the President, it serves the whole College, oversees the implementation of the European Commission’s political priorities and ensures the collegiality, the consistency, the efficiency and the regularity of the Commission’s action.” I see them as the President’s storm-troopers enforcing the gospel of Better Regulation.
It is the main service of the President of the Commission. As such, it serves a similar role to the Chancellor’s Office in Berlin or the Cabinet Office in London. There is a clear esprit de corps amongst this elite cadre of officials.
The head of the Secretariat-General, the Secretary-General, is the Head of the Commission Civil Service. Until recently, the Secretary-General, like most Heads of Civil Services, was not a public figure or well known to the press. They head a Commission department of around 649 officials.
Traditionally, the Secretary-General is not the same nationality as the President of the Commission. A new President can exercise who the Secretary-General is. The procedure for the appointment of the Secretary-General is explained here. Today, the acting Secretary-General is Ilze Juhansone (link).
Role of the SG
The roles and work carried out by the SG is immense and includes:
- First and foremost their role is to deliver the President’s priorities.
- “Ensure smooth running of the Commission.
- Support and advise the three Executive Vice Presidents and the Vice-Presidents
- Defines the Commission’s strategic objectives and priorities and shapes crosscutting policies.
- Coordinates, facilitates, advises and arbitrates, so as to ensure the coherence, quality and delivery of policy, legislation and operations across policy areas and Commission departments, in line with the better regulation principles and evidence-based policymaking.
- Facilitates the smooth running of the Commission through planning and programming and the operation of an efficient and modern registry.
- Acts as the Commission’s interface with the other European institutions, national Parliaments and non-governmental organisations and entities.
- Supports the President of the Commission as member of the European Council and participant in Leaders’ meetings and other informal summits.
- Supports the Vice-Presidents in their tasks, including the management of the Groups of Commissioners and Project Teams, and helps to ensure that, as provided for in the Commission’s Working Methods, Vice-Presidents are able to draw on any service in the Commission whose work is relevant for their area of responsibility.
- Acts, together with the Cabinet of the President, as the guardian of fairness, objectivity, transparency and efficiency in the relationship between Vice-Presidents, between Vice-Presidents and Commissioners and between Commissioners.
- Fosters the Commission’s institutional competences, good governance and the development of a service oriented, modern, transparent and responsible EU administration which works to highest standards of ethics and integrity.”
You can get more information from the Annual Report here.
Observations
The Secretariat-General is also at the heart of the Commission’s corporate governance structure. The first role, delivering the President’s agenda, can lead to tensions with their other duties.
Supporting the President’s agenda is demanding enough. Now, the SG also serve the Executive Vice-Presidents and the Vice-Presidents. There is an obvious tension in serving the various interests of more than one Vice-President, especially if the Vice-President has different ideas.
This division has implications. It is unclear whose interests this powerful cadre e act in? President, Secretary-General, Executive Vice-President or Vice-President? How can provide a recommendation when there is disagreement within the College?
Working with
You will need to deal with the SG. If you ignore them, you choose to bypass the key department in the Commission.
If you engage, you need to understand that their role is different from the Commission Services.
First, it is vital that you provide the SG with substance and not spin. They are evidence-driven. If you don’t have first-class evidence to support your case, don’t go to them. They’ll not be interested in the more provincial issues that permeate some Commission departments. Don’t waste their time.
Second, they have a particular eye on procedural and substantive errors by Commission departments. For example, tabling a proposal for inter-service consultation without political validation. It is important to be clear and granular as to any non-adherence with the Better Regulation guidelines. Even today, some Commission Departments act as if they are unaware of the Commission’s own rule book. Don’t selectively quote the rules.
Third, they safeguard the President’s agenda, so the SG will ensure that the spirit of the Political Guidelines is followed. Unilateral policy or legislative action by Commissioners or Commission Departments out of sync with the Political Guidelines should be highlighted. Memorise the Political Guidelines for the next 5 years. They are your speaking notes or keywords going forward.
Fourth, it is vital to bring significant real issues to them. If your issue is not objectively ‘significant’, don’t bring it to them. To be clear, most issues are not objectively ‘significant’.
Finally, although rare, on some files, the SG will take the matter out of the hands of the Services, and steer the file through adoption. This happens on sensitive files or when the lead Service seems unable, or unwilling, to steer the adoption of the proposal through.