The government has begun the process of scaling back the UK civil service presence in Brussels by announcing that it will be up to individual departments to fund seconded staff, and decide if there is a business case for them to remain working in Europe.
As many as 50 staff were abruptly told they will no longer be funded centrally by the Foreign Office-funded EU staffing unit.
The unit established in 2013 has been responsible for encouraging UK civil servants to work either permanently or on secondment for the European Commission and its institutions, and so spread UK influence across European institutions.
The unilateral announcement means as many as 50 UK staff currently seconded from Whitehall may find the terms of their contracts in Brussels torn up. They have been told they will no longer work under EU staffing unit terms, but instead those of the department that first sponsored them to go to Brussels.
Staff were told at a surprise meeting that the abolition of the cross-government central unit meant that each individual department – Treasury, Defence, International Development and Home Office – would now be responsible for salaries and any cost of living allowances. The decision is to be back-dated to July this year.
The new uncertainty is an additional concern for UK staff who do not know if their contracts will be cut short as a result of Brexit, or when they will be expected to return to London.
A source said: “This short-sighted move typifies the lack of foresight of this new administration. We will lose valuable insight and experience at a stroke.
“No thought has been given to the duty of care towards staff. Added to the ongoing uncertainty for seconded national experts – many of whom play a key role in their Commission Directorate Generals or the European External Action Service – we now have this.
“It smacks of weakness and no overall central policy – leaving it to departments to decide whether to foot the bill. Staff now find themselves individually having to renegotiate their contracts with no certainty of resolution.”
The staffing unit was set up under the control of the foreign office as part of an effort to increase UK influence at a time when the number of British officials working in the Commission was in decline.
The Cabinet Office confirmed that each government department will have to make a business decision on whether to keep staff in Brussels and on what terms.
A government spokesman said “a minority of temporary secondments to the EU were funded centrally in the past. From now on, all UK secondments to the EU will be funded directly by government departments without being routed centrally.
“We will continue to play our full role in the EU up until the very moment we leave. The EU staffing unit will continue to play a role in supporting British staff working in the EU institutions.”
