The Secretary of State for Territorial Policy and Civil Service, Victor Francos, announced yesterday at the informal meeting of EU public administration ministers that Spain supports Portugal’s proposal to launch a pilot programme for the exchange of public employees and employees.
Spain will participate with Portugal in the initiative, so that employees and public employees of Spain with intermediate positions will be able to carry out their tasks in Portugal and vice versa. France and Slovenia will also participate in this pilot programme.
The aim is to share knowledge, as well as learning experiences and good practices, promoting a Europe geared to the culture of public service and strengthening the spirit of European citizenship.
Francos, who spoke in a telematic way on behalf of Minister Iceta, highlighted the value of the human capital of public administrations and referred to the Human Resources Strategy of the European Commission. It has defended geographical balance in “essential” recruitment policy and has advocated addressing this issue always within the principles laid down in the Treaties: non-discrimination on grounds of nationality, merit, transparency and equal access for all nationals.
The Secretary of State for Territorial Policy and Public Service has also mentioned the process of modernization towards the Administration needed by the society of the twenty-first century and the effort to capture talent in Spain.
In this respect, he referred to the ageing of the workforce. Over a decade, more than half of the staff of the General Administration of the State will be retired and staff under 40 years of age represent 12 per cent of the total staff of the General Administration of the State.
For this reason, he has defended the Talent Recruitment Plan at the AGE in which the Ministry works. It promotes public administration as an attractive option for new generations entering the labour market.
Finally, he thanked Spain for taking into account its observations in the Ministerial Meeting conclusions.