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Presentation Council

The General Secretariat of the Council provides support to two institutions :

*The Council of the European Union

*The European Council

The Council of the European Union is made up of a representative of each member state at ministerial level who is able to speak for the government of that member state. It is the main decision making and legislative body of the EU but, in many areas, it shares that role with the European Parliament. The presidency of the Council is held by one of the member states in turn for a period of six months.

The ministers are not present on a permanent basis since they have their role in their respective governments, thus continuity is provided for by ambassadors who meet in the Permanent Representatives committee known by its French acronym COREPER. COREPER prepares the decisions of the Council.

The European Council is made up of the Heads of State or Government of the 28 member states. It gives impetuous and direction to the other European institutions. It is presided over by Donald Tusk (with a two and a half year term of office), it meets at least four times a year but, in practice, much more frequently.

Approximately three thousand civil servants and other agents assist the Council of the European Union and the European Council under the authority of the Secretary General.

The Council section of the Union Syndicale Brussels is led by the seven members of the executive committee elected directly by the members in the Council Secretariat.

If you need more information about our actions within the Council, please upload our leaflet in your language :

BG ; CS ; DA ; DE ; EL ; EN ; ES ; ET ; FI ; FR ; GA ; HR ; HU ; IT ; LT ; LV ; MT ; NL ; PL ; PT ; RO ; SK ; SL ; SV.

archives / tracts / newsletters

  • Record of Disagreement between the Council of the EU and the Trade Unions of the Framework Agreement of 28 March 2006 (only in EN)
    • US Flash October 2023 on Certification, JSIS rules and the value of giving the power of attorney, The Picard case – What does it mean for GSC staff?, and Why Union Syndicale is the leading union in the European civil service!
    • September 2023 US Flash September
    • US Flash June 2023 on Lost promotion possibilities, Flexitime – Chronogestor replaced by… yes: Sysper, A new internal competition for AST1 and AST2 will be published soon, USF Congress – the four-day week, and low salaries, and The value of our publications.
    • June 2023, For the second time in its history, the ‘Method’ for updating our salaries and pensions, which was devised by Union Syndicale and introduced as a result of battles fought over more than 40 years by the staff of the institutions, in particular at the Council, has resulted this year in an intermediate update.
    • US Flash May 2023 on how We need a radical reform of our reporting system, Problems at EPSO, Social dialogue at the GSC, When are a child’s studies considered finished?, Recruitment policy and Excessive workload.
    • US Flash January 2023 includes Representativeness of trade unions: Union Syndicale above 60 %, Carry-over of annual leave, Place your bets now! The staff appraisal season has started!, Uniforms, and Contribution to sustainable mobility.
    • January 2023, Note to the Secretary-General regarding the review of Decision 58/2021 about sustainable mobility contribution for staff travel.
    • 10 octobre 2022 : Union Syndicale welcomes the appointment of our colleague Thérèse Blanchet to the post of Secretary-General of the Council. A woman, for the first time!
    • Mobility after the pandemic: reimbursement of public transport costs (or not?). The Unions have been in discussions with our administration concerning the reimbursement of public transport costs since 2020.
    • US-Flash September 2022 includes ‘Lost’ promotions, Overtime / standby / Flexitime, A new reform of the Staff Regulations?, A hollowed-out GSC, and some good news from the Court.
    • 8 September 2022: A letter to Didier SEEUWS, Acting Secretary-general and William SHAPCOTT, Acting Secretary-general, regarding concerns about what has become an intolerably heavy workload across the GSC. The pressure on colleagues has grown, with no parallel increase in staff numbers – in stark contrast to the continuing rise in staffing levels at the European Parliament. The accumulation of international crises has further aggravated the situation. Irritation and exhaustion have increased, with harmful effects on staff health (illness and burnout).
    • 27 July 2022 : AD Internal Competition – Support for candidates. Union Syndicale is offering a good grounding to candidates at all stages of the selection procedure.
    • US Flash June 2022 includes workload, Internal competitions, + 2,4 % intermediate adjustment in 2022 due to high inflation. Telework ‘from abroad’ and Join Union Syndicale!
    • June 2022, HR & You recently informed us that ‘pursuant to the Staff Regulations and based on data from Eurostat, an intermediate indexation (update) of salaries of 2.4% will take effect as from 1 January 2022.
    • March 2022, Union Syndicale Fédérale, PSI and EPSU are appealing for solidarity with the workers and people of Ukraine in setting up Ukraine Solidarity Fund.
    • February 2022, The Method for adapting salaries and pensions is based on a combination of changes to the purchasing power of national civil servants, as well as changes to the cost of living in Belgium and Luxembourg. Inflation is currently at record levels. How will our salaries be adjusted?
    • US Flash January 2022 includes The staff appraisal season has started, 2021 certification, Reimbursement of public transport costs, and Endangered species: the EU official.
  • 14 December 2021 : The Method over the years. 2021 Update 1,9 %: That was no windfall.
  • November 2021, Salary and pensions updates, the Method in 2021: lost ground still not made up.
  • US Flash October 2021  on Reimbursement of public transport costs, The GSC Coronavirus measures – how do they measure up?, and The unexpected renaming of COPEC.
  • US Flash August 2021 includes Summer: the holiday and promotions season, Tax allowances, Reimbursements – public transport costs, Internal competitions, and European Parliament open competition for linguists.
  • US Flash May 2021 on AD rotation, Disagreement on external recruitment, Teleworking from abroad — Order T-12/21, and The election of the Staff Committee – Union Syndicale / FFPE say THANK YOU.
  • 05 May 2021 : Telework from Abroad
  • March 2021 : A social, inclusive and greener council ; Green(er), more social canteens selling quality food at affordable prices; Staff members looking after a person with a disability; Crèches and childcare facilities;  Sports and Leisure Centre; Health insurance; Carry-over of annual leave; European Schools; Further strengthening of the GSC’s anti-harassment policy through tackling psychosocial risks; Sustainable mobility; Green Council (waste, water, paper, energy);
  • 15 January 2021 : Review of recruitment procedures – profound disagreement persists. the Appointing Authority continues to refuse Union Syndicale’s two main demands.
  • US Flash December 2020 includes Public transport, Recruitment, Post-recruitment probationary periods, Carry-over of leave, Personal data, and Adjustment of salaries, allowances and pensions 2020
  • 24 November 2020 : The Method in 2020: the exception clause. Since 2015, salary and pensions updates have once again been ensuring that our pay develops in parallel with that of civil servants in the Member States. Past data has shown us that this parallel development is broadly in line with inflation in the long term. This year, however, this parallel development is postponed: owing to the crisis caused by COVID-19, the exception clause applies for the first time.
  • 11 November 2020 :  COVID-19 and our salaries. What exactly will happen?
  • 10 November 2020: In the Corona-update of 6 November, Mr Shapcott announced that the exceptional rules for telework from aboard would again be applicable until 31 January 2021, with retroactive effect from 4 September 2020. So these are the same rules as during the first lock-down. Union Syndicale says: THANK YOU !
  • US Flash September 2020 on Deconfinement and telework, in particular telework from abroad, Promotions in 2020, Public transport, Electoral rules, Recruitment, and 2020 adjustment of salaries and pensions.
  • 29 July 2020 : A big thank you to all those who worked the 4 days and 4 nights on what turned out to be a marathon European summit last week, indeed the longest running summit on record.
  • June 2020 : Good news on support for people with disabilities
  • 9 June 2020 : Note to the President of Coreper and the Secretaries-General of the Council and the Commission regarding amended proposal for the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) 2021-2027.
  • 29 April 2020 : A letter to the attention of Mr Charles Michel, President of the European Council, and of the Staff of the General Secretariat of the Council regarding Europe and Social Media. Europe is going through an unprecedented crisis. “Fake news” is spreading rapidly, irreparably undermining the morale of our fellow citizens, and jeopardising the reputation and the very essence of the European project.
  • US Flash January 2019 includes a poem about Sysper, Sysper and other MIPSs, 360° the initial phase of “evaluation-which-is-not-an-evaluation”, Reform of the reporting / promoting system, Contract and Temporary Staff, Preventive Medicine, and Some news from the court.
  • 18 December 2017 : Flexitime consultation (phase 2), dedication and solidarity, but no real social dialogue.
  • 26 November 2018 : Open letter to the Secretary-General Mr Jeppe TRANHOLM-MIKKELSEN regarding the refusal of power transefr;  NO to the transfer of powers from the Appointing Authority to the PMO and to the inappropriate alignment of our internal rules and practices with those of the Commission.
  • 12 July 2018 : Promotions 2018: Within the Staff Committee, Union Syndicale experts regularly analyse the figures proposed by the administration for promotions and strive to achieve the best possible outcome for staff. This year, they have managed to improve SC officials’ prospects a great deal
  • 16 November 2017 : Flexitime Consultation (second phase); A Rather Laborious Start.
  • US Flash October 2017 includes Dga3 – outsourcing against the odds, Jobs for the boys and other ‘creative’ solutions, Flexitime, and a reminder on our training courses as well as helpdesk services insurance.
  • 03 October 2017 : Reports / promotions: what if… ? Do you have any idea of the amount of energy expended each year on drawing up staff reports for GSC staff or of the number of working hours spent each year on interview preparation, interviews, consultations, report writing, comments, corrections and amendments? All this is done for the sake of the promotions procedure – an unpredictable, opaque and often unjust lottery and an inexhaustible source of frustration and tensions that demotivates at least as many deserving colleagues as it motivates.
  • 7 September 2017 : Flexitime: On 1 October the new Flexitime system will arrive at the Council, as a result of the agreement between the unions and the Secretary General during the second phase of the consultation procedure. What will change for us all?
  • 14 July 2015: Euro Summit July 2015. Enough is enough! Sunday’s Euro Summit was only the latest in a long series of summits and other exceptional events to have taken place since the beginning of this year. For General Secretariat staff, little distinguishes each new crisis from the one that preceded it. There is no end to the “unusual working hours” required to keep pace with the negotiations.

NEWS

WE DID IT !
Editor
We did it! Hundreds marched for locally recruited teachers’ rights! In solidarity with the Christian trade union ACV Puls/CSC CNE centrale, Union Syndicale together with teachers at the European Schools…
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