MEMBERSHIP OF THE EUROPEAN INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Dr Philip von Brockdorff, Director, Staff Development Organisation in the Management and Personnel Office, Office of the Prime Minister, has today signed the Cooperation Agreement with the European Institute of Public Administration in Maastricht, Netherlands. As a result of this agreement, the Public Service, through the Staff Development Organisation, has now become a member of the leading European public administration institute.

This membership will enable the Public Service to cooperate in the field of training and research in administrative science and to facilitate the participation of Maltese public officers, lawyers and judges or other experts in EIPA activities.

EIPA is a unique establishment, poised between the training needs of the European institutions, the Member States of the European Union and the countries that have applied for accession. It serves public management and public administrations in their adaptation to the European integration process. Established in Maastricht in 1981 and having two antennae, one in Luxembourg and one in Barcelona, EIPA is a European instrument for training public officials, and it complements and enriches this primary activity through applied research conducted by its scientific staff, and through consultancy for national and regional administrations.

The European dimension is the raison d'etre of the Institute in its main objective of providing training to civil services, and this is also strongly reflected in the way the Institute operates. Its Board of Governors is composed of representatives from the European Commission and the 15 EU Member States, and its Scientific Council consists of Directors of the national schools and institutes of public administration in the Member States and associated members and representatives of applicant and non-member states of the EU which have signed association agreements with EIPA namely Norway, Switzerland, Cyprus, Hungary, Bulgaria and Poland.

Membership of the EIPA, therefore, represents an important step forward in the process leading towards EU membership and this Cooperation Agreement will create a position at EIPA for a Maltese national who will carry out research in areas related to areas of national interest to the EU and Malta and linked to the accession process. The Director, Staff Development Organisation will represent Malta on EIPA's Scientific Council - the Institute's advisory body.

A number of senior officials will shortly attend seminars held at EIPA in Maastricht on various aspects of EU accession/policies. Their attendance is being financed by the European Commission.