ENISA hosts the Assembly of Agency Staff Committees (AASC) meeting
On 7-8 May, ENISA hosted to the twice-yearly meeting of the Assembly of Agency Staff Committees (AASC). The Assembly, set up in 2001, brings together staff representatives from 23 EU Agencies and assimilated bodies.
Published on May 08, 2009
The Agencies tasks are as diverse as those of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) ‘OHIM’ in Alicante; the European Medicines Agency in London, the European Aviation Safety Agency in Cologne, etc. As a decentralized part of the EU administration, the Agencies focus on specific tasks, and have more than 4,000 European Union staff. Their staff representatives created AASC as a platform for information exchange and as an instrument to create common positions to be voiced vis-a-vis the central institutions in Brussels. Moreover, they ensure that the staff of the Agencies have their rightful place within the European Civil Service.
The Secretary of the Assembly meeting, Mr Gregor Schneider of OHIM, commented:
‘The good ambiance in ENISA has inspired discussions and helped the participants to obtain different views and perspectives to better our activities and support to staff members in EU bodies all over Europe.’
The AASC meeting featured a guest speaker; Mr Professor Blanpain, who is a renowned labour law expert from the University of Leuven. Mr Blanpain analysed the employment models of the Agencies against the background of international labour law.