ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM: NEIL KINNOCK PRESSES COUNCIL TO SPEED UP PROCEEDINGS.

Eighty-seven of 98 measures have been approved and implementation shows first benefits of reform. Worth noting is the significant improvements the Commission has made in times for payments to contractors. A major achievement to date includes the marked improvement in Commission services' ability to meet payment deadlines. The average in 2002 was 43.7 days, compared with 54 days in 1999 and the standards now compare favourably with those in large private-sector organisations. The Commission will continue this sustained effort to speed up payments whilst encouraging necessary arrangements for prudence in administration. Major modernising action has been undertaken in financial management and control, in resource planning and programming, and in many aspects of staff policy. A lot of the reform benefits are becoming evident only gradually but the progress made to take advantage of these has been achieved, according to Mr Kinnock. As for staff policy, the large majority of reform initiatives that can be achieved under the existing staff regulations have been finalised and are being implemented in the Commission. For example, the new appraisal and promotion system came into operation on January 1, 2003. The Commission has fulfilled its undertaking to ensure the mobility of senior managers. The reform focus will now be on finalising the negotiations in Council on the...