Dr. Meyer-Sahling makes a key note presentation on civil service reform challenges in the Western Balkan countries "Civil Service Professionalisation in the Western Balkans". His background SIGMA paper No.48 can be found on www.sigmaweb.org

1. © OECD
A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
CIVIL SERVICE PROFESSIONALISATION IN
THE EUROPEAN EASTERN
NEIGHBOURHOOD
Civil Service Professionalisation in the Western Balkans
Jan Meyer-Sahling
School of Politics & IR
University of Nottingham
Tbilisi, 4-5 November 2014

2. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Questions and relevance
• SIGMA Nr 48 on civil service professionalisation in
the Western Balkans
 To what extent do civil service systems ‘fit’ the
European principles of administration?
 What drives professionalisation?
 To what extent is professionalisation sustainable?
• Relevance
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3. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Approach
• European principles of administration
 Legal principles embodied in European Administrative Space
(SIGMA 1998, 1999)
 No acquis requirement, no clearly defined model
 EU minimum standards for civil service reform derived from
EC and SIGMA reports
• Assess ‘degree of fit’ with European principles
 Depth of institutionalisation (cf. levels)
• Formal rules
• Rule implementation (cf. management practices)
• Rule internalisation (attitudes towards European
principles of administration)
 Width of institutionalisation (cf. domains)
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4. Domain Relevant EU civil service policy standards
Reform programmes Presence of PAR programme, including civil service, fit with
A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
3
European principles
Civil service law Civil service law, clear scope
Central Management Central management body with ‘sufficient’ capacity
Recruitment Public adverts, standardised, written exams, de-politicised
selection commissions, appeal
Civil service tenure Protection from discretionary dismissal, stability
Senior civil service De-politicisation of senior level, merit promotion
Performance
management
Fair and transparent performance evaluation
Salaries Transparent, predictable salaries, minimisation of
discretion, adequate salary levels
Training Training infrastructure, programmes, participation
Integrity
management
Conflict of interest regulation (political and business), code
of ethics, asset declarations, discipline

5. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Data
1) Country background studies
2) Missions to Western Balkans and Brussels
3) ‘Expert’ survey
 General and sectoral responses
4) Web-based survey of ministerial civil servants
 N=3838
 Alb (705), Cro (1316), Kosovo* (129), fyROM (220),
Mon (256), Ser (805), BiH-State (230), BiH-Fed (343), RS
(54)
 Comparison with selected CEECs, Poland (1147) and
Latvia (639)
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on
the Kosovo declaration of independence.
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6. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
General findings
• Formal rules
 Moderate to high degree of fit
 No major variation across countries
Need for upgrading and fine-tuning
• Rule implementation
 High degree of rule application BUT low degree of rule
effectiveness
 Some cross-country variation but no champion
Shift attention to implementation!
• Rule internalisation
 High support for merit-based principles
 Growing support for managerial flexibility
Invest in education to learn European principles
5

7. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Example: Civil service laws & merit reforms
Civil service law* Written examination
Croatia (1994, 2001) 2005 Compulsory
Serbia 2005 Optional
BH State 2002 Compulsory
BH Federation 2003 Compulsory
BH Rep Srpska 2003 Compulsory
Montenegro 2004 Compulsory
Kosovo* 2010 Optional
Macedonia** 2000 Compulsory
Albania 1999 Compulsory
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8. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Discussion: Explaining successful
institutional reform
• Small number of failed attempts after ‘first’
transition (early 1990s)
• Successful passage of civil service reform after
‘second’ transition
 Priority of new democratic governments
 Prime ministerial support
 Central civil service agencies with political support
 Support from EU, Sigma and other IOs
 EU conditionality & context of fifth enlargement
• Enlargement fatigue and loss of momentum since
around 2005 (with exceptions)
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9. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
General findings
• Formal rules
 Moderate to high degree of fit
 No major variation across countries
Need for upgrading and fine-tuning
• Rule implementation
 High degree of rule application BUT low degree of
rule effectiveness
 Some cross-country variation but no champion
Shift attention to implementation!
• Rule internalisation
 High support for merit-based principles
 Growing support for managerial flexibility
Invest in education to learn European principles 8

10. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Re-thinking implementation
• Implementation as ‘compliance’
 Focus on ‘application of formal rules’
• Towards ‘quality’ of implementation
 From compliance to ‘outcomes’ of implementation
 From rule application to ‘rule effectiveness’
• Basic model
 Enactment of formal rules => application of formal
rules => outcome of rule application
• Example: Merit recruitment
 Formal requirement to pass written examination =>
conduct written exams in practice => select best
and brightest candidate, political contacts irrelevant
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11. Rule application vs rule effectiveness:
Recruitment in the Western Balkans
Percentage of respondents who agree
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
0.7
0.49
0.49
Written examination are taken
Recruitment based on merit
Political parties place supporters in
ministries
A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU

12. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Quality of implementation:
‘Senior civil service’ between merit exams and persistent patronage
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Country
Written
examinations
passed (median)
Political contacts
determine selection
(median)
Quality score
(max 25)
Kosovo 30-50% 50-70% 4.2
Serbia 50-70% 50-70% 4.2
BIH-Federation 70-90% 70-90% 5.0
Montenegro 70-90% 70-90% 5.1
BIH-Rep Srpska 70-90% 70-90% 5.1
Albania 70-90% 70-90% 5.1
Macedonia 70-90% 70-90% 5.7
BIH-State 70-90% 50-70% 7.7
Croatia 70-90% 50-70% 8.6
Lithuania 70-90% 10-30% 16.5

13. Rule application vs rule effectiveness:
Performance evaluation & promotion
Percentage of respondents who agree
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
0.94
0.46
0.62
Performance evaluation at least once per
year
Performance evaluation fair and
transparent
Promotion based on political connections
A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU

14. Rule application vs rule effectiveness:
Salary management
Percentage of respondents who agree
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
0.82
0.15
0.26
Salary scales are applied
Good performance is rewarded with higher
salary level
Receive adequate salary
A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU

15. Rule application vs rule effectiveness:
Integrity management
Percentage of respondents who agree
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
0.63
0.38
Application of code of conduct
Favourable treatment of social groups and
businesses is common
A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU

16. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Discussion: Why is the quality of
implementation low?
• To start with
 Application of rules is better than no application… BUT
• Drivers and obstacles of rule effectiveness
 Quality of civil service regulation
 Quality of leadership in the civil service
 Political interference
 Socio-economic context
• Ethnic heterogeneity, education, economic
development
 International organisations
• Focus on reforms and regulations
• General lack of good indicators and evaluations
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17. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
General findings
• Formal rules
 Moderate to high degree of fit
 No major variation across countries
 Need for upgrading and fine-tuning
• Rule implementation
 High degree of rule application BUT low degree of
rule effectiveness
 Some cross-country variation but no champion
 Shift attention to implementation!
• Rule internalisation
 High support for merit-based principles
 Growing support for managerial flexibility 16

18. Attitudes of civil servants in the Western Balkans:
Support for European principles
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
0.11
0.84
0.9
0.9
0.9
0.91
0.93
A civil service law is un-necessary for the
regulation of personnel management in the
ministerial bureaucracy
All civil servants should be subject to a regular
formal performance evaluation.
It is desirable that candidates for a vacancy in
the civil service pass a written examination
before taking on their job.
Promotions to higher positions should be strictly
on the basis of performance
Regular participation in training should be
mandatory for all civil servants
It is desirable that all job vacancies are publicly
advertised.
It is desirable that recruitment policy is based on
the principle of always selecting the best and
brightest!

19. Attitudes of civil servants in the Western Balkans:
Contested principles
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
0.34
0.39
0.43
0.61
0.62
0.63
0.75
0.84
0.51
Directors of departments should have the
freedom to fire staff who perform poorly.
Personnel management is best organised by
individual ministries.
Recruitment policy should aim at the
proportional representation of ethnic groups in…
Directors must have discretion to pay bonuses in
order to reward good performance
Civil service unions should play an influential
role in the management of the civil service
Officials need more guidance on integrity in the
performance of their roles as public servants.
Salaries should be linked to general, civil-service-
wide scales
Pay for performance is a good principle for the
reward of civil servants.
I know the 'European principles of
administration'.

20. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Discussion: Explaining the contestation
of (some) European principles
• Dissatisfaction with reforms
 Reforms of the early 2000s did not deliver –
expectations were (too) high
• New generation of politicians
 Electoral benefits of ‘bureaucracy bashing’
• New generation of civil servants
 Young civil servants are more managerial
 Limited knowledge of European principles
• Consultants
 Impact and ideas vary a lot (inconsistency)
• International trend (catching up with West?)
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21. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Dissatisfaction with reforms: ‘The civil service system
in my country is in need of fundamental reform’
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63.20%
62.70%
59.30%
52.60%
81.30%
77.00%
72.50%
87.40%
Kosovo
BiH Federation
Serbia
Croatia
Montenegro
BiH State
Albania
BiH Rep Srpska
0.00% 25.00% 50.00% 75.00% 100.00%

22. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Is the young generation more managerial? Age-related
preference for ‘freedom to fire staff’
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36.10%
33.20%
36.40%
40.40%
39.40%
33.80%
48.00%
46.80%
44.40%
under 25
26 - 30
31 - 35
36 - 40
41 - 45
46 - 50
51 - 55
56 - 60
over 60
0.00% 10.00% 20.00% 30.00% 40.00% 50.00% 60.00%

23. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Towards a conclusion
• Significant progress …
• … significant weaknesses:
• Is the glass half full? Or half empty?
Compare Western Balkans to new member
states of Central and Eastern Europe
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24. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Comparison to CEECs
• More variation in CEECs
 No case similar to Baltic States, esp Lithuania as
regional champion
 Broad similarities with Central European states
• Compared to CE-5
 WB with higher legal fit
 WB with higher degree of rule application
 CEECs with similarly weak rule effectiveness
 CEECs even more managerial in attitudes
• CEECs in 2000 vs WB in 2010
 WB more advanced
 CEECs reforms unsustainable after EU accession 23

25. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Conclusions
• State of play
 Significant reform progress
 Poor quality of implementation as key characteristic of
civil service in Western Balkans
 Growing contestation of European principles as
proposed by EC and Sigma
• What next?
 ‘European Initiative for Better Governance’
 Shift of focus to quality of implementation
 Invest in evidence-based evaluations (‘thick’ indicators
rather than off-the-shelf numbers)
 Invest in education and communication (persuasion
rather than over-reliance on conditionality and short-term
thinking)
• Civil servants, politicians, public 24

26. A joint initiative of the OECD and the European Union,
principally financed by the EU
Thank you
Jan Meyer-Sahling
School of Politics & IR
University of Nottingham
j.meyer-sahling@nottingham.ac.uk
www.meyer-sahling.eu
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