The Europeanization of Civil Services and Human Resources (HR) Policies

Abstract

Generally, politics should not try to form the character or cultivate the virtue of its employees, for to do so would be to legislate morality (Sandel, 2005). However, things are different regarding state employment. Here, for a long time all political groups shared the idea that governments should not be neutral, but instead should interfere strongly in employment issues. State employment as such was loaded with moral discussions and the need to have neutral, loyal, and impartial state servants. The purpose of a specific civil status and working conditions was also to achieve fairness and equity, to implement the merit principle, and to protect public employees against arbitrary administrative decisions.