The Committee Secretariat of the European Parliament: administrative mobility, expertise and keeping the legislative wheels turning

Abstract

This paper offers a novel perspective on the benefits provided by the rotation of administrators within legislative systems, by exploring the Committee Secretariat (CS) of the European Parliament (EP) and their role as a source of information utilised by legislators. Using qualitative interviews, I provide an original outlook on the expertise of the Committee Secretariat after the entrenchment of career mobility practices. I find that the advent of mobility, where administrators are moved into a new position after a set number of years, is altering the culture of the Secretariat away from area specialists and towards greater concentrations of highly adaptable generalists. I provide an account on the functions of mobility and the benefits it provides from encouraging a more encompassing understanding of institutional practices. From gaining a wider knowledge, by working on different committees, administrators may be of greater usefulness to lawmakers.