Prague, Jan 12 (CTK) – Czech President Milos Zeman signed yesterday an amendment to the civil service law that would lift the age limit of 70 years for ambassadors, the Presidential Office has announced in a press release.
The amended legislation will not apply to the ambassadors to Syria and Slovakia, Eva Filipi and Livia Klausova, respectively, who have turned 70 and will complete their mandates based on a special work contract.
The civil service law, in force since July 2015, has set 70 as the age limit for civil servants. As a result, Filipi and Klausova should have ended as ambassadors as from January 2016.
The draft amendment says diplomats can complete their mission abroad if they turned 70.
The amendment also softens the rules for personnel tenders and sets the rules for diplomats’ work after their return from foreign missions.
It enables the spouses or partners of diplomats, who accompany them, to accept a job in the mission, which the present law bans due to the conflict of interests.
The Foreign Ministry said the amendment’s goal is to preserve the system of rotation of diplomats.
The employment of diplomats’ partners would save about 80 million crowns.
Another 350 million could be saved as a result of a new system of bonuses paid out to diplomats, which is also defined by the amendment.
In addition, the amendment enables to send employees from the Foreign Ministry and Defence Ministry abroad even without their consent. They can be sent abroad on certain conditions for six months and once in five years at the most.
Unlike the current law, the amendment says the Foreign Ministry is not bound to put up a tender to fill the position vacated by a diplomat who left for a mission abroad. This will apply to junior diplomats’ positions, however.
($1=24.815 crowns)
