Set up in 2010, the new recruitment procedure for EU officials puts the emphasis on the skills and aptitudes of the candidates rather than their theoretical knowledge. In addition, the competitive exams are now organised over a shorter period in annual cycles.

“The revision of selection procedures has been a very big success,” explains Agne Martikoniene, a member of the staff of the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO). “Thanks to the changes in selection methods and in particular the use of computer tests, put in place globally for the first time, 37,000 applicants for the AD5 concours (administrators) were able to register, reserve a place and sit their tests in less than two months from the date that the concours was published.” The official added that, in terms of the selection of experts, and, more specifically, of lawyers specialised in competition law, “we have succeeded in finishing the selection procedure in only six months, which fits in with the aim of five to seven months that we hope to be able to achieve for the most important concours”.

In addition to the organisational aspects, the new procedure changes the method of evaluation (see table). As already underlined, it is now the skills and aptitudes of applicants that are more important than theoretical knowledge. According to Martikoniene, these evaluation exercises make it possible to ”select the European Union officials that are the best equipped” to embark on a career in the Community institutions. She adds that this new content “is designed to test your main skill and that is not something that you can revise for from a book”.

Thus, alongside specific aptitudes tested on the basis of the professional profiles that are being looked for, seven general required skills have been defined to be fit for a post within the EU institutions. These are skills of ‘analysis and problem solving’, ‘communication’, ‘quality and results’, ‘learning and development’, ‘perseverance’ and, finally, ‘teamwork’.

TWO STAGES

Divided into professional profiles - administrators, linguists, assistants, specialised profiles - recruitment procedures for EU officials run in two stages. Apart from the specialised profiles, which are preselected according to the dossier, the first stage includes computer tests. Applicants who have successfully sat this first stage are then invited to sit a second stage at the evaluation centre (see table).

While this stage is the last one, nothing has yet been achieved. Those shortlisted are put on a ‘reserve list’ for a year for applicants with standard professional profiles and longer for those with specialised profiles. This is a “database accessible to the EU institutions wanting to recruit workers who have succeeded in the selection procedures,” according to the definition provided by EPSO.

Less irksome, tests reserved for the selection of contractual agents are also organised in a two-step process. There are verbal and numerical reasoning multiple choice questions followed by a written and/or oral test. The applicant who wants to work in the services of the EU institutions will have to pass the CAST (Contract Agent Selection Tests), the CAST RELEX (external relations) tests being reserved for posts in external services, including third-country delegations. Again, as with the recruitment procedure for permanent officials, the applicants who have passed the tests are put into a database for a period of three years without a guarantee of a job. If the applicant has the good fortune to be selected, he/she finally becomes a contractual agent for a period of three years except if there are specific rules.

Seven general required skills have been defined to be fit for a post within the EU institutions

Administrators and assistants

The Community civil service is divided into two groups and sixteen grades: the assistants (AST) have a grade running between 1 and 11 while the administrators’ grades (AD) run from 5 to 16.

Given administrative and financial, secretarial or even communication tasks, the assistant can also play an important role in the internal running of the institutions as well as in the management of staff, information technology and documentation. To apply for these posts, one needs to have at least a secondary education (pre-university) certificate and at least three years of appropriate professional experience.

Assistants are generally recruited to AST1 or AST3 grades but can, as with administrators, move to the next grade up according to certain conditions. As a general rule, it takes from three to six years to move from one grade to another.

With a degree, someone who passes a concours can secure an AD5 or AD7 administrator post as posts from grades 7 to 16 require at least three to five years of professional experience. An administrator develops policies, proceeds to the implementation of EU legislation and carries out analysis and advice activities.