Ombudsman criticises EU jobs policy

The EU institutions’ recruitment service has come under fire for allegedly 'favouring' languages from old EU member states.

In a report expected to be published later this week, European ombudsman Nikiforos Diamandouros criticises the Brussels-based European Personnel Selection Service (EPSO) over its former recruitment policy.

The report concerns entrance examinations for civil service posts in the various EU institutions, including the commission and parliament, between 2004 and 2006.

The rules have since been changed but in an open competition published shortly after EU expansion in 2004, candidates were asked to demonstrate a "thorough" knowledge  of one of the 11 former official languages of the EU and a "satisfactory" knowledge of another one.

Under the system, job applicants also had to sit part of their exams in English, German or French.

Since EU enlargement in 2004, the number of official languages has risen to 23 to include those from the ten countries which joined the EU three years ago.

The Polish complainant said that applicants with knowledge of an official language of one of the "old" member states were granted a "privileged" position, whereas those with knowledge of a new member state language were not.

In its reply to the ombudsman, EPSO said that language skills constitute a "necessary requirement" of the tasks to be performed by EU civil servants.

"Competitions are launched to meet the needs of the institutions and not to create employment opportunities for EU citizens," it said.

However, in his report Strasbourg-based Diamandouros is critical of EPSO's former recruitment policy, saying that its "failure to act in accordance with applicable legal rules" amounted to maladministration.

He says EPSO had failed to provide a "satisfactory" explanation as to why thorough knowledge of one of the old member state languages could be necessary for the performance of candidates' future duties.

The ombudsman launched an investigation following a complaint from the Association of Graduates of the Polish National School of Public Administration.

A spokeswoman for Diamandouros declined to officially comment until his report is published.

However, a European commission source said, "We should stress that recruitment rules have now been changed."

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