Special Report No 9/2009 #The efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the European Personnel Selection Office
Date: 2009-06-11
Institutions: European Court of Auditors
Subjects: EPSO, EU control, EU financing, competition (EU), servant (EU)

T H E   E U R O P E A N   CO M M U N I T I E S’  I N S T I T U T I O N S   E M P LOY   S TA F F 

WITH  A  WIDE  VARIE T Y  OF  PR OF ESSIONA L  B ACKG R OUNDS  AND 

G E O G R A P H I C A L   O R I G I N S .  O F F I C I A L S   A R E   M O S T LY   S E L E C T E D 

THROUGH  OPEN  COMPE TITIONS  WHICH  SINCE  2003  HAVE  BEEN 

MANAGED BY THE EUROPEAN PERSONNEL SELECTION OFFICE (EPSO). 

IN THIS REPORT THE COURT FOCUSES ON HOW EPSO COPED WITH 

THE LARGE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF COMPETITIONS DUE TO 

ENLARGEMENT AND WHETHER IT PROVIDED LISTS OF LAUREATES 

IN  A TIMELY  MANNER,  ENSURING THE  REQUIRED  NUMBERS  AND 

GEOGRAPHICAL BALANCE.

EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS

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THE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF 
THE PERSONNEL SELECTION ACTIVITIES 
CARRIED OUT BY THE EUROPEAN 
PERSONNEL SELECTION OFFICE

EN

 
 
 
 
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special r eport no 9

2009

The efficiency  
and effecTiveness   
of The personnel 
selecTion ac TiviTies 
carried ouT 
by The  european 
personnel   
selec Tion  office

(pursuant to article 248(4), second subparagraph, ec )

european courT of audiT ors

european courT of audiT ors  
12, rue alcide d e Gasperi 
1615 luxembourg 
luXeMbour G

Tel.: +352 4398-45410 
fax: +352 4398-46410 
e-mail: euraud@eca.europa.eu 
internet: http://www.eca.europa.eu

special r eport no 9

2009

a great deal of additional information on the european union is available on the internet. 

it can be accessed through the europa server (http://europa.eu).

cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. 

luxembourg : publications office of the european union, 2009

isbn 978-92-9207-385-5 

doi:10.2865/57613

© european communities, 2009 

reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.

Printed in Luxembourg

Table of conTenTs

3

Paragraph

I-v 

1-7 

ExEcutIvE  summary

IntroductIon

8-12 

audIt scoPE  and audIt aPProach

13-68 

obsErvatIons

13-14 

IncrEasE In thE numbEr of comPEtItIons was managEd EffEctIvEly

15-21 

lack of tImEly and consIstEnt InformatIon on thE InstItutIons’ staffIng nEEds

22-29 
24-29 

30-57 

30-53 
54-57 

58-68 
58-62 
63-68 

thE PErsonnEl sElEctIon ProcEss took too long
delays durinG  The coMpe TiTion phase

 thE yIEld from comPEtItIons dId not mEEt targEtEd numbErs and  
dId not achIEvE thE broadEst PossIblE gEograPhIcal balancE
TarGe Ted nuMbers were no T always aT Tained
The selecTion process did no T achieve The broadesT  possible GeoGraphical balance

shortcomIngs In managEmEnt InformatIon
insufficienT  inforM aTion available on cosT s
weaknesses in  epso's daTabases

69-70 

conclusIons and rEcommEndatIons

duratIon of comPEtItIons  
yIEld of comPEtItIons  
brEakdown of sEcond languagE sElEctEd by PartIcIPants In tEsts

 annEx I: 
annEx II: 
annEx III: 
annEx Iva :  gEograPhIcal balancE of comPEtItIon rEsults – Eu-15  
annEx Ivb :  gEograPhIcal balancE of comPEtItIon rEsults – Eu-12

rEPly of thE  EPso  

 
 
 
4

eXecuTive   
suMM ary

I.
T h e   e u r o p e a n   c o m m u n i t i e s’  i n s t i t u t i o n s 
e m p l o y   s t a f f   w i t h   a   w i d e   v a r i e t y   o f   p r o -
fe s s i o n a l   b a c k g ro u n d s   a n d   g e o g r a p h i c a l 
o r i g i n s ,   m o s t l y   s e l e c t e d   t h r o u g h   o p e n 
competitions which since 2003 have been 
m a n a g e d   by   t h e   e u ro p e a n   pe r s o n n e l   s e -
lec tion  o ffice  (e ps o ) .

II. 
T h e   a u d i t   o b j e c t i v e   w a s   t o   d e t e r m i n e 
w h e t h e r   t h e   p e r s o n n e l   s e l e c t i o n   a c t i v i-
ties   man aged  by  e ps o  were  efficient  an d 
e f fe c t i ve.   as   f a r   a s   i t   w a s   re l e v a n t   to   t h e 
a u d i t   s co p e,   t h e   e p s o  d e ve l o p m e n t   pro -
g r a m m e   ( e d p ) ,   a d o p t e d   i n   s e p t e m b e r 
2 00 8,  was taken  into account.

III.
The audit concluded that epso had success-
fully  managed  the  increase  in  the  number 
o f   c o m p e t i t i o n s   n e e d e d   f o r   t h e   e n l a r g e -
ment of the e uropean union, but that:

( a)  staffing needs of the i nstitutions were 
not communicated to epso in a timely 
manner or based on a consistent meth-
odology ;

( b)  t h e   d u r a t i o n   o f   t h e   p e r s o n n e l   s e l e c -
t i o n   p r o c e s s   w a s   t o o   l o n g ,   b o t h   i n 
re l at i o n   to   e p s o ’s   ow n   s t a n d a rd s   a n d 
inte r national best  prac tice; 

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

 
55

eXecuTive   
suMM ary

v.
Ta k i n g   i n t o   a c c o u n t   t h e   m a j o r   c h a n g e 
p l a n n e d   i n   t h e   o r g a n i s a t i o n   o f   s e l e c t i o n 
p r o c e d u re s   t h ro u g h   t h e   e d p,   t h e   co u r t ’s 
main  recommend ation s are:

( a)  e p s o   s h o u l d   b e   p r o v i d e d   w i t h   s u f f i -
c i e n t l y   t i m e l y   a n d   r e l i a b l e   i n f o r m a-
tion on the institutions’ staffing needs 
b a s e d   o n   a   c o m m o n   a p p r o a c h   t o   a s-
ses sing  suc h  needs.

( b)  The institutions should second to epso 
a   s u f f i c i e n t   n u m b e r   o f   o f f i c i a l s   o n   a 
f u l l - t i m e   b a s i s   a n d   e n c o u r a g e   t h e i r 
st aff to ac t as qualifie d ass essor s.

( c)   epso should strive to improve its com-
m u n i c a t i o n   s t r a t e g y   i n   c o o r d i n a t i o n 
w i t h   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s ;   e xe r c i s e   b e t t e r 
q u a l i t y   c o n t r o l   o v e r   c o m p e t i t i o n   n o -
t i c e s ;   e n s u r e   a n   a p p r o p r i a t e   n u m b e r 
o f   s u i t a b l e   c a n d i d a t e s   a t   a l l   s t a g e s 
o f   t h e   s e l e c t i o n   p ro c e s s,   fo r   e x a m p l e 
t h r o u g h   a d a p t i n g   t h e   s p e c i f i c   l a n-
g u a g e   r e q u i r e m e n t s ;   a n d   t a k e   s t e p s 
to  improve  g eographical  balan ce.

( d)  epso should improve its management 
i n f o r m a t i o n .   i n   p a r t i c u l a r,   i t   s h o u l d 
mon itor  th e  full  cost  of   plac ing  a  la u-
reate on th e reser ve list, and qu ant if y 
the additional costs and assess the fu -
ture benefits resulting from the edp so 
as to facilitate decision-mak ing by the 
budget ar y  a uth or it y. 

(c)  com p etit ions  o nl y  p roduced, on  aver-
age, two-thirds of the targeted number 
o f   l a u r e a t e s   ( s u c c e s s f u l   c a n d i d a t e s 
wh o   have  b een  pl aced  on   the  re se r ve 
l i s t ) .   T h i s   r e s u l t e d   f r o m   w i t h d r a w a l s 
c a u s e d   b y   t h e   l o n g   d u r a t i o n   o f   t h e 
p r o c e s s ;   u n d u e   e m p h a s i s   o n   s p e c i f i c 
l a n g u a g e   r e q u i r e m e n t s ;   s u b o p t i m a l 
c o m m u n i c a t i o n   o f   c o m p e t i t i o n s ;   a n d 
p r e - s e l e c t i o n   t e s t s   w h i c h   e l i m i n a t e d 
m o r e   c a n d i d a t e s   t h a n   n e c e s s a r y   t o 
m e e t   t a r g e t s .   f u r t h e r m o r e ,   t h e   s e -
l e c t i o n   p r o c e s s   d i d   n o t   a c h i e v e   t h e 
b r o a d e s t   p o s s i b l e   g e o g r a p h i c a l   b a l -
ance  amo ng st l aureates ; 

(d)  management information was not con-
s i s t e n t l y   r e l i a b l e   o r   c o m p r e h e n s i v e . 
i n f o r m a t i o n   o n   t h e   c o s t s   i n c u r r e d   t o 
p l a c e   a   c a n d i d a t e   o n   t h e   r e s e r v e   l i s t 
was not sufficient; the potential addi -
tional costs and future benefits result-
ing   fro m  t he  ed p  were  n ot   quantif ied 
i n   d e t a i l ;   a n d     i n fo r m a t i o n   c o n t a i n e d 
i n   e p s o ’s   d a t a b a s e s   w a s   n o t   c o n s i s t -
entl y  rel ia ble. 

Iv.
T h e   e d p  a i m s   t o   r e d u c e   t h e   d u r a t i o n   o f 
co m p e t i t i o n s   to   a   m a x i m u m   o f   9   m o n t h s 
a n d   t o   i n c r e a s e   t h e i r   y i e l d .   i t   e n v i s a g e s 
inter al ia a shif t  towards  s trategic  hu man 
resource planning; more robust pre -selec -
t i o n ;   w i d e s p re a d   u s e   o f   c o m p u t e r - b a s e d 
testing (cbT ); and professionalised selec -
t i o n   b o a r d s .   i t   i s   p l a n n e d   t h a t   t h e   n e w 
p r o c e d u r e s   w i l l   b e   o p e r a t i o n a l   f r o m   t h e 
first  qu ar ter o f 20 10 .

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

 
1  article 27 of the staff regulations.

2  pursuant to article 29 and 

annex iii of the staff regulations 

such competitions are open to all 

candidates who meet the admission 

conditions.

3  decision 2002/620/ec of the 

european parliament, the council, 

the commission, the court of 

Justice, the court of auditors, the 

economic and social committee, 

the committee of the regions 

and the european ombudsman of 

25 July 2002 establishing a european 

communities personnel selection 

office (oJ l 197, 26.7.2002, p. 53).

inTroduc Tion

6

1.  

2.  

3.  

 T h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s   o f   t h e   e u r o p e a n   c o m m u n i t i e s   e m p l o y e d   o v e r 
3 6   5 0 0   o f f i c i a l s   a s   a t   J u n e   2 0 0 7 .   i n   a c c o r d a n c e   w i t h   t h e   s t a f f 
r e g u l a t i o n s,   re c r u i t m e n t   i s   d i re c t e d   t o   s e c u r i n g   t h e   s e r v i c e s   o f 
officials of the highest standard of ability, efficienc y and integrity, 
recruited on the broadest possible geographical basis from among 
natio na ls o f t he  M emb er s t ate s of th e c ommun ities 1.

 o fficials are normally recruited from reser ve lists established fol-
l ow i n g   o p e n   co m p e t i t i o n s 2.   s i n ce   2 0 0 3 ,   s u c h   co m p e t i t i o n s   h ave 
been managed by the european personnel selec tion o ffice (epso ), 
the inter-institutional body responsible for selec ting officials and 
other ser vants of the european communities. since its inception, 
epso has accommodated significant increases in recruitment due 
to e u enl argement.

 epso was created by a joint decision 3 to obtain economies of scale 
i n   t h e   o r g a n i s a t i o n   o f   s e l e c t i o n   p r o c e d u r e s ,   i n   p a r t i c u l a r   o p e n 
comp et itio ns fo r offic ial s.  This j oint d ec i s io n give s  e ps o th e sole 
responsibility for drawing up reser ve lists from among candidates 
i n   o p e n   c o m p e t i t i o n s   i n   l i n e   w i t h   t h e   n e e d s   i n d i c a t e d   b y   e a c h 
i n s t i t u t i o n ,   t h e   d e c i s i o n s   to   re c r u i t   s u cce s s f u l   c a n d i d ate s   ( h e re -
inaf ter referred to as "laureates") being taken by each i nstitution. 
fur ther duties have been allocated to epso, in par ticular the task 
to give assistance with internal competitions and the selec tion of 
other ser vants. epso ’s ac tivities are super vised by a management 
boa rd made  up  o f rep res entative s of  ea ch  i n stitut ion .

4. 

 The p er so nne l s el ec tion p ro ced ure compr is e s:

(a )  p l a n n i n g   o f   t h e   c o m p e t i t i o n   a s   b a s e d   o n   s t a f f i n g   n e e d s   e x -

p ress ed  by t he i ns tit ut io ns;

(b)  drawin g u p and p u b licat ion  of  t he   no tice o f co mpet it ion ;

(c)  appointment of the members of the selec tion board to be cho -

sen from officials of the i nstitutions;

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

 
 
 
 
7

(d)  drawing up the list of candidates who meet the requirements 
set out in the notice of competition, where necessar y follow-
ing  a p re -se lec t ion  thro u gh  adm i ssi on  te st s;

4  every year three cycles of general 

competitions (for administrators, 

assistants and linguists) will be 

launched, with each planned to be 

(e)  c a r r y i n g   o u t   o f   t h e   c o m p e t i t i o n   s t a g e s   ( w r i t t e n   a n d   o r a l 

completed within a maximum of nine 

te st s);

months. in addition, there will be 

competitions for specialist profiles if 

(f )  d r a w i n g   u p   t h e   l i s t   o f   s u i t a b l e   c a n d i d a t e s   t o g e t h e r   w i t h   a 

and when necessary.

reas on ed rep o r t ;

(g)  p ub l icat ion o f th e res er ve list  of  la ure ate s;

(h )  adm inister ing  and c hec k ing t he  us e  o f  t h e  re se r ve  lis t s.

5.  

6.  

7.  

 i n  2008,   ep so ’s   manag ement  under took  a  re vie w  of   i ts   o rg an is a-
tion and operations, backed up by research of existing best prac -
tices. This review, which revealed weak nesses (such as the unduly 
long duration of competitions), led the management to design the 
eps o d eve l op me nt  p ro gramme (edp).

 on  10   s ep te mb er  2008,   t he  M anage me nt   b oard  of  e ps o  adopted 
th e  ed p,   wh ich  aims  to   reduce  th e  durat io n  o f  compe ti ti on s  to  a 
maximum of 9 months and to increase their yield. i t envisages in-
ter alia a shift towards strategic human resource planning in order 
to decrease the time bet ween the identification of needs and the 
launch of a selec tion procedure; more robust pre -selec tion; wide -
sprea d  us e  o f  com p uter-b ased  te s tin g  (cbT )   in   t he   pre -selec tion 
phas e; an d pro fes s ion al is ed  s elec ti on  board s. 

 T h e   m a j o r   c h a n g e   i n t ro d u c e d   b y   t h e   p ro g r a m m e   w i l l   b e   t h e   o r-
ganisation of general competitions on an annual c ycle basis 4. writ-
ten and oral tests will be done in “assessment centres”, introduced 
in order to assess candidates by applying selec tion methods that 
fo c u s   o n   k e y   c o m p e te n ce s   re q u i re d.   i t   i s   fo re s e e n   t h a t   t h i s   n e w 
app roa ch wil l be  op erational  in  th e  f i r s t qua r te r  of  2 01 0 .

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

 
 
 
audiT  scope and  
audiT  approach

8

8. 

 The o bje c t ive o f the audit was  to de ter m in e w he th e r  th e  compe -
t i t i o n s   s y s t e m   m a n a g e d   b y   e p s o  w a s   e f f i c i e n t   a n d   e f fe c t i v e.   i n 
par tic ul ar, t he au dit foc u sed on  whe t he r  e p so:

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

coped with the large increase in the number of competitions 
du e to  enl arge ment;

received infor matio n ab o ut t he s ta ff in g  n e ed s of  th e i n stitu-
t ion s o n a t imel y and  co n sistent  bas is ;

p rovid ed  re ser ve l ists  o f laureate s  in  a  ti mel y  man n e r ;

e n s u r e d   t h e   r e q u i r e d   n u m b e r   a n d   g e o g r a p h i c a l   b a l a n c e   o f 
l aure ates;

had reliable and comprehensive management infor mation to 
ac hieve it s ob j ec tives.

9. 

 The audit focused on competitions for officials, due to their large 
numb er  and l o ng -ter m impac t. i t wa s based on:

- 

- 

a n   i n - d e p t h   e x a m i n a t i o n   o f   a   s a m p l e   o f   1 6   c o m p e t i t i o n s   o f 
different t ypes (specialists and generalists, heads of unit and 
entr y l e vel  grades, admin istrator s  an d  ass i st ant s) ;  a n d 

an analysis of epso's database, comprising all data concerning 
176 competitions launched from 2003 to 2006 and completed 
by  ear l y 2008.

10. 

 The audit encompassed all stages of personnel selection involving 
e p s o,   f ro m   t h e   co m m u n i c a t i o n   o f   s t a f f i n g   n e e d s   by   t h e   i n s t i t u -
tions to epso up until the publication of reser ve lists of laureates 
but  excl uding   an  as s essment  of   t h e  prof ile s   a nd   compete nces   o f 
t h e   i n d i v i d u a l s   s e l e c te d   f ro m   t h e   a u d i t   s co p e.   no r   d i d   t h e   a u d i t 
cove r   t h e   p ro ce d u re s   fo r   t h e   d e t a i l e d   i d e nt i f i c at i o n   o f   n e e d s   by 
t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s   a n d   t h e   r e c r u i t m e n t   o f   l a u r e a t e s   f r o m   r e s e r v e 
l i s t s   b y   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s ,   a s   t h e s e   a r e   n o t   w i t h i n   e p s o ’s   a r e a   o f 
res po n sibilit y.

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

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9

11.  

12.  

 The audit, star ted in summer 2007, covered competitions launched 
and finalized during the period from Januar y 2003 (star t of epso's 
a c t i v i t i e s )   t o   d e c e m b e r   2 0 0 7 .   i t   e x a m i n e d   e p s o' s   p l a n n i n g   a n d 
man ag eme nt  and its  eval uation  of  i ts  s taff   se le c ti on  ac ti v it y. 

 a s   f a r   a s   i t   w a s   re l e v a n t   t o   t h e   a u d i t   s c o p e,   t h e   e d p  a d o p t e d   i n 
september 2008 was also taken into consideration, with par ticular 
reference to determining whether all impor tant aspects of person-
nel s el ec t io n ac t ivit ies  were add res se d.

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

 
 
observaTions

10

I n c rEa sE   In  t hE   n u m bEr   o f   co mP E tItIo n s 
wa s   m a n agEd   Ef fEc tIvEly

13. 

 si n c e   i t s   i n c e p t i o n   i n   2 0 0 3 ,   e p s o  w i t n e s s e d   a   l a r g e   i n c r e a s e   i n 
d e m a n d   by   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s   a s   re g a rd s   c o m p e t i t i o n s   t o   b e   h e l d, 
d u e   to   e n l a rg e m e n t .  Th e re   w a s   t h u s   a   s i gn i f i c a n t   r i s k   t h a t   e p s o 
coul d  not  lau nch and manag e al l com peti ti ons  re qui re d.

14. 

 The audit found that epso effectively managed the increase in the 
number of competitions, as no instances were identified where the 
l a u n c h   o f   c o m p e t i t i o n s   w a s   d e l aye d   b e c a u s e   e p s o   h a d   re a c h e d 
its ma ximum cap ac it y.

l ac k   o f  tImEly   a n d   co n sIs tEn t  
o n  t hE   I n s tIt u tIo n s’  s ta f fIn g   nE Ed s

In f o r m atIo n 

15. 

 s t a f f i n g   n e e d s   s h o u l d   b e   i d e n t i f i e d   a n d   co m m u n i c a te d   to   e p s o 
by t he i ns tit ut io ns  in a t im ely m anne r an d ba s ed  o n a  co ns i ste nt 
methodology, so that competitions can be planned in an efficient 
man ner.

16.  

17.  

 i n   2 0 0 2 ,   t h e   s e c re t a r i e s - G e n e r a l   o f   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s   a g re e d   t h a t 
eac h  i ns tit ut io n  shou l d  info r m  e ps o  of   its  recruitment   ne eds   for 
t h e   n e x t   t h re e   ye a r s   i n   o rd e r   to   a l l ow   e p s o  to   d raw   u p   a   ro l l i n g 
t h re e -ye a r   fo r w a rd   p ro gra m m e,   to   b e   u p d ate d   at   l e a s t   e ve r y   s i x 
m o n t h s,   w i t h   a   v i e w   to   m e e t i n g   t h e   n e e d s   o f   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s   i n 
th e b es t way p o ssib l e.

 The three -year for ward programme was not implemented; for the 
p e r i o d   a u d i t e d   e p s o' s   ro l l i n g   fo r w a rd   p ro g r a m m e   c o ve re d   o n l y 
18 months as the i nstitutions failed to communicate their longer-
ter m  nee ds to  ep so. 

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18. 

19.  

20.  

21.  

 fu r t h e r m o re,   n o   c o m m o n   b a s i s   o r   m e t h o d s   fo r   a s s e s s i n g   n e e d s 
h a d   b e e n   e s t a b l i s h e d   b y   e p s o  a n d   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s .   T h e r e   w a s , 
for exam pl e, uncer t aint y as  to how th e  require m ent  la id d own  in 
the staff r egulations that lists of suitable candidates established 
by   t h e   s e l e c t i o n   b o a rd s   s h a l l   w h e re ve r   p o s s i b l e   co nt a i n   at   l e a s t 
t wice as many names  as  t he num ber  of  pos ts  to be f i lled 5, s hould 
be imp l eme nted. 

5  article 5 of annex iii of the staff 

regulations.

 The  l ack  o f  co mmu nic atio n  o f  ti me ly   an d  cons is tent  i nfor mat io n 
to epso by the institutions regarding their staffing needs, and the 
lack of a common methodology for assessing such needs, resulted 
in ine ffic iencies and  del ays in  th e se le c t ion  proce ss. Th is  was  re -
f l e c t e d   a t   o p e r a t i o n a l   l e ve l   i n   l a s t - m i n u t e   c h a n g e s   i n   p r i o r i t i e s 
and needs in ter ms of the number of laureates required. i t neces-
s i t ate d   n u m e ro u s   co r r i g e n d a   to   n o t i ce s   o f   co m p e t i t i o n s   a l re a d y 
launc he d (s ee p aragrap h 43).

 i n the framewor k of its development programme, epso proposed 
and star ted to implement a standardised three -year draf t for ward 
pla nning  sc hed ul e. 

 The effectiveness of this for ward planning schedule will depend on 
i t s   o b t a i n i n g,   o n   a   t i m e l y   b a s i s,   s u f f i c i e nt l y   re l i a b l e   i n fo r m at i o n 
from  t he i ns tit ut io ns  based  on  a common  approach  for  asse s s ing 
s t a f f i n g   n e e d s.   i t   s h o u l d   b e   b o r n e   i n   m i n d   t h a t   l a t e   d e l i v e r y   o f 
the statement of needs or significant shor tcomings in the forecast 
hum an  reso u rces  requ irements   may   le ad  to  a  mi sm atch   bet ween 
pos ts  ava il ab l e and th e nu mb er  of  laureates  pro duced.

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thE   P Er s o n nEl   sElEc tIo n  
lo n g

Pr o cEs s  to o k  to o 

22. 

 i nter nat io nal   be s t  prac tice  reg ardin g   t he   d urat ion   o f  a  se le c ti on 
pro ced ure in b ot h the p ubl ic  an d pr ivate se c tor s, as accepte d by 
epso in the  edp, is 5 to 9 months from expression of staffing needs 
unt il  emp loyment. 

6  This figure does not include a 

further 6-month period required for 

the identification of needs by the 

institutions. 

23. 

 ho w e v e r,   u n d e r   e p s o ’s   c u r r e n t   p r e -e d p  p l a n n i n g   s y s t e m ,   t h e 
s t a n d a rd   t i m e f ra m e   f ro m   t h e   ex p re s s i o n   o f   s t a f f i n g   n e e d s   by   a n 
i n s t i t u t i o n   u n t i l   t h e   fo r m a l   o f fe r   o f   e m p l o y m e n t   t o   l a u r e a t e s   i s 
1 8   m o nt h s 6.  Th i s   co m p r i s e s   3   to   4   m o nt h s   fo r   p u b l i c at i o n   o f   t h e 
notice of competition; 11 to 12 months for the competition phase; 
an d 2 m ont hs fo r the f in al  inter v ie w a nd  job  offe r.   

d El ays   d u rIn g  t hE   co mP E tItIo n   Ph a sE    

24. 

 T h e   s a m p l e   o f   1 6   c o m p e t i t i o n s   e x a m i n e d   i n   d e t a i l   s h o w e d   t h a t 
t h e   p h a s e   c o n c e r n i n g   p u b l i c a t i o n   o f   t h e   n o t i c e   o f   c o m p e t i t i o n 
took   on   ave rag e  4  months   ( see  A nn ex  I) ,  in   line  with   e ps o ’s  own 
stand ards. 

25. 

 however, the average length of a competition - from the deadline 
for registration by candidates until the publication of the reser ve 
list - was 16 months, with the duration of individual competitions 
ranging  b et wee n 9 mo nths  and 2   year s  ( se e  A nnex  I) . 

26. 

 The  main   re aso n  fo r  del ays   was   th e   ti me   n ee de d  for   m ar k in g   t h e 
w r i t t e n   t e s t s   a n d   fo r   p e r fo r m i n g   t h e   o r a l   t e s t i n g   o f   c a n d i d a t e s. 
T h e   s a m p l e   o f   c o m p e t i t i o n s   a n a l y s e d   b y   t h e   co u r t   s h o we d   t h a t 
t h e s e   t wo   s t a g e s   a l o n e   m ay   t a k e   u p   to   1 3   m o nt h s.  Th e   m a i n   u n-
d e r l y i n g   c a u s e   w a s   t h a t   t h e   e u   o f f i c i a l s   a c t i n g   a s   m a r k e r s   o r   a s 
m e m b e r s   o f   t h e   s e l e c t i o n   b o a r d s   w e r e   n o t   m a d e   a v a i l a b l e   f u l l -
tim e fo r an u ninter ru p ted p er io d to  per for m  th ei r  d ut ie s. 

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7  almost 23 000 candidates from 

previous general administrator 

competitions (ad 5 level for all 

professional fields from 25 Member 

states) were asked for their opinion 

on different aspects of the selection 

procedure; almost 4 000 responses 

were received. a full summary of the 

results is published on epso’s website 

http://europa.eu/epso/documents/

survey_satisfaction_en.pdf. 

8  The edp envisages that qualified 

officials should be seconded for at 

least two and a maximum of four 

annual competition cycles.

27. 

 un d u l y   l o n g   s e l e c t i o n   p r o c e d u r e s   r e s u l t   i n   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s   n o t 
b e i n g   a b l e   to   re c r u i t   c a n d i d ate s   a s   a n d   w h e n   re q u i re d,   a n d   m ay 
deter  g oo d  c andidates,  either   at   t he   out se t   or   dur i ng   th e  proce -
d u r e.   fu r t h e r m o r e,   a c c o r d i n g   t o   c a n d i d a t e   s a t i s f a c t i o n   s u r v e y s 
c a r r i e d   o u t   by   e p s o  i n   M a rc h /a p r i l   2 0 0 8 7,   t h e   re s p o n d e nt s   we re 
least satisfied with the overall duration of the competitions, which 
had a negative impac t on candidates’ perception of the european 
i nst itu t ions as a p o tential  employe r.

28. 

 i n the framework of the new annual competition c ycle foreseen in 
the   ed p,   ep so  p lans  to   s ho r ten   the  compe t it ion   pha s e  (from   th e 
publ icatio n  o f  th e  n otice  of   com peti ti on   unti l  th e   publi c ati on   of 
th e res er ve lis t o f laureates) to a max im um  of  9  m ont hs. key  ele -
ment s  for  a chieving  t his o b jec t ive  are : 

(a )  a reduc tion in the number of separate steps in the procedure, 
the successive wr itten and oral tests being replaced by a sin-
g l e p has e,

(b)   m o r e   r e l i a n c e   o n   e f f i c i e n t   p r e - s e l e c t i o n   t h r o u g h   i m p r o v e d 

co mp uter-b ased  testing,

(c)  the introduc tion of assessment centres with professionalised 

se le c t io n b oards.

29. 

 su cce s s f u l   i m p l e m e nt at i o n   o f   t h e   a n n u a l   co m p e t i t i o n   c yc l e   w i l l 
cruc ial l y dep end on t he w ill in gn e ss  of th e  i n stitut ion s to se con d 
t o   e p s o  a   s u f f i c i e n t   n u m b e r   o f   q u a l i f i e d   o f f i c i a l s   o n   a   f u l l - t i m e 
basis 8 and to encourage their staff to become par t of the proposed 
pool  o f q ualified ass es so rs. 

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thE  y I El d   f r o m   co mP E tItIo n s   dId   n ot   mE E t 
ta r gE tEd   n u m bEr s   a n d   dId   n ot   ac hI E vE  t hE  
b r o a dEs t   Po s sIb lE   gEo g r aPhIc a l   b a l a n cE

ta r gE tEd   n u m bEr s  wErE   n ot   a lways   at taInEd 

 The  nu mbe r  o f  l au reates   targete d  i n  t he   not ices   of   compe ti ti ons 
sho ul d  be  att ained,  s o as to ens ure a deq uate  per m an ent s taf f in g 
levels of the institutions without compromising the required qual-
it y  st andards  o f c and id ates sele c te d. 

 during the audit, a comprehensive analysis was under taken of all 
d a t a   c o n c e r n i n g   1 7 6   c o m p e t i t i o n s   l a u n c h e d   f r o m   2 0 0 3   t o   2 0 0 6 
an d  co mp le ted  by  ear l y   20 08 . Th e  targ ete d  n umbe r   of  n ame s  on 
the  res er ve list s for thes e compe ti ti on s tot alle d 1 5  5 0 0 .

 on  ave rag e,  on l y  t wo -thirds  o f   t he   targ e ted  n umber   of   la ure ate s 
wa s at t ained 9.  o f so me 208 00 0 application s regis tered for  th es e 
c o m p e t i t i o n s 1 0,   9 5   0 0 0   ( 4 6   % )   a c t u a l l y   a t t e n d e d   t e s t s.   o f   t h e s e, 
slig ht l y mo re th an 10 000 su cce ed ed  as  la ure ate s 11, a s hor t fall of 
almo st  5 500 from  t he targ et (se e A nn ex   I I) . 

 T h e   o v e r a l l   4 6   %   a t t e n d a n c e   r a t e   i n c l u d e d   a t t e n d a n c e   a t   b o t h 
traditional pre -selec tion tests (44 %) and at computer-based tests 
(5 4  %) , w h ic h we re  intro du ced in  20 06 .  Th e  i ntrodu c ti on of  com-
puter-based testing (cbT ) has thus increased the attendance rate 
by  10 p erce nt ag e p oints. 

 o f the candidates sitting the pre -selec tion tests, 28 % progressed 
to the subsequent wr itten tests; 50 % of those sitting the wr itten 
te s t s   p ro ce e d e d   to   t h e   o ra l   te s t s,   w h i l e   7 4   %   o f   t h o s e   u n d e r t a k -
ing   t he  oral  tests   were  pl aced  on  th e  re se r ve   lis t.   l aureates  thus 
comp r is ed  10, 7 %  of th os e 95  0 0 0  wh o  atten de d te s ts. 

30.  

31.  

32.  

33.  

34.  

9  an average yield of only two-thirds 

of the targeted numbers was also 

observed for competitions reserved 

for citizens from eu-12 Member 

states in the context of enlargement.  

10  since the inception of epso, 

registration for competitions has 

been made significantly easier by the 

introduction of on-line applications.

11  These laureates are included in 

reserve lists from which vacant posts 

are filled.  The number of laureates 

on the lists does not correspond to 

the number actually recruited by the 

institutions which is necessarily lower 

for various reasons (e.g. laureates 

no longer available or declining job 

offers; no vacant posts available).

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35.  

36.  

37.  

38.  

S p e c i f i c  l a n g u a g e  r e q u i r e m e n t S  m a y  d e t e r  g o o d   c a n d i d a t e S 

 There should be an appropriate balance between professional and 
la n gu age  sk ills, so  as  to ens ure t he  bes t qual if ie d can di date s are 
selec ted.

12  it should be kept in mind that in 

many of the 176 competitions for 

which the data have been analysed 

by the court, the choice of the 

candidates was limited to these three 

languages.

 a r t i c l e   2 8   o f   t h e   s t a f f   r e g u l a t i o n s   p rov i d e s   t h a t   a n   o f f i c i a l   m ay 
b e   a p p o i n t e d   o n l y   o n   c o n d i t i o n   t h a t   h e   p ro d u c e s   e v i d e n c e   o f   a 
t h o r o u g h   k n o w l e d g e   o f   o n e   o f   t h e   l a n g u a g e s   o f   t h e   c o m m u n i-
t i e s   a n d   o f   a   s at i s f a c to r y   k n ow l e d g e   o f   a n o t h e r   l a n g u a g e   o f   t h e 
com mu nit ies  to  t h e  ex tent   n e cessar y  for   the   pe r for mance  of  his 
dutie s.

 pr ior to the establishment of epso, candidates could sit the com-
p e t i t i o n   t e s t s   i n   t h e i r   m o t h e r   t o n g u e ;   k n o w l e d g e   o f   a   s e c o n d 
l a n g u a g e   w a s   e x a m i n e d   s e p a r a t e l y   b y   a   s p e c i f i c   l a n g u a g e   t e s t . 
e p s o  s t a r te d   i t s   a c t i v i t i e s   at   a   t i m e   w h e n   t h e   n u m b e r   o f   o f f i c i a l 
languages rose from 11 to 23. epso considered that, for prac tical 
reas o ns  (in creas ed  r is ks   o f  er ron e ou s  o r   im pre c ise   t rans lat ion   of 
tests, longer duration of the procedures, higher costs, etc.), it was 
not p o ss ib l e to  h ol d eac h g eneral  co mpe t it ion  i n  23  l angu age s.

 since 2006, candidates for all competitions have been required to 
take most of the tests in a second (normally non-native) language, 
to be selec ted from english,  french or German. as a consequence, 
a   v e r y   g o o d   c o m m a n d   o f   c e r t a i n   l a n g u a g e s   n o w   p l a y s   a   m o r e 
i m p o r t a nt   ro l e   i n   t h e   s e l e c t i o n   p ro ce s s   t h a n   wa s   t h e   c a s e   i n   t h e 
past.   excep t ion s  to   th is  l ang uage   regi me  apply   fo r   compe ti ti on s 
for interpreters or translators, where specific requirements apply ; 
and  fo r s pe cific co mp etitions. A nn ex III set s out  the dist r ibutio n 
of second languages among candidates who ac tually sat the tests; 
th is s hows  that en gl ish is  by fa r  t he   mo st  frequ entl y  c ho se n  se c -
ond language (64 % of candidates), followed by french (20 %) and 
G er man  (1 0 %) 12.

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39. 

 Th e   c u r re nt   e p s o  re q u i re m e nt   c a n   l e a d   to   s i t u at i o n s   w h e re   c a n-
d i d ate s,   w h o   m i g ht   h ave   a l l   t h e   re q u i re d   s p e c i a l i s e d   k n ow l e d g e 
and sk ills, are excluded from the outset from tak ing par t in a com-
petition if they do not have the required linguistic profile. This is 
for  exam pl e  the   case  for  cand idates   w h o  have   en glis h,  fren ch   or 
G er man as a first language but an eu language other than one of 
th es e th ree as a s econd  l anguag e.

13  The institutions have delegated 

their related powers to epso 

(article 2 of decision 2002/621/ec 

of 25 July 2002 on the organisation 

and operation of the european 

communities personnel selection 

office (oJ l 197, 26.7.2002, p. 56)).

40. 

 a decision has been made in pr inciple to hold at least par t of the 
pre -se le c t io n tes ts in all  2 3 l ang uag es  f rom  2 0 1 1 . 

c o m m u n i c a t i o n  r e g a r d i n g  c o m p e t i t i o n S  w a S  S u b o p t i m a l   

41. 

 com pe tit ion no t ices  shou l d b e d raf te d a nd  an n ounced  i n  a clea r 
a n d   p r e c i s e   w a y   t o   a t t r a c t   a   m a x i m u m   n u m b e r   o f   a p p r o p r i a t e 
candid ate s  and   al l ow   p otential  can di dates   to  d eter m i ne   wi th out 
amb igu it y  w he ther  they   m eet  th e  con dit ion s   to  apply   for   a  com-
petit ion . 

42. 

 c o m p e t i t i o n   n o t i c e s   a r e   d r a w n   u p   b y   e p s o 1 3  a f t e r   c o n s u l t a t i o n 
o f   a   co n s u l t at i ve   j o i nt   co m m i t te e   (co pa r co) .  Th e   n o t i ce   i s   t h e n 
p u b l i s h e d   i n   t h e   O f f i c i a l   J o u r n a l   o f   t h e   E u r o p e a n   U n i o n  ( o f f i c i a l 
Jour nal ).   i n  addit ion   to  pu b l is hin g  the   no ti ce   of   co mpet it io ns   in 
the o fficial Jour nal, epso uses t wo other means to infor m poten-
tial  ca ndidates :  it s  web site, o n a s yste mat ic  bas is, an d  adve r ti se -
ment s  in  news pap ers,  o n  a  c ase   by   cas e  bas i s.  Th e   webs i te   is   t h e 
main  so urce  o f infor m ation for  pote nt ial  applic ants. 

43.  

 o f   t h e   1 6   c o m p e t i t i o n s   re v i e we d   i n   d e t a i l,   1 1   we re   m o d i f i e d   by 
c o r r i g e n d a ;   o f   t h e   1 1 ,   4   h a d   t o   b e   m o d i f i e d   t w i c e .   T h e s e   c o r r i-
g e n d a   we re   n e e d e d   to   c l a r i f y   t h e   a d m i s s i o n   co n d i t i o n s,   c h a n g e 
the  ta rgeted nu mb er of l au reate s  or  cor re c t e r ror s. 

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15  see for example case f-25/05 

where the civil service Tribunal 

annulled the decisions of the 

selection board of 6 and  

7 september 2004 not to admit 

the applicants to the tests for 

competition epso/c/11/03. 

17

44. 

 a s   f o r   a d v e r t i s i n g ,   t h e   e p s o  w e b s i t e   w a s   i n i t i a l l y   a v a i l a b l e   i n 
o n l y  t h r e e   l a n g u a g e s   (en g l i s h ,   f r e n c h   a n d   G e r m a n ) .   i n   2 0 0 8 , 
a  23 -la ng uag e  o p enin g  pag e  was   i ntrod uced.  e ps o  also  fores ees 
th e t rans lat io n of  al l  p er manent  par t s o f th e webs ite  into  23  lan-
guag e s. 

45. 

 a s   a   r u l e ,   n o t i c e s   o f   o p e n   c o m p e t i t i o n s   w e r e   o n l y   p u b l i s h e d   i n 
t h e   e n g l i s h ,   fre n c h   a n d   G e r m a n   ve r s i o n s   o f   t h e   o f f i c i a l   J o u r n a l. 
on   9  M ay   2 0 0 7 ,   sp a i n   b ro u g ht   l e g a l   a c t i o n   a g a i n s t   t h e   co m m i s-
sion to orde r the p ub l ic ation of  a ll no ti ce s o f compe ti ti ons  to f ill 
p o s t s   i n   t h e   e u ro p e a n   c i v i l   s e r v i c e   i n   t h e   o f f i c i a l   J o u r n a l   i n   a l l 
lang ua ges. The c as e 14 is p en ding.

46. 

 la ck of  c le ar info r matio n as to th e  req ui re me nt s of  com pet it ion s 
gi ve s   a   p o o r   i m a g e   o f   t h e   e u  a s   a n   e m p l oye r.   i t   m ay   d e te r   g o o d 
c a n d i d ate s   f ro m   a p p l y i n g   a n d   h a s   l e d   d i s s at i s f i e d   c a n d i d ate s   to 
ta ke  l ega l ac t ion  against  e pso 15.

47. 

 i n  ord er  to   at t rac t  a  greater  numbe r   of   qu alif ie d  can di date s,  th e 
e d p  f o r e s e e s   t h e   i n t r o d u c t i o n   o f   a n   e n h a n c e d   c o m m u n i c a t i o n 
strategy, including an improved website and more focused target-
ing  o f p o tent ial c and id ates.

p r e - S e l e c t i o n t e S t S e l i m i n a t e d m o r e c a n d i d a t e S t h a n w a S n e c e S S a r y 
t o  m e e t  t a r g e t S

48. 

 pre -s el ec tio n  is  an   admiss ion   proce dure   for   f ur t h er   tes tin g ;   on ly 
the best-per forming candidates are admitted to the written stage 
o f   t h e   c o m p e t i t i o n .   on c e   a d m i t t e d ,   t h e   c a n d i d a t e s   a r e   j u d g e d 
o n l y   o n   t h e   b a s i s   o f   t h e i r   p e r f o r m a n c e   d u r i n g   t h e   w r i t t e n   a n d 
o ra l   ex a m s.   pre - s e l e c t i o n   te s t s   s h o u l d   b e   s u c h   a s   to   e n s u re   t h at 
a  su ffic ie nt   nu mb er  o f  s uitab ly   quali fi ed   c an di date s  proce e ds   to 
the nex t stage of the competition. epso’s edp establishes that the 
ratio between the number of candidates invited to the assessment 
cent re and th e l aureates o n t he re s er ve  l ist  s ho uld  be  3  :  1 . 

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16  or the written tests where no 

preselection tests took place.

17  The “repêchage” occurs between 

the pre-selection and written tests. 

where the number of candidates 

who have been successful in the pre-

selection tests and who have fulfilled 

the eligibility criteria is insufficient, 

the shortfall is made up by inviting 

the next-highest-placed eligible 

candidates from the pre-selection 

tests to the written tests.

49. 

 T h e   p r e - s e l e c t i o n   t e s t s     f o r   t h e   1 7 6   c o m p e t i t i o n s   i n c l u d e d   i n 
e p s o ’s   d a t a b a s e   e l i m i n a te d   7 0   0 0 0   o f   t h e   9 5   0 0 0   c a n d i d a te s.   as 
a  re su l t,   th e  num b er  of  p eop le   wh o  were   able   to  t ake  t h e  subs e -
quent test s was  to o low to mee t t he   targe t  o f  1 5  5 0 0  l aureate s. 

50. 

 This  s hor t fal l  was  ag gravated  by   t h e  f ac t  t hat   som e  4   0 0 0   c a nd i-
dates who had successfully passed the pre -selec tion tests did not 
par t icip ate in fu r th er st ag e s of  t h e s e lec t ion  procedure. i n  many 
cases, the reason for not par ticipating was that they did not meet 
all the eligibility requirements stipulated in the notice of competi -
tions; compliance with these requirements was only verified af ter 
th e p re -s ele c t ion tes ts had  taken  place. 

51. 

 To remedy the situation where there were not enough candidates 
w h o   c o u l d   t a k e   t h e   w r i t t e n   t e s t ,   s i n c e   J a n u a r y   2 0 0 8 ,   e p s o   h a s 
reintroduced a procedure (the “repêchage” 17 of candidates) to fill 
the gaps lef t by those candidates who are successful in pre -selec -
tion tests but do not par ticipate in fur ther stages of the selec tion 
pro cedu re. 

52. 

 shor tf al ls in t he  numb er o f l aureate s  le ad to t he   i n stitut ion s’ hu-
m a n   re s o u r c e s   n e e d s   n o t   b e i n g   m e t   b y   p e r m a n e n t   s t a f f,   a n d   t o 
i n c r e a s e d   r e l i a n c e   o n   t e m p o r a r y   a n d   c o n t r a c t u a l   s t a f f.   T h i s   i n-
crease s th e r isk  of l oss  of ins tituti onal i se d k nowle dge.

53. 

 T h e   e d p  v i e w s   p r e - s e l e c t i o n   a s   a n   e f f e c t i v e   s t e p   t o   r e d u c e   t h e 
num b er  o f  c and idates  to  a  manag eabl e  le ve l  wh ere  n e ce ssar y.   i t 
discusses the option of excluding only the least per forming candi-
dates who have achieved a pass mark in each of the pre -selec tion 
tests, as well as all those who have failed any of these tests, from 
p a r t i c i p a t i n g   i n   t h e   n e x t   s t a g e   o f   t h e   c o m p e t i t i o n ,   r a t h e r   t h a n 
s e l e c t i n g   o n l y   t h e   b e s t   p e r fo r m i n g   fo r   f u r t h e r   te s t i n g.   h owe ve r, 
no de cisio n has  b een made as  yet.

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thE   sElEc tIo n   Pr o cEs s   dId   n ot   ac hI E vE  t hE  
b r o a dEs t   Po s sIb lE   gEo g r aPhIc a l   b a l a n cE

54. 

 The staff regulations require that the i nstitutions recruit staff on 
t h e   b ro a d e s t   p o s s i b l e   g e o gra p h i c a l   b a s i s   f ro m   a m o n g   n a t i o n a l s 
o f   t h e   M e m b e r   st ate s.  Th i s   i s   o n l y   p o s s i b l e   i f   t h e   d i s t r i b u t i o n   o f 
laure ates o n t he reser ve l is ts  ref lec t s  such  a g eo graph ic a l bas is. 

55.  

56.  

 i n   v i e w   o f   t h e   e n l a r g e m e n t s   o f   t h e   e u r o p e a n   u n i o n   w h i c h   t o o k 
place in 2004 and 2007, priorit y was given to candidates from the 
n e w   M e m b e r   st ate s   a n d   a   n u m b e r   o f   co m p e t i t i o n s   o rg a n i s e d   by 
eps o  were   o p en   to   candidates   f rom  t he s e  countr i es   on ly.   as  t he 
cour t's analysis of epso's database (see paragraph 31) shows, out 
of the total number of 10 151 laureates, almost t wo -thirds (6 416) 
were f rom  eu-12 ( i. e.  new )  M em be r  s tates  (se e A nnex  IVb) .

 This analysis also shows that candidates from Member states with 
a   r e l a t i v e l y   h i g h   p r o p o r t i o n   o f   t h e   e u   p o p u l a t i o n   t e n d e d   t o   b e 
u n d e r- re p re s e n te d   a m o n g s t   l a u re a te s.   as   t h e   d a t a   i n   A n n e x   I Va 
a n d   I V b  s h o w,   t h i s   a p p l i e d   n o t   o n l y   t o   M e m b e r   s t a t e s   l i k e   t h e 
united  k ingdom, G er many and spain within the  eu-15 group, but 
also to poland and romania within the eu-12 group.  on the other 
hand, with the exception of austria and bulgaria, candidates from 
smal l er M emb er  st ate s tend ed to be over-represe nte d compared 
t o   t h e i r   c o u n t r i e s '   p ro p o r t i o n   o f   t h e   e u  p o p u l a t i o n .  T h i s   w a s   i n 
par tic ul ar th e cas e for candidate s  f rom b elgium .

57.  

 as t here  may b e several  fac to rs  th at a ffe c t t he  g eographi c al ba l-
an ce,   an  in- d ept h  anal ysis  would  be   re quire d  to  i de nt if y   re ason s 
fo r   t h e   i m b a l a n c e s   o b s e r v e d .  T h e   e d p   n e i t h e r   a n a l y s e s   n o r   a d -
dre sse s t he ge ograp h ical  imb alan ce s  in  de ta il.

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sh o r tco mIn g s   In   m a n agEmEn t  

In f o r m atIo n

I n s u f fIcI En t  

In f o r m atIo n   avaIl a b lE   o n   co s t s

58. 

 The cost of placing a laureate on a reser ve list should be calculated 
by epso, so that it can ensure that an appropr iate level of invest-
ment, in line with similar organisations, is made in the personnel 
selec tion process. such an assessment is impor tant, given the fac t 
that  the eu i ns tit ut io ns o ffe r life - time care er s.

59. 

60. 

 There is not sufficient information available on costs, whether actu-
al costs, standard costs or benchmarks derived from similar interna -
tional public sector organisations. epso does not calculate or moni-
tor the cost incurred for a laureate to be placed on a reser ve list. i t 
h a s   s e r v i ce - l e ve l   a gre e m e nt s   w i t h   eu ro p e a n   r e g u l ato r y   ag e n c i e s 
fo r   t h e   p rov i s i o n   o f   p e r s o n n e l   s e l e c t i o n   s e r v i ce s,   fo r   w h i c h   e p s o 
charges 6 000 euro per laureate for open competitions. 

 The cour t estimates that, based on budgetar y execution, the cost 
i n c u r r e d   b y   e p s o  w a s   a b o u t   7   1 0 0   e u r o   p e r   l a u r e a t e ;   t h i s   c o m-
pr is es  4  590  e uro   in  direc t  co st s  an d  2   5 1 0   in   ind i re c t  cost s.   fur-
thermore, in order to determine the full cost to the eu budget, the 
cost   inc ur re d  by  the  i ns tit ut ion s  (st aff  par t icipating   in   se le c t io n 
b o a rd s,   m a r k i n g,   i nv i gi l at i o n   e tc. )   m u s t   a l s o   b e   i n c l u d e d,   w h i c h 
woul d incre ase  t he afo rementio ne d  amount. 

61. 

 T h e   e d p  d o e s   n o t   a d d r e s s   t h e   c o s t   p e r   l a u r e a t e ,   a n d   d o e s   n o t 
ide nt ify t arget s  or  standards in  t hi s  reg ard.

62. 

 fur ther more, the edp envisages a range of measures (e.g. assess -
m e n t   c e n t re s )   w h i c h   w o u l d   re q u i re   a d d i t i o n a l   f i n a n c i n g   d u r i n g 
the implementation phase. however, it does not contain any pre -
cise  in dicatio n  with   regard  to  th e   pote nti al  a ddit io na l  cos ts   an d 
f u t u r e   b e n e f i t s   a s   a   c o n s e q u e n c e   o f   t h e   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n   o f   t h e 
e d p.   Q u a n t i f i c a t i o n   o f   c o s t s   a n d   a s s e s s m e n t   o f   f u t u r e   b e n e f i t s 
woul d  f acil itate  dec isio n- mak in g   by  t h e  budget ar y   auth or it y  re -
garding  t he financing  of  t his plan . 

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w Ea k nEs sEs  

In   E Ps o ' s   d ata b a sEs 

63. 

 dat ab ase s sho uld have ap pro pr i ate bui lt-i n  cont rols  an d  conta in 
i n f o r m a t i o n   t h a t   i s   c o r r e c t   a n d   t i m e l y,   s o   a s   t o   h e l p   e n s u r e   a n 
 effic ient p ro cess. 

64.  

 candidates must introduce personal data via the i nternet in order 
to submit their application. later in the process, test results, data 
p r o v i d e d   b y   j u r i e s   a n d   l i s t s   o f   l a u r e a t e s   a r e   a l s o   s t o r e d   i n   t h e 
data ba ses.

65.  

The  aud it  reve aled weak nesses  in  e ps o's  dat abas es :

(a )  t he syste m did not reliab ly  re jec t m ult iple  applic at ion s  f rom 
o ne  an d  t he  s ame  p ers on,  wh ich   are   expre s sly   proh ibi ted   by 
co mp et itio n ru l es;

(b)  co ding  o f info r mat io n in put  to  th e  s ys te m  was  i nco ns is te nt;

(c)  cer t ain dat a inp u t to  th e system  contai ne d in a cc urate  or  im-

p o ssib l e el ements;

(d)  u p - to - d ate   i n fo r m at i o n   wa s   n o t   p rov i d e d   o n   t h e   ava i l a b i l i t y 

o f l au reates. 

66. 

 M u l t i p l e   a p p l i c a t i o n s   p re s e n t e d   b y   t h e   s a m e   p e r s o n   c a n   b e   d e -
tec ted elec tronically only if a unique and unequivocal identifier is 
used, which is not currently the case. fur thermore, the same codes 
are not used consistently to record the same infor mation about a 
spec ific   st ag e  o f  t he  co mpet ition   (e.g.   code s   for   c a n di dates   wh o 
are  s ucces sful   at  p re -sel ec tion,   wr i tte n  tes ts,   etc.) ,   re s ulti n g  in   a 
lack  of  har mo nis ed data for analy ti c al pur pos e s. 

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67. 

 acceptance of multiple applications by the system entails the risk 
of unequal treatment of candidates. a lack of reliable, useful and 
t i m e l y   m a n a g e m e n t   i n f o r m a t i o n   a t   c o m p e t i t i o n   l e v e l   a n d   a t   a 
glob al  l evel  makes  it difficul t  for  e ps o ’s ma nage ment  to id ent ify 
patte r ns, emerging trend s or excepti ons  to e st abli s he d n or ms.

68.  

 e p s o   fo re s e e s   t h e   i n t ro d u c t i o n   o f   a   n e w   d a t a b a s e   i n   2 0 1 0 .   i t   i s 
impor tant that the weak nesses identified above are appropriately 
add res sed in t his new  datab as e.

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conclusions and  
recoMMenda Tions

23

69. 

 o verall, the audit concluded that epso had successfully managed 
th e inc rease in t he nu mb er of ope n  co mpet it io ns  re qui red  i n th e 
contex t of enlargement. however, the following shor tcomings af-
fec te d epso ’s  ef ficie nc y and effec tivenes s:   

(i)  s t aff ing  ne eds o f t he i ns titut ion s were n ot communic ate d to 
ep so in a timel y manner or base d on  a  con s iste nt  met h odol-
o gy.

(ii)  The duration of the personnel selec tion process was too long, 
b o t h   i n   r e l a t i o n   t o   e p s o ’s   o w n   s t a n d a r d s   a n d   i n t e r n a t i o n a l 
b e s t   p ra c t i ce.  Th e   te s t i n g   p h a s e   e x p e r i e n ce d   d e l ays,   m a i n l y 
d u e   t o   t h e   f a c t   t h a t   m e m b e r s   o f   t h e   s e l e c t i o n   b o a r d s   w e r e 
no t m ade  availab l e o n a full- tim e  bas is.

(iii)   competitions only produced on average two -thirds of the tar -
g e t e d   n u m b e r   o f   l a u r e a t e s .  T h i s   r e s u l t e d   f r o m   w i t h d r a w a l s 
ca us ed by the  long  durat ion  of t he   proces s,  und ue  e mph as is 
on specific language requirements, unclear communication of 
co mp et itio ns  and  p re -s el ec tion  tes ts   wh i c h  eli mi nate d  more 
candidates than was necessar y to meet targets. fur ther more, 
t h e   s e l e c t i o n   p ro ce s s   d i d   n o t   a c h i e ve   t h e   b ro a d e s t   p o s s i b l e 
g eo grap hical b al ance amongs t laure ates. 

(iv)  M a n a g e m e n t   i n f o r m a t i o n   w a s   n o t   c o n s i s t e n t l y   r e l i a b l e   o r 
co mp rehens ive. i nfor m at ion on  t he costs inc ur red to place  a 
l a u re ate   o n   t h e   re s e r ve   l i s t   wa s   n o t   s u f f i c i e nt.  Th e   p o te nt i a l 
add itio nal  co st s  an d  fut ure  ben efi ts   res ult ing   fro m  t he  e ps o 
d e ve l o p m e n t   pro gr a m m e   (e d p)   we re   n o t   q u a n t i f i e d   a n d   i n-
formation contained in epso’s databases was not consistently 
rel iab l e.

70. 

 T h e   e d p,   a d o p t e d   i n   s e p t e m b e r   2 0 0 8 ,   a i m s   t o   r e d u c e   t h e   d u r a-
t i o n   o f   co m p e t i t i o n s   to   a   m a x i m u m   o f   9   m o nt h s   a n d   to   i n c re a s e 
their yield. i t envisages inter alia a shif t towards strategic human 
res o urce pl anning ; mo re rob ust  pre - s elec t ion ; wide spre ad u se  of 
cbT; and professionalised selec tion boards. i t is planned that the 
new procedures will be operational from the first quar ter of 2010.  
Tak ing into account the major change planned in the organisation 
of selec tion procedures through the edp, the cour t ’s main recom -
men datio ns are:

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r Ec o m mEn d atIo n   c o n cEr nIn g 
h u m a n   rEs o u r cE   Pl a n nIn g

r Eco m mEn d atIo n   no  1  

co m m u nIc atIn g   nE Ed s  

In   a  tImEly 

a n d   co n sIs tEn t   m a n nEr 

The representatives of the institutions on the epso Management 
board should ensure that the institutions provide epso with suf -
f ici e ntl y tim e l y an d re liab l e inf o r mati o n co n ce r nin g th e ir s t af f-
ing needs, on the basis of a common approach for assessing such 
n e e ds in th e co nte x t of a thre e -year ro llin g f o r w ard p lan . 

r Ec o m mEn d atIo n   c o n cEr nIn g   t hE

  d u r atIo n   o f   t hE    

P Er s o n nEl   sElEc tIo n  

Pr o cEs s

r Eco m mEn d atIo n   no  2  
E n s u rIn g   s uP Po r t   by  t hE   I n s tIt u tIo n s 

f o r   Pr o fEs sIo n a lIsEd   sElEc tIo n   b o a r d s 
a n d   q ua lIfI Ed   a s sEs s o r s

i n   o r d e r   to   a c h i e ve   t h e   r e d u c t i o n   i n   d u r a t i o n   f o r e s e e n   i n   t h e 
e p s o    d e v e l o p m e n t   p r o g r a m m e   ( e d p),   t h e   r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s   o f 
the ins titutions on the epso Management  b o ard should ensure 
that the ins titutions supp or t epso by s e conding to th e lat ter a 
suf f icient numb er of qualif ie d of f icials on a f ull -time b asis and 
by encouraging their staf f to become par t of the proposed pool 
of qualif ied assessors. if such suppor t is not for thcoming, other 
m easures sh o ul d b e a d o pte d to e nsure th e fo res e e n re du c ti o n 
in dur ati o n is a chi eve d .

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r Ec o m mEn d atIo n s   c o n cEr nIn g   t hE

  y I El d   a n d 

gEo g r aPhIc a l   b a l a n cE

  o f   c o mP E tItIo n s

r Eco m mEn d atIo n   no  3  

ad aPtIn g  t hE   sP EcIfIc   l a n g uagE   rEq uIrEmEn t s

in o rd e r to p lace m o re imp o r t an ce o n p rof essi o nal r ath e r than 
l a n g u a g e   s k i l l s ,   t h e   o p t i o n   t o   c a r r y   o u t   p r e - s e l e c t i o n   i n   a l l 
23  la n gu a g e s  sh o u l d  b e  a d o p te d .   T h e   re quire m e nt   o f  sp e ci f i c 
lan guag e p rof il es sh o ul d b e re co nsi d e re d; an d m o re e mp hasis 
should b e put on tes ting candidates’ abilit y to learn languages 
q u i c k l y   i n   l i n e   w i t h   t h e   n e w   c o m p e t e n c y - b a s e d   a p p r o a c h   t o 
s e l e c ti o n p ro ce du re s .

I mPr o vIn g  t hE   q ua lIt y   o f   co mP E tItIo n   n otIcEs

r Eco m mEn d atIo n   no  4  

epso should app ly s tric t qualit y contro l m e chanisms to ensure 
th e p ub li c ati o n o f a ccur ate an d  cl e ar   co mp e ti ti o n  n oti ce s . 

r Eco m mEn d atIo n   no  5  

E n s u rIn g   a n   aP Pr oPrIatE

   n u m bEr   o f   c a n dId atEs   at   Eac h 

s tagE   o f  t hE   sElEc tIo n   Pr o cEs s

(a )  co n c e r t e d   a c t i o n   b y   i n s t i t u t i o n s   fo r   t h e   d e ve l o p m e n t   a n d 
f i n a n c i n g   o f   a   c o m m o n   c o m m u n i c a t i o n   s t r a t e g y   t o   a t t r a c t 
qualified candidates should be taken under the coordination 
o f epso .

(b)  i n   o r d e r   t o   a t t a i n   t h e   r e q u i r e d   n u m b e r   o f   l a u r e a t e s   e p s o 
s h o u l d,   a t   e a c h   s t a g e   o f   t h e   c o m p e t i t i o n ,   s t r i v e   t o   e n s u r e 
that an appropriate number of suitable candidates is invited 
for f ur t her tes ting. 

r Eco m mEn d atIo n   no  6  

I mPr o vIn g   gEo g r aPhIc a l   b a l a n cE

eps o  s h o u l d   i d e nti f y   in   d e t a il   th e   e x te nt   o f   g e o g r a p h i c a l   i m -
b a l a n ce,   a n a l y s e   t h e   r e a s o n s   t h e r e o f,   a n d   m a ke   p r o p o s a l s   o n 
h ow  to  imp rove g e o g r ap hi c al b ala n ce.

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

 
26

r Ec o m mEn d atIo n s   c o n cEr nIn g   m a n a gEmEn t 

In f o r m atIo n

r Eco m mEn d atIo n   no  7  
d E tEr mInIn g   co s t s   o f   co mP E tItIo n s

(a )  ep so s hou ld identify  the full cost  to th e   e u budg et of plac -
ing a laureate on a reser ve list, and compare the results with 
s i m i l a r   i n t e r n a t i o n a l   p u b l i c   s e c t o r   o r g a n i s a t i o n s ,   s o   a s   t o 
e n s u re   t h a t   a n   a p p ro p r i a t e   l e ve l   o f   i nve s t m e n t   i s   m a d e   i n 
t he p er sonne l sel ec t ion  proces s. 

(b)  e p s o   s h o u l d   a l s o   q u a n t i f y   t h e   p o t e n t i a l   a d d i t i o n a l   c o s t s 
a n d   a s s e s s   t h e   f u t u re   b e n e f i t s   a r i s i n g   f ro m   t h e   i m p l e m e n-
t at i o n   o f   t h e   e d p,   i n   o rd e r   to   f a c i l i t ate   d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g   by 
t he bud get ar y a u tho r it y to f inance  t his plan.

r Eco m mEn d atIo n   no  8  
I n t r o d u cIn g   a   nE w   d ata b a sE   f o r  t hE   m a n agEmEn t   o f 
co mP E tItIo n s

e p s o  s h o u l d   t a k e   s t e p s   t o   e n s u r e   t h a t   t h e   n e w   d a t a b a s e   f o r 
managin g co mp e ti ti o ns is d esign e d to avoi d e ntr y of ir re gular 
multip l e ap p lic atio ns , is us e d consis tentl y for all comp e titions 
and pro duces reliable, useful and timely management informa -
ti o n at co mp e ti ti o n l eve l  an d at  a  gl o b al l eve l .

T h i s   r e p o r t   w a s   a d o p t e d   b y   t h e   c o u r t   o f   a u d i t o r s   i n   l u x e m -
b o u rg  at  i t s m e e tin g o f 11 J un e  20 0 9.

For  th e  Cour t o f  Audito rs

vítor M anuel da silva c aldeira
Presi den t

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

27

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special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

 
 
   
 
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
28

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special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
29

a n nEx I I I

brEa k d o w n   o f   sEco n d   l a n g uagE   sElEc tEd   by   Pa r tIcI P a n t s   In  tEs t s

member states 

number of 
participants 
in tests

English  
(En) 

french  
(fr) 

german 
 (dE) 

other 
languages 

belgium

bulgaria

czech republic

denmark

germany

Estonia

Ireland

greece

spain

france

Italy

cyprus

latvia

lithuania

luxembourg

hungary

malta

netherlands

austria

Poland

Portugal

romania

slovenia

slovakia

finland

sweden

united kingdom

total

Percentage

9 496

6 260

4 728

845

4 464

1 431

519

3 166

3 675

7 595

9 393

756

1 452

2 454

160

6 367

735

881

1 032

10 919

2 229

7 278

1 813

3 971

1 008

1 160

1 164

94 951

100 %

5 947

3 580

3 032

613

3 210

1 132

115

2 149

1 908

5 727

5 370

655

1 123

1 789

55

3 927

650

608

806

6 508

1 276

4 557

1 404

2 564

779

936

84

1 537

1 553

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127

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107

328

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73

144

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40

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2 272

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4

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140

28

102

289

17

22

25

127

75

163

6 505

7 %

60 504

64 %

18 710

20 %

Source : european court of auditors on the basis of epso data.

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

 
30

a n nEx  Iv a

g Eo g r aPhIc a l   b a l a n cE   o f   co mP E tItIo n   rEs u lt s   –   Eu- 15

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special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
31

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g Eo g r aPhIc a l   b a l a n cE   o f   co mP E tItIo n   rEs u lt s   –   Eu- 12

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special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
32

reply of The  epso 

summary
I.
e ps o   we lcomes  t he  cour t  of  auditor s  re -
por t at a time when the methods and poli -
c i e s   u s e d   f o r   t h e   s e l e c t i o n   o f   p e r s o n n e l 
for the european institutions are undergo -
in g a complete  over h aul.

III. 
(a)
under the  epso  development programme 
(edp) approved by the Management  board, 
i t   w a s   d e c i d e d   t o   e s t a b l i s h   a   t h r e e - y e a r 
rolling  plan  an d to define a met ho dol ogy 
s o   t h a t   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s   c o u l d   c o m m u n i-
cate their needs in a uniform manner. This 
common methodology is in the process of 
bein g applied.

a d a p t i n g   p l a n n i n g   t o   e n s u r e   s t r a t e g i c 
management of human resources require -
ments is one of the pillars of the overhaul 
o f   s e l e c t i o n   p r o c e d u r e s   c u r r e n t l y   u n d e r 
way un der t he ed p. 

(b)
having launched an effor t to identify best 
c u r r e n t   p r a c t i c e   i n   a   n u m b e r   o f   i n t e r n a-
t i o n a l   o rg a n i s at i o n s   a n d   n at i o n a l   a d m i n-
i s t r a t i o n s   a t   t h e   e n d   o f   2 0 0 7 ,   t h e   o f f i c e 
clearly identified the problem concerning 
th e  duration   of   competition s.   i n   th e  e dp, 
e p s o  m a d e   s p e c i f i c   p ro p o s a l s   to   re m e d y 
t h i s.   un d e r   t h e   e d p  a n d   t h e   a n n u a l   co m-
p e t i t i o n   c y c l e ,   t h e   d u r a t i o n   o f   c o m p e t i-
t i o n s   f r o m   p u b l i c a t i o n   o f   t h e   n o t i c e   t o 
public at ion  of   th e  reser ve  list  w ill  be  be -
t wee n 5  and 9  mont hs ( dependin g o n t he 
n umbe r of ca ndidates) .

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

33

reply of The epso

(c)
i n   t h e   a b s e n ce   o f   s t rate gi c   p l a n n i n g,   t h e 
numbers of s ucces sfu l  candidate s so ug ht 
by the institutions on an ad hoc basis have 
always incl ud ed s ome m argin, in  par t ic u-
l a r   fo r   t h e   p ro f i l e s   w h e re   c a n d i d a t e s   a re 
in sh or tes t  s upp l y.

T h e   c u r r e n t   s y s t e m   y i e l d e d   a l m o s t 
11  000  successful candidates, and just over 
7   0 0 0   w e r e   a c t u a l l y   r e c r u i t e d   b y   t h e   i n -
stitutions. This  strongly  suggests  that  the 
f a i l u re   t o   a t t a i n   t h e   t o t a l   n u m b e r   o f   s u c -
cessful candidates initially sought had only 
a limited impact and shows that the system 
did, in fac t, wor k .

T h e re   w a s   a   s h o r t f a l l   fo r   c e r t a i n   p ro f i l e s 
( e u r 1 0   t ra n s l ato r s,   fo r   ex a m p l e ) ,   re f l e c t-
ing a lack of qualified candidates in these 
sec tors of the labour market rather than a 
defec t in  st rategic p lanning  ( rep e at  com-
pet itio ns co nf ir m ed the initial  s ho r t f all) .

T h e   o b j e c t i v e   o f   t h e   e d p  i s   p r e c i s e l y   t o 
t a c k l e   t h e s e   d i f f i c u l t i e s ,   i n   p a r t i c u l a r 
t h r o u g h   t h e   c o m b i n e d   i m p l e m e n t a t i o n 
o f   t h e   n e w   s t r a t e g i c   p l a n   a n d   a   c o m m u-
nication st rateg y aimed at attrac ti ng  suf-
ficient nu mb ers  o f cand idates  b e s t quali-
fied  fo r  t he  pro f il es   so u ght ;  t his   i nc lud es 
t a r g e t i n g   d e f i c i t   p r o f i l e s / c o u n t r i e s   a n d 
est ablis hing   cl o ser   p ar t nership s   w it h  th e 
M e m b e r   st ate s   i n   o rd e r   to   re l ay   i n fo r m a-
tion.

s y s t e m a t i c a l l y   i n c l u d i n g   a   ‘ r e p ê c h a g e ’ 
c l a u s e   i n   c o m p e t i t i o n   n o t i c e s   w i l l   a l s o 
m a k e   i t   p o s s i b l e   to   l i m i t   a ny   l o s s   o f   c a n-
didate s du r ing th e ad mis sio n p roced ure.

(d )
i n t r o d u c t i o n   o f   t h e   e d p  i s   i n t e n d e d   t o 
m e e t   t h e   g o a l   o f   i n c re a s i n g   v a l u e   a d d e d 
a n d   i m p rov i n g   co s t- e f fe c t i ve n e s s   ( ‘ va l u e 
for mon ey ’) . The e dp a ims to improve t he 
qualit y  of  sele c t ion   procedures  an d  so  to 
in creas e  t he  lik elihood   of  obtai n in g   s uit-
able successful candidates for work in the 
in stitution s.   i n   ter ms  of   fina nc ial  impac t, 
then, the focus has to be recruitment rath-
er than selection. The proposed budget for 
2010 details the additional appropriations 
n ecessar y dur in g t he st ar t- up ph ase. 

a new computerised management system 
for competitions is currently under devel-
o p m e n t   a n d   i s   d u e   to   co m e   o n   s t re a m   i n 
2 0 1 0 .   i n   t h e   m e a n t i m e ,   e p s o  h a s   s e t   u p 
sound  mechan isms to ens ure t he  re lia bi l-
i t y   o f   t h e   i n f o r m a t i o n   c o n t a i n e d   i n   t h e 
exist ing  databases.

v. 
(a)
un d e r   t h e   e d p  a p p rove d   by   t h e   M a n a g e -
m e n t   b o a r d   i n   s e p t e m b e r   2 0 0 8 ,   a   t h r e e -
year  strategic  plan  is und er de ve lopme nt 
o n   t h e   b a s i s   o f   a   c o m m o n   s t a n d a r d   f o r 
t h e   c o m m u n i c a t i o n   o f   r e q u i r e m e n t s   b y 
th e in stit ut ion s.

(b)
un d e r   t h e   e d p,   t h i s   i s   d u e   t o   b e   i m p l e -
mented from 2 010 .

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

34

reply of The epso

(c)
s e v e r a l   m e a s u r e s   a r e   a l r e a d y   i n   p l a c e   i n 
res pon se to  the c o ur t ’s co mments : 

(d )
e ps o  will  improve  it s  man agem e nt   in for -
mat ion und er th e edp.

- 

- 

- 

- 

- 

q u a l i t y   c o n t r o l   h a s   b e e n   i m p r o v e d , 
b o t h   i nte r n a l l y   ( c re at i o n   o f   a   s p e c i f i c 
q u a l i t y   c o n t r o l   f u n c t i o n )   a n d   e x t e r -
nally (more thorough linguistic check-
i n g   b y   t h e   d G T   a n d   t h e   p u b l i c a t i o n s 
 o ff ice);

c o m p e t i t i o n   n o t i c e s   h a v e   b e e n   s i m-
p l i f i e d   a n d   r a t i o n a l i s e d   a n d   a r e   n o w 
ava il ab le  in 23 l ang uages ;

t h e   we b s i te   h a s   b e e n   re va m p e d,   w i t h 
stable information now available in all 
23 l ang u age s;

new language arrangements are grad-
uall y  be ing  b ro ug ht  in,  b o th  for   com-
m u n i c a t i o n   a n d   fo r   t h e   t e s t s   s o   a s   t o 
r e b a l a n c e   t h o s e   i n   t h e   s e c o n d   l a n-
guage and those in the main language 
in te r m s o f th eir rel at ive weig ht ;

tests are being more closely geared to 
th e  ne eds  o f  th e  inst it utio ns  in  te r ms 
of t he co mp etences  s ought.

di v e r s i t y   a n d   a t t r a c t i v e n e s s   c o n s t i t u t e 
t h e   t h i r d   p i l l a r   o f   t h e   e d p.   i n   t h i s   c o n-
n e c t i o n ,   v a r i o u s   m e a s u r e s   a r e   p l a n n e d 
t o   i n c r e a s e   e p s o ’s   a n d   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s ’ 
a b i l i t y   t o   a t t r a c t   t h e   b e s t   q u a l i f i e d   c a n-
didates, in par ticular by focusing commu-
nicatio n s trategy  on a mo re targ ete d an d 
va r i a b l e - g e o m e t r y   a p p ro a c h   fo r   M e m b e r 
s t a te s   a n d / o r   p ro f i l e s   w h e re   a   p a r t i c u l a r 
shor tage has been identified, and through 
a   co m p l e te   m a k e ove r   o f   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s’ 
image as employers to match the expec ta-
tions of you ng er g eneration s.

a s   p o i n t e d   o u t   e a r l i e r,   t h e   f u n d a m e n t a l 
aim of th e e dp is to in cre ase value adde d 
and cost- effec tiveness (‘value for money ’) 
for eac h  succe ssful c andidate. 

The proposed budget for 2010 details the 
a d d i t i o n a l   a p p ro p r i at i o n s   n e ce s s a r y   d u r -
in g th e st ar t-up phase.

obsErvatIons

1 4. 
e p s o   w e l c o m e s   t h e   c o u r t ’s   r e c o g n i -
t i o n   t h a t   i t   m a n a g e d   t h e   i n c r e a s e   i n   t h e 
n u m b e r   o f   c o m p e t i t i o n s   e f fe c t i ve l y.  T h i s 
d e m o n s t r a t e s   t h a t   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s   h a v e 
coped successfully  wit h enlarge ment.

1 7.
under the development programme (edp) 
a p p r o v e d   b y   t h e   M a n a g e m e n t   b o a r d ,   i t 
w a s   d e c i d e d   t o   e s t a b l i s h   a   t h r e e - y e a r 
rolling  plan  and to define a m eth odo log y 
s o   t h a t   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s   c o u l d   c o m m u n i-
cate their needs in a uniform manner. This 
common methodology is in the process of 
bein g applie d.

a d a p t i n g   p l a n n i n g   t o   e n s u r e   s t r a t e g i c 
management of human resources require -
ments is one of the pillars of the overhaul 
o f   s e l e c t i o n   p r o c e d u r e s   c u r r e n t l y   u n d e r 
way un der th e edp. 

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

35

reply of The epso

18.
The institutions agreed that always select-
i n g   a t   l e a s t   t w i c e   a s   m a ny   c a n d i d a t e s   a s 
the number of the jobs to be filled was not 
a prac ticable approach. a permanent mis-
match   b et wee n  the  numb er  of  s ucce s sf ul 
candidates and the number eventually re -
cruited  wo ul d entail  additio nal  cost s  an d 
h a v e   a   n e g a t i v e   i m p a c t   i n   t e r m s   o f   i m-
age. i n this contex t of enhanced forecast -
i n g   a n d   a n t i c i p a t i o n   o f   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s ’ 
n e e d s,   t h e   t h re e - ye a r   s t r a t e g i c   p l a n   a n d 
the introduc tion of annual c ycles of com-
p e t i t i o n s   a l re a d y   m e a n ,   i n   p r a c t i c e,   t h a t 
t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s   a l l o w   a   s m a l l e r   m a r g i n 
u n d e r   t h e   c u r r e n t   a d   h o c   s y s t e m   fo r   f i x -
i n g   t h e   n u m b e r   o f   s u c c e s s f u l   c a n d i d a t e s 
s o u g h t   ( o n   ave r a g e,   i t   i s   c u r re n t l y   a b o u t 
20 % ab ove  ac t ual  requ irement s ).

2 6.
T h e   e d p   t a k e s   a c c o u n t   o f   t h e   k e y   f a c t o r 
in  th e delays, n amely the timely  des ign a-
tion of selec tion board members and their 
a v a i l a b i l i t y,   a n d   o f fe r s   a   r e m e d y   b y   p r o -
v i d i n g   f o r   t h e   l o n g - t e r m   s e c o n d m e n t   o f 
selec t ion board members.

3 2. 
The substantial shor tfalls obser ved in the 
c a s e   o f   c e r t a i n   l i s t s   h ave   b e e n   re m e d i e d 
by   re l a u n c h i n g   c o m p e t i t i o n s   w h e re   n e c -
ess ar y.   i n   a ddition ,  in  Januar y  2 008   e ps o 
introduced a ‘repêchage’ clause into ever y 
c o m p e t i t i o n   n o t i c e   t o   e n s u r e   t h a t   a   s u f-
f i c i e n t   n u m b e r   o f   c a n d i d a t e s   s a t i s f y i n g 
t h e   e l i g i b i l i t y   c r i t e r i a   c a n   b e   i n v i t e d   t o 
th e stag es following th e computer- base d 
tests.

23. 
having launched an effor t to identify best 
c u r r e n t   p r a c t i c e   i n   a   n u m b e r   o f   i n t e r n a-
t i o n a l   o rg a n i s at i o n s   a n d   n at i o n a l   a d m i n-
i s t r a t i o n s   a t   t h e   e n d   o f   2 0 0 7 ,   t h e   o f f i c e 
c l e a r l y   i d e n t i f i e d   t h a t   t h e   d u r a t i o n   o f 
c o m p e t i t i o n s   w a s   a   p ro b l e m .   i n   t h e   e d p, 
e p s o  m a d e   s p e c i f i c   p ro p o s a l s   to   re m e d y 
t h i s.   un d e r   t h e   e d p  a n d   t h e   a n n u a l   co m-
p e t i t i o n   c y c l e ,   t h e   d u r a t i o n   o f   c o m p e t i-
tions — f ro m p ub lic atio n of  t he  no ti ce  to 
p u b l i c a t i o n   o f   t h e   r e s e r v e   l i s t   —   w i l l   b e 
b e t w e e n   5   a n d   9   m o n t h s   ( d e p e n d i n g   o n 
th e numb er of c andidates) .

4 0.
The  lan guage   a r ran ge ments   for   competi -
tion s are approved an d adapted  an nual ly 
b y   e p s o ' s   M a n a g e m e n t   b o a r d ,   o n   w h i c h 
all the institutions are represented. at its 
meeting on 13 november 2008, the  b oard 
approved the o ffice’s proposals for imple -
m e n t a t i o n   i n   t w o   s t a g e s :   f i r s t l y,   t h e   i n-
troduc t ion  from  20 10  of  test s in th e m ain 
l a n g u a g e   i n   m o n o l i n g u a l   s p e c i f i c   c o m-
p e t i t i o n s   o n l y   a n d   s e c o n d l y,   f r o m   2 0 1 1 , 
ge neral  use   of   23   lan guag es  for   most   ad-
mission tests (in par ticular verbal and nu-
mer ical rea son in g).   

T h e   c h o i c e   o f   l a n g u a g e   a r r a n g e m e n t s   i s 
d i c t a t e d   n o t   o n l y   b y   p r a c t i c a l   l o g i s t i c a l 
considerations but also by the institutions’ 
imperative need to be able to recruit suc-
ce s s f u l   c a n d i d ate s   c a p a b l e   o f   wo r k i n g   i n 
the languages that they (the institutions) 
use most  widely.

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

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reply of The epso

41- 42. 
un d e r   t h e   e d p,   co m p e t i t i o n   n o t i ce s   h ave 
recent ly  b een simp l ified and rat i ona li se d 
to include the former guide for candidates 
i n   a   s t a n d a rd   s e c t i o n   o f   t h e   c o m p e t i t i o n 
n o t i c e   p l u s   a   s h o r t e r   s e c t i o n   s p e c i f i c   t o 
each com pe titio n,  s o reduc ing t h e r isk  of 
e r r o r s .   T h e   c o m p e t i t i o n   n o t i c e s   a r e   a l s o 
n ow   ava i l a b l e   i n   t h e   2 3   l a n g u a g e s   o f   t h e 
e u.  T h e   l o g i c a l   s t r u c t u r e   o f   c o m p e t i t i o n 
n o t i c e s   h a s   b e e n   i m p r o v e d   t o   f a c i l i t a t e 
m a n a g e m e n t   a n d   m a k e   t h e   i n f o r m a t i o n 
c l e a r e r   f o r   c a n d i d a t e s   a s   w e l l   a s   t o   i m-
p r o v e   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s ’  i m a g e ,   s i n c e   t h e 
competition notice is often a citizen’s first 
contac t  wit h th e inst itut ions.

a s   r e g a r d s   d i s s e m i n a t i n g   i n f o r m a t i o n 
a b o u t   c o m p e t i t i o n   n o t i c e s ,   a   n u m b e r   o f 
r e f o r m s   h a v e   a l r e a d y   b e e n   i n t r o d u c e d 
under  t he  ed p,   no tab l y  t he  con cl usion   of 
a   n e w   c o n t r a c t   f o r   p u b l i c i t y   i n   t h e   m e -
d i a ,   w i d e r   u s e   o f   n e w   m e d i a   t o   m a t c h 
t h e   e x p e c t a t i o n s   a n d   h a b i t s   o f   y o u n g e r 
generat io ns  (fo r  examp l e,  a  v id e o  c lip  on 
commu nit y  c areers   has  b een   on youTube 
s i n ce   M a rc h   2 0 0 9 ) ,   t h e   d e ve l o p m e nt   o f   a 
c o m m u n i c a t i o n   s t r a t e g y   c e n t r e d   a r o u n d 
a new b rand  image for  t he inst it ut io ns  as 
e m p l o ye r s,   t h e   l a u n c h   o f   a   n e w   we b s i t e, 
and lastly a strategy of closer cooperation 
w i t h   t h e   M e m b e r   s t ate s   to   e n s u re   b e t te r 
d i s s e m i n a t i o n   o f   i n f o r m a t i o n   ( i m p r o v e d 
relations with the permanent representa-
t i v e s   i n   b r u s s e l s ,   c o n t a c t s   w i t h   n a t i o n a l 
a u t h o r i t i e s   o n   t h e   gro u n d,   i n c re a s e d   u s e 
of eps o ’s  net wor k of re cruitment exper t s 
in nati onal  adminis t rat ion s).

4 3. 
T h e   s t r a t e g i c   p l a n   a n d   t h e   a n n u a l   c y c l e 
o f   c o m p e t i t i o n s   w i l l   m a k e   i t   p o s s i b l e   t o 
l i m i t   t h e   n u m b e r   o f   c o r r i g e n d a   d u e   t o 
c h a n g e s   i n   t h e   n u m b e r   o f   t h e   s u c c e s s f u l 
cand idate s soug ht.

s i m i l a r l y,   q u a l i t y   co nt ro l   h a s   b e e n   t i g ht -
en ed at  e ps o ’s in itiative for  bot h tran sla-
tion in the dGT and linguistic check ing in 
th e publications o ffice.   

4 5. 
s i n c e   4   M a r c h   2 0 0 9   c o m p e t i t i o n   n o t i c e s 
h ave been published in  23  lan gua g es.

4 6. 
The institutions are ver y aware of the need 
to improve their image as employers, and 
th is is on e of the  ed p ’s goals.

5 0.
un d e r   t h e   e d p,   s te p s   h ave   b e e n   t a k e n   to 
k e e p   t h e   n u m b e r   o f   c a n d i d a t e s   w h o   d o 
n o t   s a t i s f y   t h e   a d m i s s i o n   c o n d i t i o n s / e l i -
gibilit y  c r iter ia  to a  min imum :

- 

- 

a   n e w,   m o r e   d e t a i l e d   a n d   i n t u i t i v e 
o n - l i n e   a p p l i c at i o n   fo r m   h a s   b e e n   i n-
t ro d u ce d.   ca n d i d ate s   h ave   to   d e c l a re 
o n   t h e i r   h o n o u r   t h a t   t h e   i n fo r m a t i o n 
g i v e n   i n   t h e i r   o n - l i n e   a p p l i c a t i o n   i s 
cor rec t ;

there is more scope for self- evaluation 
to   a l l ow   c a n d i d a te s   to   a s s e s s   b e fo re -
hand whether they will be able to pass 
th e sele c t ion tests;

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

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reply of The epso

5 9. 
a n   a n a l y s i s   o f   t h e   r e f e r e n c e   c o s t s   i n   o r -
der to compare the costs determined with 
t h o s e   o f   n at i o n a l   a d m i n i s t rat i o n s   w i l l   b e 
carried out through epso’s network of na-
tion al rec ruitment exper ts and s ho uld  be 
available in th e second h alf  of 2 0 0 9 .

6 1. 
The analysis of reference costs will enable 
e ps o  to  for mulate  appropr iate  st andards 
and objec tives in line with progress in im-
plementin g th e ed p.

6 2. 
T h e   e d p   i s   i n t e n d e d   t o   i m p a r t   a d d e d 
v a l u e   t o   t h e   s e l e c t i o n   p r o c e s s .   a n   e v e n 
m o re   h i g h l y   p ro fe s s i o n a l   s e l e c t i o n   s e r v -
ice, which is the principal goal of the edp, 
w i l l   y i e l d   a   s u b s t a nt i a l   re t u r n   by   at t ra c t -
in g  an d  se lec tin g  th e  r ight  c andi d ate s   to 
e n a b l e   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s   t o   a c h i e v e   t h e i r 
maj or st rategic  obj ec tives.

The proposed budget for 2010 details the 
a d d i t i o n a l   a p p ro p r i at i o n s   n e ce s s a r y   d u r -
ing the star t-up phase. The costs, and the 
e x p e c t e d   g a i n s,   w i l l   b e   re f i n e d   o n c e   t h e 
c o s t   o f   t h e   v a r i o u s   f a c t o r s   d e p l o y e d   u n-
d e r   t h e   n e w   s y s t e m   a r e   k n o w n   i n   d e t a i l 
f o l l o w i n g   t h e   a w a r d   o f   c o n t r a c t s   u n d e r 
t h e   c u r r e n t   c a l l s   f o r   t e n d e r s   c o n c e r n i n g 
e va l u at i o n   ce nt re s   a n d   t h e   n e w   co nte nt s 
of th e test s.

- 

admission will involve t wo stages: ini-
t i a l   s c r e e n i n g   o n   t h e   b a s i s   o f   t h e   i n-
formation given by candidates on-line 
a n d   s u b s e q u e n t   s c r e e n i n g   a t   a   l a t e r 
stag e l ater in th e p rocedu re.

The  tim e  savings   are  es timated  at   almost 
3  m o n t h s   c o m p a re d   w i t h   t h e   c u r re n t   s e -
lec t ion  p roce du re.

53. 
The principle of ‘sif ting in’ candidates has 
already been approved under the edp. The 
p r a c t i c a l i t i e s   w i l l   b e   d e c i d e d   a s   p a r t   o f 
th e fir st  annu al c yc l e.

57. 
There is a limit to what epso can do in this 
a r e a ,   s i n c e   t h e   g e o g r a p h i c a l   i m b a l a n c e s 
a r e   m a i n l y   d u e   t o   e x t e r n a l   f a c t o r s   o v e r 
wh ich  it  has  n o  co ntrol,  s uc h  as  th e  st ate 
o f   t h e   e c o n o m y   i n   t h e   M e m b e r   s t a t e s , 
public perception of the european union, 
a n d   r e l a t i v e   w a g e   l e v e l s .   ne v e r t h e l e s s , 
c h a p t e r   3   o f   t h e   e d p   a n s w e r s   t h e   n e e d 
t o   t a r g e t   c e r t a i n   c a n d i d a t e   p o p u l a t i o n s, 
i n   p a r t i c u l a r   t h o s e   f ro m   s p e c i f i c   M e m b e r 
s t a t e s .   a n   a n a l y s i s   o f   g e o g r a p h i c a l   b a l-
ance  has b een  car r ied  o u t.

58. 
T h e   c o s t   o f   p l a c i n g   a   s u c c e s s f u l   c a n d i-
d a t e   o n   a   r e s e r v e   l i s t ,   t a k i n g   p a r t i c u l a r 
account   o f  simil ar  co sts   inc ur red   by   e ac h 
i n s t i t u t i o n   b e f o r e   a n   i n t e r - i n s t i t u t i o n a l 
b o d y   r e s p o n s i b l e   f o r   s e l e c t i o n   p r o c e -
d u re s   wa s   s et   u p,   h a s   b e e n   c a l c u l ate d   by 
th e  o ff ice  w hen  it  was  c reated.   however, 
what is needed is not to evaluate the cost 
o f   a   s u cce s s f u l   c a n d i d a te   a s   s u c h ,   b u t   to 
c o m p a r e   i t   w i t h   t h e   p o t e n t i a l   c o s t   o f   a 
p o o r   re c r u i t m e nt   d e c i s i o n   i n   t h e   co ntex t 
of lifel ong  emp loyment.

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

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reply of The epso

6 6.
The existence of a unique identifier would 
prevent attempted multiple applications. 
ho w e v e r,   t h e r e   i s   n o   u n i q u e   i d e n t i f i e r 
across th e entire e uropean union .

6 7.
e p s o   b e l i e v e s   i t   h a s   s e t   u p   a   s o u n d   a n d 
c o s t - e f fe c t i ve   s e r i e s   o f   c o n t ro l s   o f fe r i n g 
a propor tionate response to the potential 
r i s k s   a s   r e g a r d s   e q u a l   t r e a t m e n t .   a s   t h e 
cour t noted in point 70, epso is develop -
in g  its  syste ms   unde r  th e  e dp  in  order   to 
improve its man ag ement  in fo r m at ion .

conclusIons and   
rEcommEndatIons  

6 9.
T h e   o b j e c t i v e   o f   t h e   e d p  i s   p r e c i s e l y   t o 
re m e d y   t h e   p r i n c i p a l   we a k n e s s e s   i d e n t i-
fied in  t he c ur rent  sele c t ion  sys tem . 

(i)
a d a p t i n g   p l a n n i n g   t o w a r d s   s t r a t e g i c 
management of human resources require -
ments is one of the pillars of the overhaul 
o f   s e l e c t i o n   p r o c e d u r e s   c u r r e n t l y   u n d e r 
way un der t he e dp approved by  the M an-
a g e m e n t   b o a r d   i n   s e p t e m b e r   2 0 0 8 .   T h e 
establishment of a three -year rolling plan 
a n d   t h e   d e f i n i t i o n   o f   c o m m o n   s t a n d a rd s 
for clear and consistent methods by which 
t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s   c a n   c o m m u n i c a t e   t h e i r 
n eeds  h ave  now  be en   dec ided  an d  are  i n 
th e process of being introduce d.   

65.
(a)
epso has introduced a series of systematic 
a u t o m a t e d   a n d   m a n u a l   c o n t r o l s   t o   p r e -
vent candidates from mak ing multiple ap -
p l i c a t i o n s   fo r   o n e   o r   m o re   co m p e t i t i o n s. 
fi r s t ,   t h e   e x i s t e n c e   o f   a   s i n g l e   e p s o  f i l e 
in which candidates have to be registered 
before they can take par t in competitions 
i s   d e s i g n e d   t o   p re ve n t   m u l t i p l e   a p p l i c a-
tions o r de tec t  t hem l ater.  Then th ere  are 
two subsequent levels of control to detect 
m u l t i p l e   f i l e s   f r o m   t h e   s a m e   c a n d i d a t e . 
lastly, possible deception is also detec ted 
a t   t h e   c o m p u t e r - b a s e d   t e s t   s t a g e ,   w h e n 
c a n d i d a t e s   a r e   r e q u i r e d   t o   p r o v e   t h e i r 
ident it y,  o r  be fo re  t heir  admiss i on  to  th e 
following stages of the selec tion process. 
Th e   i nt ro d u c t i o n   o f   a   m o re   co m p l e te   a p -
p l i c at i o n   fo r m   i n   M a rc h   2 0 0 9   co nt a i n i n g, 
i n   p a r t i c u l a r,   t h e   c a n d i d a t e ’s   a c a d e m i c 
p r o f i l e ,   p r o f e s s i o n a l   e x p e r i e n c e ,   a n d 
re a s o n s   fo r   a p p l y i n g   h a s   s e r ve d   t o   m a k e 
multiple applications by one and the same 
c a n d i d a t e   e v e n   m o r e   d i f f i c u l t ;   i n   a d d i -
tions, candidates now have to cer tify that 
the information given in their application 
for m is  t ru e.

(b)
T h e   p r o b l e m s   c o n c e r n i n g   t h e   c o d i n g   o f 
i n p u t   i n f o r m a t i o n   a n d   s o m e   o f   t h e   d a t a 
i n p u t   i n t o   t h e   s y s t e m   h ave   a l re a d y   b e e n 
t a k e n   i n t o   a c c o u n t   i n   t h e   d e s i g n   o f   t h e 
n e w   s y s t e m   ( t h e   s t r u c t u r e   o f   a   c o m p e -
t i t i o n   w i l l   h a v e   t o   i n c l u d e   s t a n d a r d   e l-
e m e n t s   a n d   i t   w i l l   b e   p o s s i b l e   t o   a d d 
s p e c i f i c   s t a g e s )   a n d   a   l a r g e r   r a n g e   o f 
v a l i d a t i o n   r u l e s   w i l l   a p p l i e d   a t   t h e   t i m e 
of input. The new system will become op -
eration al in 20 10 .

(d)
The institutions are responsible for the re -
c r u i t m e n t   o f   s u cce s s f u l   c a n d i d a te s.  Th e y 
are  also   re quired   to  in for m  ep so  in   good 
time of  any eve nts  af fec ting  the  st at us  o f 
s u c c e s s f u l   c a n d i d a t e s   s o   t h a t   i t   c a n   u p -
d a t e   t h e   d a t a b a s e .   e p s o   c o n s i d e r s   t h a t 
t h e   s ys te m   f u n c t i o n s   we l l   a n d   t h at   i t   h a s 
improved co ns iderab l y n ow that  s ucce ss-
f u l   c a n d i d a t e s   c a n   c h e c k   t h e i r   s t a t u s   i n 
rea l t ime.

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

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reply of The epso

(ii)
e p s o  h a s   c l e a r l y   i d e n t i f i e d   t h e   p r o b l e m 
co n ce r n i n g   t h e   d u rat i o n   o f   co m p e t i t i o n s 
a n d   h a s   m a d e   a p p ro p r i a t e   p ro p o s a l s   u n-
der th e ed p to  reme dy th is.   under  th e fu-
ture  a nn ual   c ycl e,   the  du ration  o f  a  co m-
petition from publication of the notice to 
publication of the reser ve list will amount 
to   b e t we e n   5   a n d   9   m o n t h s.  Th e   i s s u e   o f 
s e l e c t i o n   b o a r d   m e m b e r s’  a v a i l a b i l i t y   i s 
also add re sse d by  the e dp.

(iii) 
c o m p e t i t i o n s   p r o d u c e d   m o r e   s u c c e s s f u l 
candidates than the institutions recruited 
f ro m   t h e   ava i l a b l e   re s e r ve   l i s t s.   b o t h   t h e 
new language ar rangements approved by 
the M anagement b oard and the measures 
included in the edp tack le the various ob -
ser vation s  made  by   t he  co ur t.  lastly,  th e 
s c o p e   f o r   a c t i o n   t o   e n s u r e   t h e   b r o a d e s t 
p o s s i b l e   g e o g r a p h i c a l   b a l a n c e   i s   l i m i t e d 
owing to a number of external factors that 
a re   b e yo n d   t h e   co nt ro l   o f   e i t h e r   e p s o   o r 
th e ins tit ut ion s.

(iv) 
epso  w il l  imp rove  its   manageme nt   in for -
mation u nder th e ed p.

Th e   f u n d a m e nt a l   a i m   o f   t h e   e d p  i s   to   i n-
crease value added and cost- effec tiveness 
( ‘ v a l u e   f o r   m o n e y ’ )   f o r   e a c h   s u c c e s s f u l 
can didate.

a   n e w   d a t a b a s e   w i l l   b e   o p e r a t i o n a l   i n 
2 0 1 0   a n d   w i l l   t a k e   a c c o u n t   o f   t h e   i s s u e s 
ident ified  by t he c o ur t.

7 0.
The measures planned under the edp offer 
a   r e s p o n s e   t o   a l l   t h e   w e a k n e s s e s   i d e n t i-
f i e d   i n   t h e   c u r r e n t   co m m u n i t y   s e l e c t i o n 
procedures, which explains its unanimous 
adoption  by all the  in stitutions.

recommendation 1:  communicating needs 
in a timely and consistent  manner
this recommendation is accepted and is 
a l r e a d y   b e i n g   i m p l e m e n t e d .  un d e r   t h e 
e d p  a p p rove d   by   t h e   M a n a g e m e nt   b o a rd 
i n   s e p te m b e r   2 0 0 8 ,   t h e   e s t a b l i s h m e nt   o f 
a   t h r e e - y e a r   r o l l i n g   p l a n   a n d   t h e   d e f i n i-
t i o n   o f   c o m m o n   s t a n d a r d s   f o r   t h e   i n s t i-
tution s to comm un icate th eir  n e eds  h ave 
b e e n   d e c i d e d   a n d   t h e   s t r a t e g i c   p l a n   f o r 
2 0 0 9 – 2 0 1 1   i s   b e i n g   p u t   i n   p l a c e   ( re c o m-
mendation 1 of the edp). The needs of the 
in stitution s for  the n ex t thre e  ye ar s  we re 
r e c e i v e d   i n   M a r c h   2 0 0 9 .   a d a p t i n g   p l a n-
n i n g   t o w a r d s   s t r a t e g i c   m a n a g e m e n t   o f 
h u m a n   r e s o u r c e s   r e q u i r e m e n t s   i s   o n e   o f 
th e pillars of t he ed p.

r ecom mend ati o n  2:  s ec u rin g  t he  in s t i -
tutions’ suppor t for ‘professional’ selec-
t ion  b o ards  and  q ualified  as ses so rs
this recommendation is accepted and is 
already being implemented through two 
ac tion points provided for in the edp (rec -
ommen dat ions  1 4  and  15 ) :  in  co nn ec t io n 
w i t h   t h e   e s t a b l i s h m e nt   o f   t h e   e va l u at i o n 
c e n t r e s ,  ‘ p r o f e s s i o n a l ’  s e l e c t i o n   b o a r d s 
based on secondment of staff from the in-
stitutions to epso for a fixed period of up 
to   4   ye a r s   a n d   t h e   co n s t i t u t i o n   o f   a   p o o l 
o f   m a r k e r s.   d i s c u s s i o n s   w i t h   t h e   i n s t i t u-
tions based on proposals from the o ffice, 
in par ticular on the precise ar rangements 
fo r   s e co n d m e nt   o f   s e l e c t i o n   b o a rd   m e m-
bers, are in their final stages. These meas-
ures will be  implemented  in 2 0 1 0 .   

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

The durat io n o f s el ec t ion  p ro ced ures  wi ll 
a l s o   b e   re d u ce d   w i t h   t h e   i nt ro d u c t i o n   o f 
t h e   a n n u a l   c yc l e s   ( r e c o m m e n d a t i o n   2   o f 
the edp) and all the related measures tak -
en in  t his  co nnec tio n.

re co m m e n d a t i o n   3 :   ad a p t i n g   t h e   s p e -
cific la ngu age  re q uireme nts
this recommendation is accepted.  at its 
meeting on 13 november 2008, the  b oard 
approved the o ffice’s proposals for imple -
mentation in t wo stages: (1) the introduc -
tion fro m 2 01 0 of tests  in t he c an did ates’ 
m a i n   l a n g u a g e ,   i n   m o n o l i n g u a l   s p e c i f i c 
competitions only, in order to test the da-
ta ba se   co nt ainin g  the  new   lang uag e   ve r-
s i o n s   o f   t h e   q u e s t i o n s   a n d   ( 2 )   f ro m   2 0 1 1 
th e  us e  o f  2 3  l ang uages   as   a  ge ne ral  r ule 
for most admission tests (in par ticular ver-
b a l   a n d   n u m e r i c a l   re a s o n i n g ) .  Th e   f u t u re 
b e h a v i o u r a l   t e s t s   w i l l   c o n t i n u e   t o   b e   i n 
the three wor k ing languages (candidates’ 
second  l ang uag e).

T h e   c h o i c e   o f   l a n g u a g e   a r r a n g e m e n t s   i s 
d i c t a t e d   n o t   o n l y   b y   p r a c t i c a l   l o g i s t i c a l 
considerations but also by the institutions’ 
imperative need to be able to recruit suc-
ce s s f u l   c a n d i d ate s   c a p a b l e   o f   wo r k i n g   i n 
the languages that they (the institutions) 
use mos t  w id ely.

40

reply of The epso

recommendation 4: Improving the qual-
it y  o f  comp et iti on  notices
t h i s   r e c o m m e n d a t i o n   i s   a c c e p t e d   a n d 
i s   a l r e a d y   b e i n g   i m p l e m e n t e d .  a s   p a r t 
o f   t h e   o f f i c e’s   r e o r g a n i s a t i o n ,   a n   i n t e r -
n a l   q u a l i t y   co nt ro l   f u n c t i o n   h a s   b e e n   s e t 
up. similar ly, ex ter n al q ualit y control h as 
b e e n   s t re n g t h e n e d   a t   t h e   o f f i c e’s   i n i t i a-
t i v e   f o r   b o t h   t r a n s l a t i o n   i n   t h e   d G T   a n d 
linguistic check ing in the publications o f-
fice, and the number of corrigenda due to 
e r r o r s   h a s   f a l l e n .   M o r e   b r o a d l y,   c o m p e -
t i t i o n   n o t i ce s   h ave   re ce n t l y   b e e n   s i m p l i-
fied  an d  rationalised  under  the   e dp,  with 
a   s t a n d a r d   s e c t i o n   i n   2 3   l a n g u a g e s 1  a n d 
a   s h o r t e r   s e c t i o n   s p e c i f i c   t o   e a c h   c o m-
p e t i t i o n   ( a l s o   i n   2 3   l a n g u a g e s   fo r   e u r2 7 
co m p e t i t i o n s ) ,   w h i c h   w i l l   re d u ce   t h e   r i s k 
of er rors. The logic al s tr uc ture of compe -
t i t i o n   n o t i ce s   h a s   t h u s   b e e n   i m p rove d   to 
f a c i l i t a te   m a n a g e m e n t ,   i m p rove   c o m m u-
n i c a t i o n ,   a n d   e n h a n c e   t h e   i m a g e   o f   t h e 
i n s t i t u t i o n s,   a s   t h e   co m p e t i t i o n   n o t i ce   i s 
of ten   a  cit izen’s   first   contac t  wit h   th e  in-
st itutions.

recommendation 5: Ensuring a suitable 
n u m b e r   o f   c a n d i d a t e s   a t   e a c h   s t a g e   i n 
t he selec tio n p ro cedu re
(a) 
this recommendation is accepted and is 
a l r e a d y   b e i n g   i m p l e m e n t e d.  un d e r   t h e 
e d p  a n d   t h e   n e w   c o m m u n i c a t i o n   s t r a t e -
gy, a revamped website has been in place 
since the beginning of M arch 2009. i n ad-
dition, regular meetings and contac ts are 
held on epso’s initiative with the net work 
o f   e x p e r t s   o n   s e l e c t i o n   a n d   r e c r u i t m e n t 
i n   t h e   M e m b e r   st ate s,   a n d   t h e   s u b j e c t   o f 
m a k i n g   e u   c a r e e r s   a p p e a l i n g   t o   c a n d i-
dates is  regular ly  disc ussed.

1  oJ c 47 a of 26.2.2009.

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

41

reply of The epso

a n   a n a l y s i s   o f   t h e   r e f e r e n c e   c o s t s   i n   o r -
der to compare the costs determined with 
t h o s e   o f   n at i o n a l   a d m i n i s t rat i o n s   w i l l   b e 
carried out through epso’s network of na-
tion al rec ruitment exper ts and s ho uld  be 
available in th e second h alf  of 2 0 0 9 .

howe ve r,   w h at   i s   n e e d e d   i s   n o t   to   e va l u-
a t e   t h e   c o s t   o f   a   s u c c e s s f u l   c a n d i d a t e   a s 
such, but to compare it with the potential 
cost of a poor recruitment decision in the 
contex t of life lon g employ me nt.

(b) 
this recommendation is accepted and is 
a l re a d y   b e i n g   i m p l e m e nte d. Th e   e d p   i s 
intended to impar t added value to the se -
lec tion process. as explained in the budg-
e t a r y   p r o p o s a l   f o r   2 0 1 0 ,   a   m o r e   h i g h l y 
p r o f e s s i o n a l   s e l e c t i o n   s e r v i c e ,   w h i c h   i s 
t h e   p r i n c i p a l   g o a l   o f   t h e   e d p,   w i l l   y i e l d   a 
s u b s t a n t i a l   r e t u r n   b y   a t t r a c t i n g   a n d   s e -
lec ting the right candidates to enable the 
institutions to achieve their major strate -
gic obj ec tives.

re co m m e n d at i o n   8 :   I n t ro d u c i n g   a   n e w 
d a t a b a s e   f o r   t h e   m a n a g e m e n t   o f   c o m-
p et it ions
this recommendation is accepted and is 
already par tially being implemented.  all 
the issues raised are included in the list of 
requireme nt s for t he n ew system .  a more 
d e t a i l e d   a n a l ys i s   i s   u n d e r   way   to   re m e d y 
the problem of multiple applications, tak-
i n g   i n t o   a c c o u n t   e v e r y   p o s s i b l e   t y p e   o f 
ac tion  (procedural, legal,  or tec h n ic al) . 

(b) 
t h i s   r e c o m m e n d a t i o n   i s   a c c e p t e d   a n d 
i s   a l re a d y   b e i n g   i m p l e m e nt e d.  i n   a d d i-
t i o n ,   i n   J a n u a r y   2 0 0 8   e p s o   i n t r o d u c e d   a 
‘repêchage’ clause into ever y competition 
notice  to  ensu re that a su ff ic ient numbe r 
o f   c a n d i d a t e s   s a t i s f y i n g   t h e   e l i g i b i l i t y 
c r i t e r i a   c a n   b e   i nv i t e d   t o   t h e   s t a g e s   fo l -
lowing the computer-based tests. because 
o f   t h e   c o s t s   i nvo l ve d   i n   o r g a n i s i n g   t e s t s 
i n   t h e   e v a l u a t i o n   ce n t re s,   t h e   n u m b e r   o f 
c a n d i d a t e s   i n v i t e d   b y   e p s o  w i l l   n o t   b e 
m o r e   t h a n   t h r e e   t i m e s   t h e   f i n a l   n u m b e r 
r e q u i r e d   f o r   e n t r y   o n   t h e   r e s e r v e   l i s t s . 
These principles are in line with the prac -
tice on t he grou nd.

re c o m m e n d a t i o n   6 :   I m p r o v i n g   g e o -
graphic a l ba la nce
t h i s   r e c o m m e n d a t i o n   i s   p a r t i a l l y   a c -
cepted. Th e geo grap hic al  imb al an ces  are 
mainly due to ex ternal fac tors over which 
epso   h as  no   co nt ro l,   s uc h  as   the  state   of 
the economy in the Member states, public 
perception of the european union, and rel-
ative wage levels. The o ffice is fully aware 
o f   t h e   s t a t u t o r y   o b l i g a t i o n   fo r   t h e   i n s t i -
t u t i o n s   t o   re c r u i t   o n   a   b ro a d   g e o g r a p h i-
c a l   b a s i s.  To g e t h e r   w i t h   t h e   i n s t i t u t i o n s, 
epso co ns ta nt ly mo nitor s the ge ographi-
cal make -up of competitions and takes the 
necessar y steps when the number of appli-
c at i o n s   i s   co n s i d e re d   s u b o p t i m a l   i n   v i e w 
o f   t h e   s i z e   o f   a   M e m b e r   s t a t e’s   p o p u l a -
tion. i n par ticular this involves increased, 
targeted publicity in those Member states 
a n d   a w a re n e s s - r a i s i n g   c a m p a i g n s   a i m e d 
at potential  candidates.   

r e c o m m e n d a t i o n   7 :   d e t e r m i n i n g   t h e 
costs o f com p e tition s
(a)
that pa r t of the re com m en datio n to  d o 
w i t h   d e t e r m i n i n g   t h e   t o t a l   c o s t   t o   t h e 
community budget of placing a success-
ful candidate on a reser ve list is accept-
e d.  Th e   co s t   o f   p l a c i n g   a   s u c ce s s f u l   c a n -
didate   on  a  reser ve  l is t,  t ak ing  par t ic ul ar 
account   of   similar  cos t s  inc ur red   by   e ac h 
i n s t i t u t i o n   b e f o r e   a n   i n t e r - i n s t i t u t i o n a l 
body responsible for selec tion procedures 
was set up, has been calculated by the o f-
fice  wh en it  was  created.   

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

special r eport no 9/2009 - efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the e uropean personnel s election o ffice

european court of auditors

special report no 9/2009 

the efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried  

out by the European Personnel selection office

luxembourg: publications office of the european union

2009 — 41 pp. — 21 x 29,7 cm

isbn 978-92-9207-385-5 

doi:10.2865/57613

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T H E   E U R O P E A N   CO M M U N I T I E S’  I N S T I T U T I O N S   E M P LOY   S TA F F 

WITH  A  WIDE  VARIE T Y  OF  PR OF ESSIONA L  B ACKG R OUNDS  AND 

G E O G R A P H I C A L   O R I G I N S .  O F F I C I A L S   A R E   M O S T LY   S E L E C T E D 

THROUGH  OPEN  COMPE TITIONS  WHICH  SINCE  2003  HAVE  BEEN 

MANAGED BY THE EUROPEAN PERSONNEL SELECTION OFFICE (EPSO). 

IN THIS REPORT THE COURT FOCUSES ON HOW EPSO COPED WITH 

THE LARGE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF COMPETITIONS DUE TO 

ENLARGEMENT AND WHETHER IT PROVIDED LISTS OF LAUREATES 

IN  A TIMELY  MANNER,  ENSURING THE  REQUIRED  NUMBERS  AND 

GEOGRAPHICAL BALANCE.

EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS

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THE EFFICIENCY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF 
THE PERSONNEL SELECTION ACTIVITIES 
CARRIED OUT BY THE EUROPEAN 
PERSONNEL SELECTION OFFICE

EN