FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE ORAL TEST ARE CONCERNED, THE SELECTION BOARD CANNOT BE CRITICIZED FOR PREPARING LISTS CONTAINING A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS ALMOST AS LARGE AS THE CONSIDERABLE NUMBER OF CANDIDATES TAKING PART IN THE TESTS OR FOR DECIDING THAT THE QUESTION OF A GENERAL NATURE WAS TO BE CHOSEN AT RANDOM FROM THE LIST PREPARED FOR THAT PURPOSE . PROVIDED THAT ALL THE QUESTIONS ADOPTED DISPLAY SUBSTANTIALLY THE SAME DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY, THAT APPROACH IN FACT REFLECTS A CONCERN TO ENSURE EQUALITY . CONSIDERATION OF THE 76 QUESTIONS OF A GENERAL NATURE AND OF THE 75 QUESTIONS ON COMMUNITY POLICIES HAS NOT DISCLOSED ANY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE QUESTIONS IN THAT RESPECT .
16 THE FIRST TWO COMPLAINTS MADE BY THE APPLICANTS REGARDING THE CONDUCT OF THE ORAL TEST ARE THEREFORE UNFOUNDED .
17 AS REGARDS THE THIRD COMPLAINT, CONCERNING THE ALLEGED FAILURE TO TAKE ACCOUNT OF THE "PROFILE" OF EACH CANDIDATE, IT NEED MERELY BE STATED THAT THE SECOND AND THIRD PHASES OF THE TEST, MENTIONED ABOVE, RELATED TO THE INDIVIDUAL ACTIVITIES OF THE CANDIDATES AND THE ROLE OF THOSE ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE COMMUNITY CONTEXT . THAT COMPLAINT IS THEREFORE MANIFESTLY UNFOUNDED .
18 AS REGARDS THE COMPLAINTS CONCERNING THE ACTUAL CONTENT OF THE ORAL TEST, IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT, ACCORDING TO THE COMPETITION NOTICE, THE TEST WAS TO BE SUCH AS TO ENABLE THE SELECTION BOARD TO ASSESS THE EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS OF THE CANDIDATES AND THEIR ABILITY TO PERFORM CATEGORY A DUTIES . IT APPEARS FROM AN EXAMINATION OF THE 76 QUESTIONS OF A GENERAL NATURE AND THE 75 QUESTIONS ON COMMUNITY POLICIES THAT THE ANSWERS TO THOSE QUESTIONS AND TO THE QUESTIONS CONCERNING CANDIDATES' ACTIVITIES WERE SUCH AS TO PROVIDE THE SELECTION BOARD WITH A SUFFICIENT BASIS FOR THAT ASSESSMENT . IT CANNOT THEREFORE BE CONCLUDED THAT THE CONTENT OF THE TEST WAS NOT CONFINED WITHIN THE LIMITS LAID DOWN IN THE COMPETITION NOTICE .
19 IT MUST BE EMPHASIZED THAT THE PURPOSE OF THE COMPETITION IS TO CREATE A RESERVE OF CATEGORY A OFFICIALS COMPETENT TO PERFORM THE DUTIES PERTAINING TO THAT CATEGORY IN ALL THE DEPARTMENTS OF THE COMMISSION . ALTHOUGH THE PROCEDURE WAS NOT ONE OF RECRUITMENT WITHIN THE MEANING OF ARTICLE 27 OF THE STAFF REGULATIONS, THE COMPETITION WAS DESIGNED TO HELP PROVIDE THE INSTITUTION WITH THE SERVICES OF OFFICIALS OF THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF COMPETENCE AND PERFORMANCE . THOSE CONSIDERATIONS AND THE FACT THAT THE NUMBER OF POSTS WAS MUCH SMALLER THAN THE NUMBER OF CANDIDATES JUSTIFIED MAKING THE TEST SOMEWHAT DIFFICULT SO AS TO ENABLE A RIGOROUS SELECTION TO BE MADE .
20 IN VIEW OF THOSE CONSIDERATIONS, IT DOES NOT APPEAR THAT THE 76 QUESTIONS OF A GENERAL NATURE SET BY THE SELECTION BOARD SURPASSED THE LEVEL OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE OR INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY WHICH MIGHT BE EXPECTED OF THE CANDIDATES . IN THE SAME WAY, HAVING REGARD TO THE TRAINING GIVEN AND THE FACT THAT ALL THE CANDIDATES HAD BEEN IN THE SERVICE OF THE COMMISSION