Unexpected news broke today from EPSO. Although not yet officially announced, EU Training has it from a very reliable source that EPSO’s Board of Directors made the decision to cancel the EPSO/AST/154/22 (AST3) competition for all 6 profiles.
We understand that EPSO was hit with heavy criticism about how the new remotely proctored testing policies violated equal opportunity rights probably had a lot to do with this decision. Many complaints were filed by candidates who did not have access to personal laptops or private spaces, or were simply disqualified due to technical difficulties, just to name a few of the issues. The European Ombudsman opened an inquiry into how the AST3 exams were carried out. Less than two weeks later came this decision to cancel the competition.
Although quite shocking, this is not completely unprecedented. Anyone remember the Pachtitis-case?
Next steps include deciding when to relaunch this competition. One possible date is September of this year (2023), but this has not been confirmed yet. This cancellation affected 6 300 applicants and the EU institutions still have unfilled AST3 staff requirements, so it is top priority for EPSO to relaunch this competition as soon as possible.
Another important next step is to create a testing system that is universally accessible for all EPSO candidates, not just those with a suitable computer.
In the end the Coronavirus pandemic brought about a big change in the way EPSO carries out exams. Remotely proctored testing is most likely here to stay, but hopefully the Ombudsman’s inquiry and this first trial-by-fire AST3 testing will bring about a solution that provides equal opportunity to all who would like to start their EU careers.