EPSO News | Applications Reopening | Court Annuls Competition

EU Training

News from EPSO concerning application reopenings, and in other news a Judgment in the case of the French Republic vs the European Commission.

Applications Reopening

EPSO announced that applications will reopen for the following competitions on 28 May 2024:

EPSO/AD/402/23 (Economists)

  1. Microeconomics / macroeconomics
  2. Financial Economics
  3. Industrial Economics

EPSO/AD/403/23

  1. Crisis management
  2. Migration and internal security

Here is a quick summary of EPSO's announcement:

  • Reason for reopening: Shift towards a full 24-language regime and technical issues during 2023 online testing sessions.
  • Director's decision: EPSO’s Director, in consultation with the Selection Board, annulled the October 2023 test events to ensure fairness.
  • Testing requirements: All candidates, including those who completed tests previously, must retake the tests.
  • Main changes:
    • Selection tests available in 24 languages.
    • Previous language choices will be deleted; candidates must choose two new languages.
    • Case study replaced by a written test focusing on written communication skills.
  • Application updates:
    • Existing candidates can edit their application forms to update information (education, professional experience).
    • Candidates must revalidate their application forms, even if no changes are made.
  • Opportunity for new applicants: The competition will also be open to new candidates.

Join András Baneth for a refresher webcast covering the changes in the Notice of Competitions and how to approach preparation for the updated selection process. Full details and registration: EPSO Applications Reopened | Refresher Webcast | 29 May 2024.

 

Judgment on Language Requirements

Although not directly related to EPSO, the question is, will this affect EPSO's reserve list for this competition?

On 8 May 2024 the General Court released a judgment in the case of the French Republic v European Commission on Language Requirements. This case involves the European Commission's 2022 Administrators and Experts in the Fields of Defence Industry and Space​ competition, which required candidates to have proficiency in English as a second language.

France challenged this requirement, claiming it constituted linguistic discrimination. The Tribunal agreed with France, stating that limiting the language requirement to English was unjustified by the needs of the service and discriminatory against other official EU languages. Consequently, the Tribunal annulled the contested notice of competition. The Commission's argument that English is the primary working language in the relevant departments was insufficient to justify the restriction.

For more details, you can refer to the full judgment here.