Internal Competitions

Stated objectives: ‘pilot’ Junior Professionals Programme (JPP) (long read)

EPSO, Internal Competitions, Junior Professionals Programme, Newsletter - 2022-04-13 Print This Post

*Update 15.01.2025, Here’s our December note on the technical difficulties in application process in a call for expression of interest for the internal competition JPP14 (French and German as language 2).*

*Update 16.03.2023, we add the notes exchanged between HR and the Central Staff Committee (CSC/CCP) on making the JPP permanent (no longer ‘pilot’.[1]), in December 2022 it was confirmed that the programme will become permanent, with no response to the CSC concerns. Director HR.B Recruitment & Mobility promises to present figures on JPP6-10 in a later plenary e.g. geographical balance and Blue Book/Temporary Agent/Conctract Agent proportions.

10/10/2022
(2022)6989869		 Request for an opinion – Decision : Junior Professionals Programme + Annex CCP
31/10/2022

Continue reading Stated objectives: ‘pilot’ Junior Professionals Programme (JPP) (long read) →

Update: internal competition COM/AD/02/21 (AD5) – Art. 90(2) complaint

Internal Competitions, Newsletter - 2022-01-28, Petition, Professional mobility, Staff Categories, Temporary Agents Print This Post

*update 18.07.2022: anyone who wishes to protest against any internal competition (e.g. COM/AST4/2022 (​AST4)) can follow the same process as that set out below. Apply then appeal (as below) and then get in touch with us.*

The non-eligibility decision for COM/AD/02/21 (AD5) was sent out on 25.01.2022, please check your EPSO account.

For example, this is the decision that a member of Generation 2004 has received:

Continue reading Update: internal competition COM/AD/02/21 (AD5) – Art. 90(2) complaint →

Update 25.01.2022: internal competition COM/AD/02/21 (AD5) – what’s next?

Internal Competitions, Newsletter - 2022-01-13, Petition, Professional mobility, Staff Categories, Temporary Agents Print This Post

*25.01.2021Rejection letters are out, please let us know whether you took action and we can coordinate on the  next steps*

Thanks to all of you who answered our December call to action in response to yet another very discriminatory internal competition (COM/AD/02/21 (AD5)) which excludes over 16 000 potentially eligible candidates. Yes, we also noticed that the ‘talent screener’ was simply a request for permission and your staff number. We have a Microsoft Teams group on this topic, come and join the discussion! Continue reading Update 25.01.2022: internal competition COM/AD/02/21 (AD5) – what’s next? →

Internal competitions – Time for collective action!

Assistants, Central Staff Committee, Contract Agents, Internal Competitions, New HR strategy, Newsletter - 2021-12-16, Petition, Professional mobility, Promotions, reclassification, Secretaries and clerks, Staff Categories, Temporary Agents Print This Post

*Please see 27.01.2021 update*

In the wake of the announcement by DG HR of yet another very discriminatory internal competition (IC), Generation 2004 organised a conference to debate the matter. According to our analysis, this IC excludes over 16 000 potentially eligible candidates. Although other institutions allow anyone who meets the education and experience criteria to take part, the Commission is definitely doing it differently. Continue reading Internal competitions – Time for collective action! →

New competition – same old story!

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*Update 08.07.2022: you can also take the same action (apply and appeal the rejection) for the 2022 internal competitions. We are also organising training for August 2022.*

Another Internal Competition has just been announced which is exclusively open to Temporary Agents (TAs), i.e. mainly cabinet staff (‘parachutage’?) as well as our JPP ”Jeunesse dorée”. Oops HR did it again Continue reading New competition – same old story! →

Internal competitions: EU institutions doing it differently

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*Update 19.02.2025: ‘By default, all [internal] competitions will be cross-category.’ (Stay tuned: A new approach for internal competitions) This is excellent news and should now put the Commission on an even footing with the Parliament and other EU institutions. We hope that this inclusion is genuine and that the competitions are not  otherwise skewed to reduce participation.* Continue reading Internal competitions: EU institutions doing it differently →

Need to design a modern HR policy? Please start with the most evident modifications!

Contract Agents, Internal Competitions, New HR strategy, Newsletter - 2020-11-19, Petition, Promotions, reclassification Print This Post

Generation 2004 strongly believes that a professional and efficient public administration implies competent, motivated and impartial civil servants working in a system dedicated to serving the public interest. However, while it may be relatively easy to of a merit-based civil service in conceptual terms, it is much more difficult to define the ways and means of putting it in practice. If anyone has any doubts about this, then Generation 2004 suggests that any doubtful minds consults. Continue reading Need to design a modern HR policy? Please start with the most evident modifications! →

Contract Agents’ and Assistants’ access to internal competitions: Reply by Director-General Ingestad

Assistants, Contract Agents, Internal Competitions, New HR strategy, Newsletter - 2020-09-28, Secretaries and clerks, Temporary Agents Print This Post

In early July, following the announcement of an internal Administrator (AD5) competition tailored only to temporary agents, Generation 2004 addressed a note on Contract Agents’ and Assistants’ access to internal competitions to the Director-General of DG HR, Gertrud Ingestad.

At the same time, we also launched a petition in support of contract agents [1]. Continue reading Contract Agents’ and Assistants’ access to internal competitions: Reply by Director-General Ingestad →

The Commission still does not believe in the intelligence of its staff!

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*Update 22.11.2024 the Parliament allows anyone meeting the experience and education criteria to participate in its internal competitions, regardless of function group or contract type. The European Court of Auditors, 2024, Special report 24/2024: EU Civil service–A flexible employment framework, insufficiently used to improve workforce management recommends that the Commission open its internal competitions (Recommendation 3(c)).*

Continue reading The Commission still does not believe in the intelligence of its staff! →

You are hired/fired: Recruitment trends at the Commission!

Contract Agents, Internal Competitions, Newsletter #19 – Nov 2016, Professional mobility, Staff Regulations Reform, z Newsletter article Print This Post

As can be seen from recent statistics (see table), the only category of staff that is currently still growing is the Contract Agent (CA) category. Looking at the data and comparing this growth with the recent trend in the recruitment of permanent officials (‘fonctionnaires‘), we can conclude that the Commission has begun a process of replacing permanent officials with CAs [1]. Continue reading You are hired/fired: Recruitment trends at the Commission! →