Social dialogue on Junior Professional Programme (JPP)

On 10 September trade unions of the Commission met in the framework of social dialogue procedure in order to give their opinion on changes proposed by the Administration to the JPP decision ^[1]. 

Just to remind you that JPP is a scheme that offers temporary AD5-level posts to early-career professionals with maximum 3 years of relevant professional experience and aimed at high-potential junior professionals at the start of their EU policy or administrative career. The programme is designed to give participants hands-on professional experience in the EU institutions, often through policy, operational, analytical or coordination work. 

The changes proposed by the Commission were relatively minor and included: 

• allowing participation of colleagues from Executive agencies and JRCs on a permanent basis 

• facilitating participation of colleagues with PhDs 

• changing to a more general description of testing in the selection procedure (also due to known EPSO problems) 

• bringing alternative solutions if candidates from Executive Agencies had problems in finding a post in a parent DG 

On the occasion of that limited social dialogue, Generation 2004 made general comments relating to the programme: 

• In what concerns geographical balance which measures concern a target group AD5-AD8, JPPs being TAs are not directly targeted. DG HR has been however monitoring the programme, claiming that in general it has been a very balanced pool. 

• With the implementation of the consecutive editions of the JPP (the current one is a 17th in a row), the programme has effectively become a permanent recruitment mechanism that is still referred to as a pilot project.  

• Although the JPP aims to recruit temporary staff, it is de facto a tool for recruiting permanent staff, thereby due to lack of staff representatives in the selection panels it is undermining the rights of staff to participate in the selection of new colleagues. We consider that one of two vice-presidents of the selection panel should be nominated by staff representation. The role of staff representation should be aligned with other selection panels and not merely having an observer status.  

• Generation 2004 is insisting on more transparency in the pre-selection process at the DG level to avoid favouritism. 

• Finally, Generation 2004 is also calling for an introduction of a Senior Professional Program (SPP) for CAs who have gained proven expertise and qualifications in a specialist area. SPP could foresee an annual internal selection procedure providing access to TA posts to capitalise on the internal expertise and talents. 

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• the >40 decentralised organisations ^[3] with seats throughout the EU which are created by a specific legislative act and charged with a particular task\' e.g. Europol, the EMCDDA , the  European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and Frontex.


• the 6 Brussels-based Executive Agencies ^[4] which are \'legal entities established ... with a view to being entrusted with certain tasks relating to the management of one or more European Union programmes. These agencies are set up for a fixed period.\' They are CINEA, EACEA, HADEA, Eismea, ERCEA and REA.

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