Brussels, 24/11/2009 (Agence Europe) - In its analysis of the report by the European Court of Auditors on the efficiency and effectiveness of the personnel selection activities carried out by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO), the EU Council of Ministers deems it necessary, in conclusions adopted on Friday 20 November, to “reduce substantially the duration of the selection process” (EUROPE 9945 on the Court's report). It nonetheless takes note of EPSO's ongoing efforts on this issue.
The Council: - agrees there is a need to professionalise selection boards and to use qualified assessors; - acknowledges that EPSO's decision to make the pre-selection test available in all the EU languages will contribute towards securing for the institution the “services of officials of the highest standard of ability, efficiency and integrity, recruited on the broadest possible geographical basis from among nationals of member states”; - underlines the need for an effective communication strategy in order to attract a sufficient number of qualified candidates; - stresses the need for transparency in relation to the financial implications of the new selection procedure to guarantee cost-effectiveness. Furthermore, the member states note EPSO's commitment to carry out a benchmarking exercise of costs per successful candidate against other international organisations and, in that context, to analyse the costs and benefits of the new system once introduced. Finally, the Council highlights the need to ensure optimal use of reserve lists established (believing that having a large number of successful candidates waiting for a long time on the reserve lists is a problem which needs to be solved) (L.C./transl.jl)