The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) is organising admission tests and an open competition, based on tests, to constitute a reserve from which to recruit

Open competition EPSO/AST/74/08 is being held to recruit assistants (AST 3) in the field of security.

The purpose of this competition is to draw up a reserve list from which to fill vacant posts in the institutions of the European Union.

EPSO is also organising the following parallel open competition: EPSO/AD/141/08 — Administrators (AD 5) in the field of security.

Please note that the tests for the above competitions may be held simultaneously. You may therefore apply for only one of these competitions. You must make your choice when you register online and you will not be able to change it after the deadline for registration.

If, despite exercising every care to enter your details correctly when registering, you wish to make changes to them, you will be able to do so but only until the closing date for registration. Only the information validated and registered most recently will be taken into consideration.

Under the authority of the administrator in charge and on the basis of general instructions, to perform complex tasks involving management, implementation and control, such as:

Particular importance is attached to the ability to grasp problems of all kinds, often complex in nature, to react rapidly to changing circumstances and to communicate effectively. You will be expected to show initiative and imagination and to be highly motivated. You should be able to work frequently under pressure, both on your own and in a team, with due regard for professional ethics, and adjust to a multicultural working environment. You will also be expected to develop your professional skills throughout your career.

The competition notice does not set any age limit, but please note the information in Section V.7 concerning the retirement age.

The selection board will allow for differences between education systems. For examples of the minimum qualifications required, see the tables annexed to the guide for applicant (http://europa.eu/epso/on-line-applications/guide_en.htm) for each category. Note that these are examples only — stricter requirements may be set in the competition notice.

have acquired at least 3 years' professional experience relevant to the nature of the duties.

This professional experience should preferably have been gained in government organisations (e.g. the police, the military police, the security services) or in international organisations whose mission is related to security, defence or civilian crisis management (e.g. United Nations, the OSCE),

Under Article 45(2) of the Staff Regulations, officials must prove their ability to work in a third language before their first promotion after recruitment.

You must indicate your choice of language for the admission tests and the competition tests when you register online (2). You will not be able to change your choice after the deadline for online registration (17 December 2008).

To ensure that all general texts relating to the competition and all communication between candidates and EPSO are clearly understood on both sides, only English, French or German will be used for the invitations to the various tests and correspondence between EPSO and candidates.

You may send any questions to EPSO by e-mail (EPSO-AST-74-08@ec.europa.eu), but please check first that the information you want is not in the competition notice or the guide for applicant, or on the EPSO website (http://europa.eu/epso).

The appointing authority will invite you to the admission tests if your online registration shows that you meet the general and specific conditions in Section I.B on the closing date for online registration (17 December 2008).

EPSO will organise computer-based admission tests for all the candidates admitted. The tests will be held in the European Union in one or more centres specialising in this type of test, depending on availability.

You will be informed of the procedure for attending the tests via your EPSO profile.

The candidates with the 640 highest aggregate marks in the admission tests and a pass mark in each (3) will be invited to submit a full application for admission to the open competition.

Once the applications have been received, the appointing authority will draw up a list of the candidates who meet the general conditions set out in Section I.B.1 and send it to the chair of the selection board together with their application files.

After examining the list, the selection board will admit you to the written tests if you are among the candidates with the 160 highest aggregate marks (3) in the admission tests and meet the specific eligibility criteria set out in Section I.B.2.

You will take written tests (a) and (b) in English, French or German (language 2).

The written tests will be held simultaneously for all candidates at one or more centres in the European Union.

The date for the written tests, to be set by EPSO cannot be changed at a candidate's request. You will be notified of the date when you receive your invitation to the tests (via your EPSO profile).

Once the written tests have been marked, the candidates with the 80 highest aggregate marks in those tests and a pass mark in each (3) will be admitted to the oral test.

The selection board will place on the reserve list the names of the candidates with the highest aggregate marks in the written and oral tests and a pass mark in each (3) (see Section I ‘Number of successful candidates’).

The list will be drawn up by merit group (maximum four groups) with the names in each group listed in alphabetical order.

The reserve list and its expiry date will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and on the EPSO website (http://europa.eu/epso) (4).

Please also consult the guide for applicants (http://europa.eu/epso/on-line-applications/guide_en.htm), which can be found on the EPSO website (http://europa.eu/epso). It contains detailed instructions to help you submit your application correctly.

The closing date for online registration is 17 December 2008. Online registration will not be possible after 12 noon Brussels time on that date.

Before registering, you should carefully check whether you meet all the eligibility criteria.

If you decide to apply, you must register via the Internet by going to the EPSO website and following the instructions there concerning the various stages of the procedure.

It is your responsibility to complete your online registration in time. We strongly advise you not to wait until the last few days before applying, since heavy Internet traffic or a problem with the Internet connection could lead to the online registration being interrupted before you complete it, thereby obliging you to repeat the whole process. Once the deadline has passed, you will not be able to register.

On completion of your online registration, you will receive on screen a registration number, which you must note — this will be your reference number in all matters concerning your application. Once you receive this number, the registration process is finished — it is the confirmation that we have registered the data you entered.

Please note that you must have an e-mail address. This will be used to identify you. The information you must enter when registering includes your choice of languages and details of the qualifications required for admission to the competition (qualification, name of issuing establishment and date obtained).

No documents are required at this stage. Full applications will be requested later (see Section IV.3).

Once you have registered online, you can follow the progress of the competition by going to the EPSO website (http://europa.eu/epso) and clicking on ‘Ongoing competitions’.

If you have a disability that prevents you from registering online, you may request — preferably by fax — a paper version of the form (5) , which you should fill in, sign and return by registered mail, postmarked no later than the closing date for registration. All subsequent communication between EPSO and you will be by post.

You must enclose with your application form a certificate attesting your disability, issued by a recognised body. You should also set out on a separate sheet of paper any special arrangements you think are needed to make it easier for you to take part in the tests.

Details of when and where to attend the admission tests and other tests will be available only on the EPSO website (http://europa.eu/epso). You can access this information by entering the user name and password you specified when registering online. You are responsible for updating your EPSO profile to reflect any change in your postal or e-mail address.

You are also responsible for consulting your EPSO profile regularly to keep track of the progress of the competition and to check the information relevant to your application at every stage. If you find that you cannot do this, you must notify EPSO immediately by e-mail (EPSO-AST-74-08@ec.europa.eu).

The letter inviting you to the admission tests, available in your EPSO profile, will tell you how to make an appointment online with one of the approved test centres.

If you are among the candidates with the highest aggregate marks in the admission tests and a pass mark in each, as specified in Section II, you will be asked to print out and complete the full application form, which you will find in your EPSO profile on the website. It must be sent in by the closing date (6).

Your application must give full details of your citizenship, studies and professional experience. You should also enclose the following documents:

You should also enclose a numbered index of these documents on a separate sheet.

You should only send photocopies (which do not need to be certified) of these documents. Paper copies of web pages and/or references to websites do not constitute supporting documents for these purposes.

When completing your application form, you may not refer to any previous application forms submitted or any other documents enclosed with such applications. None of the documents submitted with your application will be returned.

It is your responsibility to make sure that your application form, duly completed, SIGNED and accompanied by all the supporting documents, is sent by registered post to the address below by the closing date (6) (the postmark will serve as proof of the date of sending):

The selection board will examine the files of the candidates with the highest aggregate marks in the admission tests and a pass mark in each to determine whether they satisfy the conditions laid down in Section I.B of this notice. The selection board will invite you to the written tests if you are among the candidates with the highest marks and meet all the criteria for admission to the competition (see Section III, second paragraph).

The names of the successful candidates (see Section III.3) will be entered on the reserve list.

The European Union institutions apply a policy of equal opportunities and accept applications without discrimination on any grounds such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.

A selection board is appointed for each competition. Its members are designated by the institutions and their staff committees in equal numbers. The chair and members are then appointed by EPSO's appointing authority. Their names will be published on the EPSO website after candidates have been notified whether they have been admitted to the competition.

EPSO is responsible for all communication with you until the competition is completed. You are strictly forbidden to make any contact with the members of the selection board, either directly or indirectly. The selection board will decide whether candidates infringing this rule are to be disqualified.

Depending on the number of candidates, the competition will take approximately one year from the closing date for online registration.

Candidates involved in selection procedures have the specific right of access to certain information concerning them directly and individually, as described below. EPSO may accordingly provide candidates who so request with supplementary information relating to their participation in the competition. Candidates must send such requests in writing to EPSO within a month of being notified of their results in the competition. EPSO will reply within a month of receiving the request. Requests will be dealt with taking account of the confidential nature of selection board proceedings under the Staff Regulations (Annex III, Article 6) and in compliance with the rules on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data. Examples of the type of information which may be supplied are given in the guide for applicant, Section III.3.

5. Requests for review — Appeal procedures — Complaints to the European Ombudsman

If you are placed on the reserve list you will be eligible for appointment as an assistant in the field of security; recruitment will normally be as a probationary official, as and when required by the European institutions, in Brussels, Luxembourg or any other place of activity.

If you are on the reserve list and are offered a post, you will be asked to produce the originals of all the requisite documents, in particular your qualifications, so that copies can be authenticated.

Depending on the nature of the post, successful candidates on the reserve list may initially be offered a temporary contract; in this case, their names will remain on the reserve list.

Article 29(1)(b) of the Staff Regulations refers to the possibility for officials to request a transfer to another institution or agency at any time during their career. However, in the interests of the service, newly recruited officials are transferred only in exceptional and duly justified cases during their first three years of service. Any such transfer is subject to the agreement of both the institution or agency that originally recruited the official and the institution or agency to which the official requests to be transferred.

As the body responsible for organising competitions, EPSO ensures that candidates' personal data are processed as required by Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (7). This applies in particular to the confidentiality and security of such data.

(1) The European Union institutions apply a policy of equal opportunities and accept applications without discrimination on any grounds such as sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features, language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority, property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.

(2) For practical reasons this form is available in English, French and German only.

(3) Where several candidates with identical marks qualify for the last place, they will all be admitted to the next stage of the competition.

(4) A successful candidate may explicitly ask for his/her name not to be published. Any such request must reach EPSO no later than two weeks after candidates are notified of the results.

(5) EPSO — Candidate Contact Service, Avenue de Cortenbergh, 80 — 00/48, B-1049 Brussels. Fax (32-2) 295 74 88.

ANNEX

REQUESTS FOR REVIEW — APPEAL PROCEDURES — COMPLAINTS TO THE EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN

Since the Staff Regulations apply to both the admission test phase and the competition, please note that all the proceedings of the selection board are covered by the confidentiality requirement laid down in Annex III to the Staff Regulations. If, at any stage in either part of the selection process, you consider that your interests have been prejudiced by a particular decision, you can take the following action:

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Requests for review

Within 20 days of the letter informing you of the decision being sent to you online, send a letter stating your case to the:

European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO)

C-80

Open competition EPSO/AST/74/08

B-1049 Brussels

EPSO will forward your request to the chair of the selection board if it comes within the board's remit. You will be sent a reply as soon as possible.

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Appeal procedures

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You can submit an appeal to the:

European Union Civil Service Tribunal

Boulevard Konrad Adenauer

L-2925 Luxembourg

under Article 236 of the EC Treaty and Article 91 of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities,

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or you can lodge a complaint under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials of the European Communities, at the following address:

European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO)

C-80

Open competition EPSO/AST/74/08

B-1049 Brussels

The time limits for initiating these two types of procedure (see Staff Regulations as amended by Council Regulation (EC), Euratom No 723/2004 (OJ L 124, 27.4.2004, p. 1) — http://www.europa.eu.int/eur-lex) start to run from the time you are notified of the act allegedly prejudicing your interests.

Please note that the appointing authority does not have the power to amend the decisions of a selection board. The Court has consistently held that the wide discretion enjoyed by selection boards is not subject to review by the Court unless the rules which govern the proceedings of selection boards have clearly been infringed.

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Complaints to the European Ombudsman

Like all citizens of the European Union, you can make a complaint to the:

European Ombudsman

1 avenue du President Robert Schuman — BP 403

F-67001 Strasbourg Cedex

under Article 195(1) of the Treaty establishing the European Community and in accordance with the conditions laid down in Decision 94/262/ECSC, EC, Euratom of the European Parliament of 9 March 1994 on the regulations and general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman's duties (OJ L 113, 4.5.1994, p. 15).

Please note that complaints made to the Ombudsman have no suspensive effect on the period laid down in Articles 90(2) and 91 of the Staff Regulations for lodging complaints or for submitting appeals to the Civil Service Tribunal under Article 236 of the Treaty establishing the European Community. Please note also that, under Article 2(4) of the general conditions governing the performance of the Ombudsman's duties, any complaint lodged with the Ombudsman must be preceded by the appropriate administrative approaches to the institutions and bodies concerned.