BRUSSELS — Nearly 10,000 aspiring Eurocrats will need to retake the European Union’s entry test after a significant technical error nullified the results of their prior exams. This incident raises serious questions about the transparency and reliability of the EPSO process within the Brussels bubble.
Applicants who participated in the online exam last month to become an EU translator were informed on Thursday that they must retake the test in May due to a “set-up defect” in the examination system managed by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO).
EPSO serves as the gateway to a fulfilling career within the EU civil service, overseeing recruitment for major institutions including the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of the EU.
“All I can say is EPSO is utterly incompetent and not fit for purpose; they couldn’t organize a piss-up in a brewery,” expressed a frustrated candidate in a Facebook group dedicated to exam applicants.
The faulty online system, implemented by an external contractor, allowed candidates to select multiple answers on the multiple-choice sections of the exam.
“This led to a high number of candidates submitting more than one answer, despite the clear instructions stating only one answer was correct,” stated an email sent to applicants.
“EPSO recognizes the impact of this regrettable situation and wishes to extend its apologies on behalf of its external contractor,” the email continued.
However, candidates are outraged by the necessity to endure the challenging test once more.
“This is insane,” remarked one candidate in the Facebook group. “So those of us who can follow instructions (which one would assume is a desirable quality for an EU official) need to go through the whole process again, taking days off work, etc.? It’s a total unfairness to everyone involved lol.”
“How can EPSO fail so consistently?” questioned another participant.
This exam was intended for candidates seeking positions as translators proficient in one of eight EU languages, with 9,663 participants taking part.
One candidate, who received the notification on Thursday, noted that she had dedicated an hour daily for several weeks to prepare for the exams, which assess language knowledge, verbal reasoning, and numerical skills.
“I don’t have children, I’m not studying, I just have a demanding job, which made it difficult to return to math revision in the evenings,” she explained. “But for those with families and high-pressure jobs, it’s absolutely horrible to come home and study.”
“I was actually speaking to a friend who received this notification and is due to give birth, so she likely won’t be in the best shape in May,” she added.
A spokesperson for the Commission mentioned that “discussions are ongoing between EPSO and the external contractor regarding the financial ramifications of this situation.”
This isn’t the first time EPSO has faced criticism. The Commission is also fielding requests to annul recent exams for current staff looking for promotions, amid complaints about incoherent questions and poor formatting.
“Yet another fiasco cannot go unanswered,” stated the U4U staff union in an email to the Commission’s HR head, Stephen Quest.
The Commission is currently in a “transition phase” with a new IT tool it began using this year, according to spokesperson Balazs Ujvari, who mentioned that “some controlled use of AI was employed to enrich the overall pool of questions from which the tests were derived.”
In 2023, thousands had their tests put on hold after EPSO was warned it might be entering a legal minefield by conducting exams solely in English.
