Transparency in the staff selection procedure of the EU institutions : comments on the Pachtitis case

Abstract

As one of the key principles governing the activities of the civil service of the European Union, transparency has become more and more important in the decision-making process, activities of the institutions, budget and staff-selecting process. The European Personnel Selection Process (EPSO) -the body in charge of organising the competitions to become EU staff- must ensure it in the selection procedures for the future employees. As a result of the efforts of the EU to apply that principle, candidates of the competitions have been able to get access to information on their performance in those exams. Furthermore, the Court of Justice of the EU has recognised such transparency of the EU administration towards the candidates in competition selection procedures. In 2007, a candidate in a staff selection process appealed the decision of EPSO to exclude him from the competition and alleged, amongst other grounds, a failure to comply with the EU principle of transparency. Despite the fact that there have been judgments and decisions, the issue has not been entirely addressed by both the Court of Justice of the EU and the European Ombudsman. The purpose of this paper is to assess that possible breach of the principle of transparency in the particular Pachtitis case.