Introduction
For the 9th consecutive year, the European Parliament has launched the positive action selection procedure (2023 edition) to enable persons with a disability to work in this EU institution. It offers Parliament the opportunity to have a diverse source of candidates and attract competent market entrants with a disability.
The procedure consists of establishing a pool list of 20 suitable candidates who may be subsequently recruited as contract agents (Article 3b of the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union) in function group II, III or IV by the Secretariat’s Directorates-General. While the programme confers no recruitment obligation on the Secretariat, Parliament annually recruits up to six successful candidates in this selection procedure for a period of one-year (renewal of this contract is not automatic). The rest of the 20 successful candidates will be added to the pool of contract agent candidates and will remain on the pool list for a period of 18 months and may subsequently be recruited as contract agents in function groups II, III or IV by the Secretariat’s Directorates-General (outside the framework of the Positive Action Programme). The procedure is open to individuals who have never previously worked in an EU institution (for the purpose of this selection procedure, EU traineeships do not count as prior work experience for an EU institution).
For the purpose of this programme, the category of persons with a disability includes those who have a long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment of minimum 20%, which, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. By virtue of applying, candidates confirm that they meet this criterion.
Eligibility criteria
Eligible candidates include those who:
The official languages of the European Union are: Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Irish, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish and Swedish.
For function groups II (Clerical and Secretarial) and III (Assistants):
For function group IV (Administrators):
Diplomas, whether issued in a Member State or in a non-EU country, must be recognised by an official body of an EU Member State, such as the ministry of education.
Candidates holding diplomas issued in a non-EU country must provide an EU-equivalence for their diplomas, as part of their application. You can find further information on recognition of non-EU qualifications through the ENIC-NARIC networks (https://www.enic-naric.net).
The selection panel will take account of the differences between education systems. Examples of the minimum qualifications required are given in the table included in the Guide for Candidates.
Selection Process
Upon confirming the eligibility of candidates, the European Parliament will invite the candidates meeting them to sit computer-based multiple choice question (MCQ) tests pertaining to the following fields: EU knowledge, verbal reasoning, situational judgment. The confirmation of disability status will occur later in the selection process.
Reasonable accommodation for testing will be provided on the submission of a medical note detailing personal requirements. Please note that only those candidates who pass these tests can be called for interview and possibly be recruited by the European Parliament.
Successful candidates, who have reached the 50% pass mark and scored within the top 20 of candidates, will form a pool list, which will be considered by the Directorates-General for available posts can possibly be invited for interviews. If a candidate cannot attend in person, the interview can take place via video conference, by video call, or by telephone.
Inclusion of your name on the pool list or passing the selection test is not a guarantee that you will be offered a job. If a contract becomes available, the recruiting services may consult the list and issue invitations to those candidates whose profiles most closely match the requirements of the post in question. If it emerges that the information they have provided is incorrect, candidates will be excluded from the procedure and their names will be removed from the database.
Successful candidates, prior to being added to the pool of contract agent candidates will be required to provide proof of their disability (EP medical certificate to be filled in by your doctor will be sent to you. In addition, any other supportive certificates / documents can be added). As a pre-condition for employment, the European Parliament's Medical Service will assess whether the disability meets the specific criteria in order to confirm eligibility for the scheme. Candidates will need to have a disability, causing impairment that is equal to or greater than 20% (physical or mental impairment) in order to be considered for this opportunity. The European Physical and Mental Disability Rating Scale for medical purposes used to assess the degree of disability can be accessed here: European Physical and Mental Disability Rating Scale.
Reasonable accommodations for European Parliament tests are agreed, defined and implemented by the European Parliament. Candidates with a disability who need special accommodations for European Parliament tests should include it in your application.
Reasonable accommodations at subsequent stages of the selection and recruitment process will be managed by the recruiting Institution - in this case the European Parliament - and candidates should feel free to request them at the relevant stage.
How to apply?
Please apply through the Apply4EP platform by the deadline of 25 April 2023, 17:00 (Brussels/Luxembourg Time).
You must read carefully the Guide for Candidates annexed to this notice before completing the application form and provide the relevant supporting documents.
In case you request reasonable accommodation for the testing phase, you need to fill out a reasonable application form and e-mail it to
PERS-CabmedbruDisability@europarl.europa.eu
accompanying by a medical certificate/doctor’s note justifying the request.
Please use the following email title ‘DG PERS 2023 Positive Action Selection/RA Testing Justification Note’. Please be advised that reasonable accommodations for the working environment will also be offered to the candidates hired and will be dealt with at a later stage.
GUIDE FOR CANDIDATES
To apply, you must have an account on the APPLY4EP platform. Applications can only be submitted via that platform.
1. Creating an account and completing the application forms
You can only create one account. To create your account, go to https://apply4ep.gestmax.eu and read the information set out there carefully.
Click on Apply online. Then, you can either log in on your existing Apply4EP account or either create an account by uploading your CV. If you create a new account, you will be asked to fill in a form with your contact details.
Then click on Next. Select or, if still needed, upload your curriculum vitae, and complete the declarations.
Finally, click on Next and complete all the mandatory sections of the application form indicated by an asterisk.
For professional experience, if any, you should give a detailed description of the duties you performed. You must upload all the relevant files in 1 document, preferably in pdf.
For languages, your language 1 is considered to be your mother tongue and your language 2 is considered to be the language you master second. A supporting document is not mandatory for proving your language knowledge.
For diplomas, you should enter the details of your secondary education diploma(s), post-secondary diploma(s) and/or university diploma(s). You must upload a copy of each diploma in 1 document, preferably in pdf. If you have a diploma from a non-EU country, it must be accompanied by a declaration of equivalence issued by a competent authority of a Member State of the European Union.
Please note that documents in DOC, DOCX, GIF, JPG, TXT, PDF, PNG or RTF format attesting to the professional experience and qualifications can be uploaded to APPLY4EP. No document may be bigger than 5 MB.
Check your APPLY4EP account regularly. Make sure you keep your registered contact details, including your phone number and e-mail address, up to date. Recruiting services may try to contact you by telephone or e-mail. You can update your contact details by logging in on your candidate account.
2. Protection of personal data
The European Parliament, as the body responsible for organising selection procedures, ensures that candidates’ personal data are processed in strict compliance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union bodies, offices and agencies and the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (Official Journal of the European Union L 295 of 21 November 2018).
3. Appeals
Administrative complaints
Under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations, participants may address an administrative complaint to the Secretary-General against a decision of the selection panel or the Appointing Authority which adversely affects them within three months of notification of the contested decision. Please note that decisions taken by the selection panel cannot be modified or annulled due to the wide margin of appreciation it enjoys.
Judicial appeals
Under Article 270 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 91 of the Staff Regulations, participants have the right to submit a judicial appeal within 3 months of notification of the decision of the selection panel which adversely affects them, or, for decisions taken by the Appointing Authority, of notification of the decision taken in response to the complaint. Indeed, judicial appeals against decisions taken by the Appointing Authority must be preceded by an administrative complaint.
Complaints to the European Ombudsman
As European citizens and residents, participants lodge a complaint to the European Ombudsman. Complaints made to the Ombudsman have no suspensive effect on the deadlines laid down for lodging administrative complaints or submitting judicial appeals.
Participants may consult their application files on request. They may refer a matter to the European Data Protection Supervisor at any time.
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