BRUSSELS — A significant technical error has compelled almost 10,000 aspiring Eurocrats to retake the European Union’s entry examination. This situation arose after a flaw in the online testing system invalidated the results from the previous assessments.
On Thursday, candidates who participated in last month’s online examination for the role of an EU translator received notification that they would need to retake the test in May. The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO), which oversees the recruitment process for various EU institutions, including the European Commission and the European Parliament, cited a “set-up defect” as the cause of this disruption.
“All I can say is EPSO are utterly incompetent and not fit for purpose who couldn’t organise a piss-up in a brewery,” expressed one frustrated candidate in a Facebook group dedicated to exam applicants.
The problematic online system, which was implemented by an external contractor, allowed candidates to select multiple answers for the multiple-choice sections of the exam. This flaw led to numerous candidates submitting more than one response, despite the clear instructions indicating that only one answer was correct.
In an email addressed to the applicants, EPSO acknowledged the situation, stating, “EPSO understands well the impact of this regrettable situation and wishes to apologise on behalf of its external contractor.” However, many candidates expressed their outrage over having to endure the rigorous test once again.
“This is insane,” one candidate remarked on the social media platform. “So those of us who are able to follow instructions (one would think a sought-after quality for an EU official) need to go through the whole thing again, get days off at work etc? How to be unfair to absolutely everyone at once lol.” Another candidate echoed similar sentiments, questioning, “How can EPSO be such a failure every single time?”
Impact on candidates and their preparations
This test was specifically for individuals aspiring to become translators, proficient in one of eight different EU languages. A total of 9,663 candidates participated in the examination. One candidate, who received the retake notification, shared her frustration, stating that she had dedicated an hour daily for several weeks to prepare for the exam, which includes assessing language proficiency, verbal reasoning, and numerical skills.
“I don’t have kids, I’m not studying, I just have a tiring job, which made it difficult to get back to [revise] math in the evening,” she explained. “But for people who have kids and families and very demanding jobs, it’s absolutely horrible to go back home and study.” She also mentioned a friend who is expecting a baby soon and likely won’t be in the best condition in May to retake the test.
Concerns over EPSO’s examination process
A spokesperson for the European Commission indicated that discussions are still ongoing between EPSO and the external contractor regarding the financial ramifications of this incident. This is not the first time EPSO has faced criticism; there are also calls for the annulment of recent examinations for current employees seeking promotions, amid complaints about poorly constructed questions and inconsistent formatting.
“Yet another fiasco cannot go unanswered,” the U4U staff union remarked in a communication to the Commission’s HR chief, Stephen Quest.
EPSO is currently undergoing a “transition phase” with a new IT tool introduced this year. Balazs Ujvari, a spokesperson, clarified in an email that “some controlled use of AI” has been implemented to enhance the overall pool of questions from which the tests are drawn. Earlier in 2023, thousands of candidates had their tests suspended after EPSO was cautioned about potential legal challenges due to conducting exams exclusively in English.