The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has welcomed the move by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) to accept a Cypriot citizen's application for an open competition(1). EPSO had rejected the application because it was not submitted in the correct way but reviewed the case after the Ombudsman intervened. The Ombudsman used his power of own-initiative inquiry to investigate this complaint, as he is not yet empowered to deal with complaints from the accession countries.

The complaint

The complainant alleged that EPSO had failed to ensure that applicants could perform their compulsory electronic registration until the actual closing time foreseen by the notice of competition. This was due to technical problems with EPSO's server.

EPSO argued that applicants had had enough time to register and, in view of possible technical difficulties, had been expressly instructed not to wait until the last few days before the closing date. It reviewed the case, however, after the Ombudsman intervened, and invited the complainant to the pre-selection tests.

Complaints from the accession countries

The European Ombudsman can deal with complaints from "any citizen of the Union or any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State of the Union".(2) As the complainant in this case did not fall into any of these categories, the Ombudsman decided to open an own-initiative inquiry into this matter, given the seriousness of the issues raised. In the run-up to enlargement on 1 May, the Ombudsman will continue to use his power of own-initiative in this way, where he deems it necessary.

The European Ombudsman investigates complaints about maladministration against the European Community institutions and bodies. He cannot deal with complaints against national authorities.

The Ombudsman's decision in this case can be found on his website at:

 

For further information, please call Mr. Alessandro Del Bon, Legal Officer; tel : 00 33 3 88 17 23 82.

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(1) Open competition to constitute a reserve of Cypriot assistant administrators.

(2) Article 195 of the Treaty establishing the European Community.