Dear Ms X,

On 31 December 2023, you submitted a complaint to the European Ombudsman concerning how the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) dealt with your complaint about technical issues in the remote testing for the CAST selection procedure. You took issue with the fact that EPSO had not taken into account the supporting evidence, which you had submitted in support of your complaint. We opened an inquiry by asking EPSO to answer the communication to which you had attached the supporting evidence.

On 27 February 2024, EPSO replied, arguing that you had not provided evidence to support your claim that you had encountered technical issues and that you could therefore not be invited to re-sit the tests. EPSO informed us of this decision on 17 April 2024. Further to this, we again turned to EPSO, pointing out that you had provided it with supporting evidence and asking it to consider the evidence.

EPSO has now confirmed that, on 27 May 2024, it invited you to re-sit the tests during the next testing session.

We find that the time taken by EPSO to assess the matter is unreasonable and that EPSO did not act diligently in response to the Ombudsman’s first request.

That being said, EPSO has now invited you to re-sit the tests. In light of this, we have closed the case with the conclusion that it has been settled.

Yours sincerely,

Tina Nilsson
Head of the Case-handling Unit

Strasbourg, 06/06/2024