Dear Mrs H.,
On 7 February 1996 you made a complaint to the European Ombudsman concerning the age limits imposed by the European Community institutions in competitions.
On 29 March 1996, I forwarded your complaint to the President of the European Commission inviting him to send his opinion on your case. On 20 May 1996, the Commission submitted its opinion, and I forwarded it to you for your comments. On 29 June 1996, you forwarded your comments on the Commission's opinion to the European Ombudsman. In your letter you said you were dissatisfied with the Commission's opinion. By letter of 5 September 1996, I asked the Commission to supply further information by 31 October 1996.
During the inquiry, numerous citizens of the Union expressed their dissatisfaction at the age limits imposed by the Community institutions and complained to the European Ombudsman. I therefore considered it necessary to undertake on my own initiative an inquiry into the use of age limits for the recruitment to the Community institutions, which I did on 14 July 1997.
On 2 March 1998, I forwarded to you, for your comments, the opinion of the Commission concerning my own-initiative inquiry. On 27 April 1998, you forwarded your observations. On 4 November 1998, I completed my own-initiative inquiry.
I am writing now to let you know the results of the inquiries that have been made. I regret the length of time it has taken to deal with your complaint, which was due to the need which became apparent during the consideration of your case to investigate the age-limit practices of the Community institutions on my own initiative.

THE COMPLAINT

You complained to the European Ombudsman after you had inquired about the possibility of your applying for a post as a translator. It was explained to you that the European Community institutions imposed age limits on applicants for posts and that you were too old to apply for a post with the European Community institutions.
In your complaint, you asked the European Ombudsman, in particular, to ascertain on what basis the European Union had imposed the existing age limits on applicants. You also inquired as to why age limits were not applied to persons selected on political grounds. Lastly, you asked whether the Community's age limits did not constitute a flagrant violation of the basic rights of citizens of the Union.

THE INQUIRY

The Commission's opinion
The Commission stated in its opinion that, like the other European Union institutions, it applied age limits in competitions for recruitment of officials - generally 35 for admission to competitions for entry to the lowest grades - in accordance with Article 1(g) of Annex III to the Staff Regulations.
In all competitions for entry to the lowest grades, there is the possibility of raising the age limit. According to the Commission, experience has shown in recent years that the imposition of age limits is an important factor in attaining better geographical balance and better representation of the various generations in competitions. The Commission considered that this was because mobility declined with age and distance and because without age limits applicants from the local labour market would be liable to cause an imbalance between numbers of participants and successful competitors which would be difficult to justify. The Commission also said that it seemed clear that younger women who had been successful in competitions for posts outside their country of residence were more mobile and more willing to apply for other competitions before they entered into permanent family relationships.
The complainant's observations
In her observations, the complainant maintained her original complaint to the European Ombudsman. She claimed that the Community institutions were guilty of twofold discrimination, as age limits were not applied to those appointed to political offices.

FURTHER INQUIRIES

By letter of 5 September 1996, the European Ombudsman asked the Commission to supply further information about the use of age limits. The Commission forwarded a background paper to the European Ombudsman on 31 October 1996.
The Commission stated that it, together with the other European Union institutions, operated age limits for participation in competitions. The Commission felt that it was important to point out that this was a joint approach by the institutions and that any changes in the approach would have to be dealt with at inter-institutional level, the framework for which has been strengthened by the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union.
The Commission's opinion on the Ombudsman's own-initiative inquiry
The European Commission informed the Ombudsman that it had taken a political decision in principle on 21 January 1998 to abandon the imposition of age limits for the purpose of staff recruitment. The Commission considers it essential that this decision be implemented by common agreement among the Community institutions. As an interim solution, the Commission raised the age limit to 45 for future competitions for recruitment to the entry grade.
The complainant's observations on the Commission's political decision of principle
The complainant forwarded her observations to the Ombudsman on 27 April 1998, stating that the interim decision to raise age limits to 45 conflicted with the Commission's decision of principle. As a citizen of the Union, she could not accept even interim solutions which conflicted with her basic rights.

THE DECISION

1 The European Ombudsman's own-initiative inquiry 626/97/BB concerning the use of age limits for recruitment to the Community institutions
1.1 On the basis of Article 138e of the Treaty establishing the Communities, the European Ombudsman is empowered to conduct an inquiry on his own initiative in relation to possible maladministration in the activities of the Community institutions or bodies. On 14 July 1997, in response to your complaint and other complaints about age limits, the Ombudsman initiated an inquiry concerning the use of age limits for the recruitment to the Community institutions.
1.2 Before launching his own initiative inquiry the Ombudsman had a comparative research done about the use of age limits in the various Member States. This research indicated that, currently, there does not exist a common constitutional or legal principle in the Community Member States either allowing or prohibiting the use of age limits. An age limit is applied in the public sector in more than half of the Member States. However, it is generally higher than 35. Moreover, there is an unmistakable tendency towards the abolition of age limits in the Member States.
1.3 The Ombudsman's own-initiative inquiry as well as his inquiries into the individual complaints showed that the age limits imposed by the institutions varied from 35, 40 and 45 to 55. It was claimed that they were necessary for a variety of purposes, including the following: to ensure career development, geographical distribution and the right balance between numbers of male and female staff. It was also claimed that age limits were necessary, inter alia, in order to avoid: difficulties in adapting and acclimatising to a multilingual and multicultural environment, which increased with age, youth unemployment, and increases in numbers of applicants.
1.4 As regards human rights provisions, the own-initiative inquiry revealed that the possibility could not be excluded that the European Convention on Human Rights might cover discrimination on grounds of age if there were no objective and reasonable justification for it.
1.5 The Ombudsman found that age is to be regarded as one possible form of discrimination. As regards the European Union, this has been particularly apparent from the Amsterdam Treaty, and this being the case, it will become all the more necessary to combat discrimination on grounds of age when that Treaty enters into force.
1.6 The Ombudsman considered that every citizen of the Union should have the possibility to seek employment in the administration of the Union. If it is considered appropriate to restrict this opportunity, this needs to be carried out with sufficient justification, avoiding anything which could be construed as discrimination or arbitrariness in the recruitment procedures.
2 The legal basis for the application of age limits for the recruitment to the European Community institutions
2.1 The European Ombudsman noted that, pursuant to Annex III, Article 1(g), of the Staff Regulations of the European Communities, the Community institutions may specify an age limit in notices of competitions. However, the Ombudsman took the view that the Community institutions' current practice of imposing different age limits on different grounds and without sufficient justification could not be regarded as correct application of age limits.
2.2 The Ombudsman's inquiries revealed that the Community institutions could envisage the setting of a single, appropriately reasoned and sufficiently justified, age limit. If it is not felt that the use of age limits can be abandoned, the institutions should, however, clarify the provisions of the Staff Regulations concerning age limits, to ensure that they cannot be imposed in a discriminatory or arbitrary manner.
3 The claim concerning exceptions for appointment to political office
3.1 The complainant's claim that the age limit does not apply to people appointed to political office is of too general a nature. The European Ombudsman did not, therefore consider that there were adequate grounds for inquiring into this claim.
4 Decision in principle to abandon age limits for the recruitment
4.1 During the Ombudsman's inquiry, the European Parliament decided on 20 October 1997 to raise the age limit for the entry grade to 45 in future competitions. Parliament intended that its personnel department should report to its Secretary-General two years later with a view to reassessing the situation.
4.2 On 21 January 1997, the European Commission decided in principle to abandon the imposition of age limits for the purpose of staff recruitment. According to the Commission, this decision ought to enter into force by interinstitutional agreement. As an interim solution, the Commission decided to raise the age limit to 45 in its future competitions for recruitment to the entry grade.
4.3 In view of the above, and of the fact that the European Commission decided in principle, on 21 January 1997, to abandon the use of age limits, and of the possible conclusion of an interinstitutional agreement, the European Ombudsman considered that there were no grounds for continuing the own-initiative inquiry into the imposition of age limits by the Community institutions.
Conclusion
On the basis of the European Ombudsman's inquiries into this complaint there appears to have been no maladministration by the European Commission. I have therefore decided to close the case.

FURTHER REMARK

The European Ombudsman asked the European Commission to inform him of measures taken by the institutions to reach agreement on abandoning the use of age limits.
The President of the European Commission is also being informed of this decision.
Yours sincerely,
Jacob SÖDERMAN