Ever wondered what European Commission and other EU officials do? Click to see the truth !

It's a cliché to say that technology is changing our world. But two linguistic innovations from Google may change the way European diversity can live on while bringing Europeans closer to each other.

The question until now was: if we want a democratic EU with 23 official languages, how can that work without compromising on efficiency? Look at the European patent: an issue unresolved for 40 years because European leaders could not agree which 3 or 5 languages will be the 'dominant' ones to translate all patents into - so a political stand-off followed.

Now, thanks to technology, Google offered to translate for free all European Patent Office filings via ...

EPSO's recruitment reform from March 2010 has been a huge success. It has lowered the barrier to entry for many potential candidates by eliminating the much hated EU knowledge tests (think of "How many times has Viviane Reding been a European Commissioner until now?") and thus opening the door for some 37,000 applicants for the Administrator exams this spring.

But this new system has a huge inherent danger: many of the new recruits will know very little about how the EU institutions operate when they start working in them...

A Belgian newspaper (source unknown as we only received a clipping from a friend) recently gathered what EU employees tend to think about Belgium and more specifically, Brussels...and also found out what the locals think of the "lazy, wealthy expats'". Not very flattering - on either side!

Click here for some highlights - what EU officials think of Belgians (by the way, is there such a thing? or only Walloons and Flemings...)

When it comes to social media, most EU officials, decision-makers and public affairs specialists are uncertain what it actually means, so their dilemma is translated into the question 'Should we use Twitter or Facebook in our online efforts?'.

This is the same as, when building a house, you would ask 'Should I build a kitchen or a bathroom?'. In short: focusing on building blocks instead of the building will not take you far.

The core concept of social media is ...
 

200 million euros spent per year while the EU budgets are in crisis. Normal? Certainly. Thousands of EU officials, including all Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), their assitants, EP staff, 27 European Commissioners, their staff, desk officers from Commission DGs and hundreds of lobbyists commute to Strasbourg for 4 days each month of the year (sometimes even twice after the summer holidays). Costing millions, causing carbon emissions and travel time to meet with the very same people they could easily meet in Brussels, when will this monthly exodus end? Never.

In the new EPSO recruitment system, it is even more clear that the EU wants to find people whose goal is to work for a cause, an issue that is larger than themselves. Meaning: don't come just for the money.

So I wonder if EU salaries were, say, 40-50% lower (thus similar to Belgian private sector wage levels), would people still be interested in working for European institutions?

We know the surveys that gauge candidates' motivation why they wish to become EU officials, and "salary" usually only appears in the 2nd or 3rd place. H...

Waste is present even where we don't see it: just look at two everyday issues in European institutions (or at any large government administration) like document printing and staff meetings. Apply a bit of numerical reasoning to quantify it, and be surprised.

When EPSO announced its new selection procedures, it was welcomed by many with enthusiasm. Lowering the barrier to entry while selecting more suitable candidates via the Assessment Center by removing EU knowledge tests was a big relief for most people. But recruitment is not limited to EPSO: consider the (s)election of Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), the European Commission President and other senior politicians. Maybe a change of procedures is the answer to the EU's problems?