Now that webcast is behind us, is there any specific issue you would like to have answered on our website?
 

·         Is it necessary to have any kind of second language certificate?
 

No certification is necessary and language never has to be proven in an EPSO exam by documents, only by practically demonstrating your knowledge via e.g. verbal reasoning or the assessment centre.
 

·         Are the AD7 tests significantly more difficult than the AD5s?
 

No, they are more likely the exact same level as the AD5, the difference is in the required work experience to qualify for AD7.
 

Read on for further questions and answers!

The EPSO Assessment Centre - (Part 2).

The day began with the candidates being taken into a large meeting room, where the EPSO representative sat down with us to explain what was going to happen and give us our individual schedules. There would be four parts to the assessment, as outlined in the invitation letter... (click to read the full post!)

Following the CBT tests for the AST1 competition, I was extremely surprised and happy to receive a letter in my EPSO account inviting me to attend the assessment centre. However, when I looked at the date, my heart sank as I realised that I was not going to be available.

At that time I was extremely busy and the original assessment centre date coincided with one of my marking deadlines, so there was no possible way I could go. Fearing the worst (that it would just be ‘tough luck’), I emailed the EPSO candidate contact service...

The EU has been struggling with what they call 'lack of legitimacy' or 'democratic deficit'. This in plain English means that very few people actually know what EU institutions are doing in Brussels, and even fewer Europeans understand how these bodies work.

So, as they said before the Irish vote on the Lisbon Treaty: "if you don't know, vote no!", meaning not to support the European integration and its institutions.

What does the EU do to actually explain to citizens why it is needed? Not enough.

That is why we at Arboreus, without any EU or other public money or help, decided to create eight e-learning courses , many of them FREE, that explain, with dozens of examples, how each EU institution works, what they do, why they exist, which topics they deal with and ...

The Financial Times ran an article this weekend on 'Why proper English rules OK' about the disproportionate advantage native English speakers enjoy against their non-native counterparts, also in the EU institutions.

Is it true? Yes.
Is it fair? No.
Does it need to be considered by those dealing with EU affairs? Absolutely.


So why is the matter so serious...?

Distortions, misunderstandings, purposeful misleading of facts have always been around (some are really funny, actually). But the more the European Union deals with ”sensitive” issues, including justice, foreign policy, sports or other areas that used to be labeled as strictly national, the more such voices will arise. However, the Europen Commission and the European Parliament have done painfully little to set the facts straight.

Sure, there is a Blog on the Commission's UK representation on setting British media straight, but it's viewed by less than 1000 people which can hardly be labeled as effective counter-communication. Or look at an old-school press release on the EU budget myths issued in 2007 (three years ago!). But this is a drop in the ocean of misconceptions...

Whether you apply to work for an EU agency, a Brussels job in EU affairs, a temporary job at an EU diplomatic mission or elsewhere, you will almost certainly send your application via e-mail: providing a cover message (the e-mail body) and a CV attached. Sounds simple - except when your message is not even delivered to the future employer. How is that possible?