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

Presenting complex issues such as how European Union institutions make decisions has never been easy. Hence the new genre of infographics has emerged: don't talk about it, show it!

A great example of summarising what the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of Ministers do has just been posted on the Irish Institute of European Affairs (IIEA) website...

In a somewhat startling about-turn, I have decided for the time being not to pursue secretarial jobs, having made it to the AST1 reserve list. Believe me, this has been a very difficult decision to make, but it feels like the right one for, at least for now. As much as I desperately want a job in the European Commission, so this is pretty heartbreaking, I have realised that to start in such a junior position would not make sense professionally, financially or... 

Having decided a year ago to make a commitment to getting a job in the European Commission, I realised I had some serious work to do if I was going to be ready for the EPSO Competitions this year.

I started researching everything I could about the various stages of the process, and what competitions I would be eligible to apply for. For 2010-11, my options were Administrator (AD5-7) in the field of European Public Administration and Assistant in the secretarial field (AST1), so I applied...

EU job seekers are often wondering where is it better to live, Luxembourg or Belgium, given the choice?

We are in no position to decide on such a crucial matter, but here is a list of dilemmas you will face if you need to choose between these two eminent countries. 

• Do you like networking and attending high-profile EU conferences? Then choose Belgium.
• Do you enjoy checking out the latest cabriolets, 4x4s, luxury cars and sports wagons? Then choose Luxembourg.
• Do you plan to pay one of the highest taxes in the EU if your spouse works...

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 way most European institutions communicate and the mindset of the interactive web 2.0 communications is in utter contradiction. There is a compelling story to tell, but most EU institutions should learn how to say it.

True, the European Parliament is still much better than other EU bodies such as the Council of Ministers in understanding how online communications work: they have set up their own TV channel, regularly host live chat events, and try to speak the citizens' language, even if there is still a lot of room for improvement. EPSO, the recruitment office, has also been a rare exception within the Commission, but...

(Click to see the comparison chart of bureacratic vs. web 2.0 cultures!)
 

We at Arboreus have been working on e-learning presentations about the European Union policies and EU institutions for several months.

We are launching e-courses about the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers, the European Commission, the EU Treaties, the EU's Commercial Policy, EU Law and the Judicial Bodies, Various EU institutions including the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, the European Central Bank and others, so we thought a a few teasers could get you in the mood.

Prepare for Europe's 1st ever online EU training multimedia e-courses - available for everyone, everywhere!

Launch date: Before the end of January 2011 - let the countdown begin! Click to see 5 more screenshots!
 

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...

Cartoons are an excellent way to shrink a large piece of wisdom into a small piece of image.

It shows self-confidence and maturity when a person, an organisation or country is able to laugh at itself. That's why dictators in Africa, Asia or even Eastern Europe are so furious about expressions of funny drawings. On the other hand, being shown in a cartoon shows that the public opinion cares about what they do.

So why are there so few caricatures about Europe, the European Union or the EU institutions?

This video was just released by the European Commission in the ongoing debate on the EU budget reform (and especially in view of recent plans to introduce new sources to the budget). The question is: does the video reach its goal? By the way, what are its goals?

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...?

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.

France and its President, Nicolas Sarkozy has been busy expatriating (deporting) roma settlers from the country in the last couple of weeks, and the European Commission was painfully silent all the way..until a few days ago when the two Presidents clashed loudly at the European Council. The Commission, especially since Barroso first took office in 2004, has been acting as a bureaucracy instead of a political body. Maybe a new chapter has just opened?

The EU Civil Service Tribunal recently handed down its decision in the Pachtitis v. European Commission case - brought by an unsuccessful candidate in a previous EPSO pre-selection. Although details are not yet clear, the decision may have far-reaching consequences with regards to how EPSO organises it selection procedures and may even force EPSO to offer a second chance to candidates who were not pre-selected in the recent AD competition.

Highlights:
 - Pre-Selection is part of the competition
 - EPSO is not competent to make sele...

Are you a diplomat representing a South American country in Brussels? Are you a trade association covering renewable energy matters? Are you a lobbyist trying to have DG SANCO issue a positive opinion about a plant fertiliser? Are you an NGO going to great lengths to have the European Parliament condemn an act of racism in an African country? Well, the sad truth is that nobody cares about you.

To be fair, the truth is that everybody cares about you only as much as you offer them something they care about.

What does this mean? If you a...

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?