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... 

So, I’m on the EPSO reserve list. Now what? In theory, I have a year in which to get a job in the EU institutions, otherwise I have to start all over again!

Having come this far, I’m not about to sit around and wait to see if I get ‘flagged’. Instead, I decided to consult...

For the whole of July, I had been gingerly logging in to my EPSO account every single day, waiting for the little red flag to say that I had ‘1 new email’. Well, the end of July came and went, with no sign of the assessment centre results. Just as I was about to start harassing the EPSO team and inundating their inbox with emails of complaint, I logged in to my account on Monday early August and there it was! (click to read more!)

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...

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...

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!
 

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?

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 ...
 

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.

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...

In the age of Google and Facebook, being findable has become the most important asset you can have.

Websites are optimised to show up as the 1st hit in Google when specific words are searched. But what about your CV when those searching for an EU expert, a Greek translator, a consultant with experience in the European Parliament, type in those magic words into LinkedIn, a recruitment database, or EPSO's e-laureates list? Adding the right words into your profile description can make or break a job interview invitation.

Seth has written a great piece on Six things about deadlines. Though he essentially talks about business, it is worth considering for EPSO job applicants and EU affairs professionals, too.

Enough to look at his chart: when a deadline is announced, the eager ones rush and get it done right away. EPSO candidates sign up, create a profile, validate their applications and presto, it's done! Late risers, on the other hand, risk having a server slowdown, missing the last bus home from work to finalise their application two hours before the clos...

The European Parliament launched a banner campaign on various EU online media platforms (EUobserver, EurActiv etc.) where a blue flash banner box with catchy titles such as "massive job-losses", "less economic growth", "sharp budget cuts" lead to the key question: "How does the crisis affect Europe?". The proposed solution? Watch www.europarltv.eu

Sure, let's see what you get if you decide to click through despite this unspellable domain name. Actually, not much. It leads you to the European Parliament TV's "your voice" page where ...

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?