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...

If you are at a brunch party, which foods do you pick? The ones you like?

Partly yes, but much rather those that are easy to access: those with the wrapping off, item unpacked or sliced up nicely in a row. If you need to spend even a bit of effort accessing it, you'd rather pick something already prepared for you: even a minimal threshold will keep you away (except for that 1% of guests who are too hungry or too enthusiastic about a finger food to leave it behind).

A website registration to access a free demo, a hard-to-open door in the en...

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?