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Action plans on geographical balance

People first - Working at the European Commission

In 2022, the European Commission’s Director-General for Human Resources and Security consulted Permanent Representations of all 27 Member States. The Joint Action Plans below are the result of technical consultations with underrepresented Member States over 2022-2023. They take a close look at the reasons behind underrepresentation. In addition, they include measures aiming at increasing the number of candidates from these Member States, while keeping merit as the primary selection and recruitment criterion. This means that no jobs will be reserved for nationals of any specific Member State. 

One focus of these Joint Action Plans  is on better communication and outreach and tailored support for candidates. To do that, Member States and the Commission act both separately and jointly. Examples include: 

  • newsletters to prompt more EPSO applicants;
  • increased outreach;
  • increased support for candidates in generalist competitions;
  • increased visibility of Commission job vacancies, etc. 

The first assessment of the Joint Actions Plans was conducted in 2024; this was done using statistics from 2021, 2022 and 2023. This assessment was undertaken jointly by the underrepresented countries and the Commission.