EU offers hundreds of jobs to Czechs

Less than a month ago, news broke that the Czech Republic's unemployment rate would surpass the ten percent mark. With such pessimistic numbers, why not try for a job in the EU? The Czech Republic and nine other countries expected to be fully-fledged members in 2004, and the European Union has to prepare for the changes. Practically overnight, its population will increase by twenty percent, it will have two thirds more member states and many more official languages. The EU is therefore offering Czechs five hundred job opportunities at its institutions - including the commission, parliament, and council - in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Daniela Lazarova spoke to the acting head of the selection policy unit at the European Personnel Selection Office, Mr Guy Vanbisen, to find out more about the conditions involved and how tough the requirements are:

"The people for the A level and the LA level, which means the translators, interpreters and administrators need to have a university degree. They do not need any professional experience with the exception of the interpreters where they need a special education in interpreting or experience as a conference interpreter. They need to speak one foreign language - French, English or German. Any of those three would be sufficient for the administrative posts, for the linguists more languages are, of course, required. All this will be specified in each notice of competition which will be published in the EPSO official journal. "

You recruit staff by open competition I understand?

"We do yes, and details regarding each competition will be published in our journal but we will also place announcements in the national press in each of the future member states so people will be aware of the vacancies and the competitions which we will launch. The competitions for interpreters will be held as early as in March of this year, and the next wave will be in the month of May for administrators, translators and secretaries. "

When you say open competition, what exactly do you have in mind, a series of tests?

"Yes, indeed. We will publish a notification and then there is a pre-selection test -normally these are multiple choice tests and then on the grounds of these a restricted number of applicants can sit for the written and oral tests where they meet the selection board."

I suppose the wages are very lucrative for Czechs?

"The same wages apply as for officials from the current member states and that should be around four thousand euros for the university degree A level posts. "