ATTESTATION PROCEDURE, 2009 EXERCISE:
Call for applications
The attestation procedure allows officials in the assistants' function
group who are currently in the C (AST1-7) and D (AST1-5) career streams to
access the career stream with no restriction and become members of the
assistants' function group (hereinafter “function group AST”) with
prospects of promotion to grade AST11. This procedure was introduced by
Article 10(3) of Annex XIII to the Staff Regulations.
Simplified rules for implementing the attestation procedure were adopted
by the Commission Decision of 29 November 2006 (see
Administrative Notice
AN 55-2007). The 2009 attestation exercise is the fourth to be based on a
procedure involving only one stage: admission. All applicants who
satisfy the admission criteria may benefit from attestation, without any
time limit, provided they have been appointed to an "Administrative
assistant" level post.
On 23rd June 2009 (see
AN 48-2009 published on the same date), after
consulting the joint attestation committee, the appointing authority
adopted detailed rules for applying the admission criteria for the 2009
attestation exercise.
This Administrative Notice is a call for applications and officially
launches the 2009 attestation procedure. It explains what attestation
is and sets out the procedure and provisional timetable for the 2009
exercise.
The deadline for submitting applications is 4 September 2009.
NB
-
The 1450 officials admitted to the 2006
attestation exercise, the 532 officials admitted to the 2007
attestation exercise and the 388 officials admitted to the 2008
attestation exercise do not have to apply again for attestation
(see final lists – AN 30-2007,
AN 17-2008 and
AN 19-2009). The right
to benefit from the attestation procedure which they have already
acquired is not subject to any time limit.
-
After finalisation of the current attestation
exercise and before 31 December 2009, it will be decided whether to
organise the attestation procedure in whole or in part in 2010 and
in subsequent years. This decision will not change the right to
benefit from the attestation procedure which the officials have
already acquired from a former attestation exercise starting with
the 2006 exercise. In fact, the admitted officials remain
"attestables" without any time limit.
-
The attention of the candidates and of the
relevant reporting and countersigning officers is drawn to the
importance of the evaluation of the demonstration of the potential
to perform "Administrative assistant" level tasks and functions. The
admission of the candidates and their access to the career path
without restrictions depends in particular on this evaluation.
Evaluations should be MOTIVATED and the requested declarations,
comments and evaluations should be clear, precise and complete.
-
No link will be made between applications
completed by the same applicant during previous attestation
exercises. Applicants must therefore complete all the sections
again.
-
To be valid, applications must be signed by the
applicant in Sysper2 by the deadline specified (see point 5).
-
In the event of omission or error, no changes to
the application can be accepted once it has been signed.
-
DG ADMIN will systematically check the
information given by the applicants in their application forms
against the data in their personal files. These checks will be
carried out after the final list of those admitted to the procedure
has been published (and at the latest when the requests for
attestation are processed). Under no circumstances will any
information that the applicant has omitted to mention be taken into
account (see point 8).
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- GENERAL PRINCIPLES
1.1. Who can apply for attestation?
Only officials in the C and D career paths who were in service in the
institutions before 1 May 2004 are eligible.
AST officials who were established after 30 April 2004 are not eligible.
These officials are automatically members of the function group AST
without career restrictions (with the possibility of promotion up to
AST11).
1.2. What is the aim of attestation?
Officials in the C and D career paths in service before 1 May 2004
belong to two different career streams which allow promotion up to no
higher than grades AST7 and AST5 respectively.
After attestation, these officials will no longer be subject to this
restriction: by becoming full members of function group AST, they will
be able to compete for promotion up to grade 11 on the basis of their
individual merit and their personal situation in terms of seniority and
grade.
1.3. What consequences for the career?
The transition from one career stream to the other is horizontal (same
grade and same step) and basic salary remains unchanged. The seniority
acquired in the former career stream is maintained. The points
accumulated in the "rucksack" ("sac à dos") are recalculated in order to
maintain the same relative distance from the threshold, except for AST7
in the C career path and AST5 in the D career path. For these two
grades, no promotion is possible in the C and D career paths. There is
no promotion threshold: the points accumulated before attestation are
therefore cancelled.
1.4. The different stages of the procedure
The attestation procedure implemented since 2006 consists of the
following stages:
- publication of a call for applications;
- drawing up of a list of applicants admitted to the attestation
procedure on the basis of the admission criteria;
- attestation of admitted officials on posts at "Administrative
assistant" level (posts with a job description type "Assistant",
"Technical assistant" ("Assistant technique") or "Team leader" ("Chef
d'équipe")).
- ADMISSION CRITERIA
Once you have validated your application, DG ADMIN will check that
it complies with the admission criteria laid down by the Commission
Decision of 29 November 2006 (see AN 55-2007), supplemented by the
decision of the appointing authority of 23rd June 2009 (see
AN 48-2009
published on the same date).
In order to be admitted you must meet all the following criteria.
2.1. Administrative status
You may apply for attestation if:
- you were a serving official in the C or D career path before 1 May
2004;
- at the date of this call for applications you are appointed to a
permanent post at the Commission and are in active employment, on
parental leave, on family leave or seconded in the interests of the
service.
You may not apply if during 2009 you are to be retired or your
service is to be terminated by the Commission or if the Commission has
granted you an invalidity allowance taking effect in 2009.
2.2. Minimum seniority in C or D career path
As at 16 January 2010 you must have at least 5 years'
seniority in C or D career path – or in a higher category. If you
have less than five years’ seniority, your application will not be
admitted.
For the purpose of applying this criterion, seniority acquired in C or D
career path – or in a higher category – as an official or temporary
staff member will be taken into account. Seniority as a temporary staff
member will be taken into account even if there has been a break between
the periods of work as a temporary staff member and as an official.
Periods of work when seconded in the interests of the service or
seconded at your own request (in another European institution, in a
Community/ executive agency or in an organisation devoted to furthering
the Community's interests) will be taken into account.
Leave on personal grounds will not be taken into account.
Seniority acquired in C or D career path, as described above, will be
referred to hereinafter and in your application as “type 1 professional
experience”.
2.3. Minimum level of education
You must have a level of education at least equal to that required by
Article 5(3)(a)(i) of the Staff Regulations for appointment to the
function group AST , i.e. "a level of post-secondary education
attested by a diploma" (higher non-university degree or short
university cycle of a legal duration of at least 2 years). This level
corresponds to column d) in the table of qualifications in
Annex 1.
However, if you do not have this level of education, you may still be
eligible for attestation on the basis of professional experience
acquired in the institutions (even with a status other than official or
temporary staff member) or outside the institutions. Such additional
professional experience used to count towards level of education will be
referred to hereinafter and in your application as “type 2 professional
experience”.
Education levels a) to c) can be supplemented as follows:
LEVEL OF
EDUCATION
Level of your highest qualification
(see Annex 1) |
Minimum C/D
seniority
(type 1 experience) |
Additional
professional
experience
(type 2 experience) |
|
a) Primary education |
5 years |
+ 9 years |
b) Secondary education (not giving access to
higher education) |
+ 5 years |
c) Secondary education (giving access to higher
education) |
+ 2 years |
d) Higher education (higher non-university
degree or short university cycle of a legal duration of at least 2
years) |
0 |
e) University level education of a legal
duration of at least 3 years |
f) University level education of a legal
duration of at least 4 years |
g) University level education – third stage |
Only studies certified by a title/diploma - recognised by the Member
State or third country in which it was issued – obtained by the
candidate will be taken into account.
Annex 1 contains an indicative and non-exhaustive list of diplomas by
country and by level of education.
If you are unable to provide evidence of professional experience to
compensate for a level of education lower than level d), your
application will not be accepted.
2.4. Professional experience: demonstration of the potential to
perform "Administrative assistant" level functions and/or tasks
The professional experience shall be taken into account through the
potential to perform "Administrative assistant" level functions and/or
tasks. The demonstration of your potential must be positively assessed,
which means that your superiors must acknowledge that in practice you
satisfactorily performed "Administrative assistant" level functions
and/or tasks during all or part of the period between 1 June 2006 and
31 May 2009. These functions and tasks are listed in
Annex 3.
If the demonstration of your potential to perform functions and/or tasks
of a higher level is not favourably assessed, your application will not
be admitted.
Up until the 2006 exercise, the demonstration of potential was one of
the headings in the career development report (CDR). This is no longer
the case. The demonstration of your potential to perform tasks and/or
functions of a higher category is now assessed by your superiors during
the attestation exercise, if you submit an application.
2.5. Level of performance
You will not be admitted to the 2009 attestation procedure if your
professional performance was assessed as insufficient in your evaluation
report covering the year 2008.
Professional insufficiency is characterized by an evaluation at
performance level IV.
- HOW TO APPLY
Applications must be made using the "Attestation" module in Sysper2.
To access this module from the Sysper2 menu, click on the link "My
attestation and certification history" under "Attestation &
Certification". Then click "Apply for the 2009 attestation exercise".
The closing date for submitting applications is 4 September 2009.
If, for some reason, you are unable to access Sysper2 between the date
on which this Administrative Notice is published and the closing date
for applications, you may send a paper application (see specimen form in
Annex 2) to the following address:
European Commission
Unit ADMIN A/6
"Application for the attestation procedure"
MO 34 5/15
B-1049 Brussels
Paper application forms must be sent by 4 September 2009, as
evidenced by the postmark. Paper application forms sent after that date
will not be accepted, unless you can provide proof that you were absent
throughout the period between the date of publication of this
Administrative Notice and the closing date for submitting applications.
- WHAT INFORMATION DO YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE?
Some information, such as your experience in the Commission, your
administrative status and grade, is already recorded in Sysper2. You
must encode certain other information in the application. This
information relates to the following:
4.1. Your level of education
You should indicate your highest qualification, with reference to the
table in Annex 1 to this call for applications, the title of the
diploma, the date on which you obtained it and the body that issued it.
Regardless of the level of education, only studies certified by an
academic diploma – recognised by the Member State or third country in
which it was issued – will be taken into account.
You must mention at least one diploma in the "Studies" section of the
application form. This information will be used to determine whether you
must have more than 5 years' seniority (see point 2.3).
4.2. Professional experience other than that acquired as an official
or temporary staff member in the Commission
To enable us to calculate your total seniority and, if necessary, to
supplement your level of education, please indicate your type 1 and type
2 professional experience as follows. There is no need to enter your
experience as an official or temporary staff member in the Commission
because this information will automatically be extracted from Sysper2
and taken into account.
4.2.1. Professional experience in another European institution,
in a Community/executive agency or in an organisation devoted to
furthering the Community's interests ("Type 1 professional
experience")
You should indicate your professional experience in the C and D or
higher career streams as an official or temporary staff member in the
European institutions (other than the Commission), the
Community/executive agencies and the organisations devoted to
furthering the Community's interests. These periods will be added to
the seniority you have acquired within the Commission (see point 2.2).
You should specify the periods of work, the institution to which you
were assigned, the directorate-general and unit, and your status
(temporary staff member or permanent official) and grade.
4.2.2. Other professional experience (“Type 2 professional
experience”)
You should indicate any experience outside the institutions, as well
as any experience within the institutions with a status other than
official or temporary staff member. You should specify the periods of
employment, the duties performed, and the name and contact details of
the employer.
This type of experience may count towards your level of education (see
point 2.3). Even if you do not have to supplement your level of
education we suggest you mention any professional experience that
could be taken into account.
4.3. Demonstration of potential to perform "Administrative assistant"
level functions and/or tasks
You should mention in your application any occasions during all or part
of the reference period (between 1 June 2006 and 31 May 2009) when you
consider that you demonstrated your potential to perform "Administrative
assistant" level functions and/or tasks, as referred to in the list of
tasks and functions performed by AST officials with no career
restrictions (see Annex 3) . Each task or function performed should be
entered separately in the corresponding section of the application form
("Declare as task/function of "Administrative assistant" level). At
least one declaration should be entered in this section.
For each entry you must specify the period (which must include at least
part of the reference period), the institution, DG/Service, job title,
function group and career path, administrative status, function or task.
You must also give a detailed description and one or more contact
persons.
Your reporting officer and countersigning officer – as defined on the
day you sign your application form – will then assess this demonstration
of your potential on the basis of the functions and/or tasks you have
declared on your application form, the amount of working time devoted to
them, the quality of the services provided, the level of responsibility
and your ability to act and react independently. Please note that it is
not the number of functions and/or tasks performed that will be taken
into account, but the quality and relevance of the professional
experience and the information provided.
Your relevant professional experience may have been gained within the
Commission, in another institution or agency or in an organisation
devoted to furthering the Community's interests. In the case of
experience outside the Commission you may attach supporting documents.
However, we recommend that you limit the number of annexes to those that
are strictly relevant and clearly indicate their contents in the box
marked "Title of the attachment".
It is important to make sure that your job description is updated to
reflect the tasks and functions which you perform, including those of
"Administrative assistant" level.
4.4. Annexes (not mandatory)
If you annex any document to support the demonstration of your
potential, the number of documents should be strictly limited. The
quality and relevance of the information you supply will be taken into
consideration when assessing the demonstration of your potential. Be
sure to indicate the contents of the annexes in the box marked "Title of
the attachment".
There is no need to annex all or part of the evaluation reports produced
by the Commission departments because these are available to your
superiors in Sysper2.
Ideally, documents should be annexed in PDF format. For your
information, you can obtain a PDF version of a document by e-mailing it
to the EC PDF CODE WEB functional mailbox.
- HOW TO SIGN YOUR APPLICATION
Up until the moment you sign your application in Sysper2, you can:
- cancel it (click "Delete my application form"); or
- fill in the form in stages. You can enter and save data as you go
along.
You have access at all times to your completed application form,
containing the details you have entered as well as the information from
Sysper2. You can check the content and change it if necessary before
signing it.
Your application will not be registered and examined until you have
signed it electronically (click on "Sign and send my application form").
The date on which you signed your application will then appear in the
"Summary" tab. The name of your reporting officer and countersigning
officer will also appear here. They will be responsible for assessing
whether you have demonstrated potential.
- FOLLOWING STEP: DRAWING UP THE LIST OF APPLICANTS ADMITTED TO THE
ATTESTATION PROCEDURE
6.1. Appraisal of the demonstration of your potential by your reporting
officer and countersigning officer
Once you have signed your application form, your reporting officer and
countersigning officer (the people holding these positions on the day
you sign your application) will be asked to assess whether you have
demonstrated the potential to perform tasks and/or functions at
"Administrative assistant" level. A favourable assessment on their part
is one of the conditions for admission to the attestation procedure (see
point 2.4).
Their assessment will be based on the "Administrative assistant" level
functions and/or tasks you have declared in your application form, on
the amount of working time devoted to them, on the quality of the
services provided, on the evaluation reports, on possible remarks
contained in former application forms, on the level of responsibility
and on your ability to act and react independently. It is not the number
of functions and/or tasks performed that will be taken into account, but
the quality and relevance of the professional experience and the
information provided.
First, your reporting officer will be asked to comment in a
clear, precise and complete way on the information you have given in
your application form. Then your countersigning officer will
be asked to assess whether or not you have demonstrated your
potential during the reference period, on the basis of the
information available. Your countersigning officer must provide a clear
and precise MOTIVATION, especiallyin case his/her evaluation is
unfavourable.
Your reporting officer, your countersigning officer and the head of
human resources in your DG or Service will be given access to only two
sections of your 2009 application form: the one relating to the
demonstration of your potential and the one containing any annexes.
Access will be granted only after 4 September 2009.
You will be able to access your reporting officer's comments and the
countersigning officer's assessment in your Attestation application file
in Sysper2 as soon as the draft list of applicants admitted to the
attestation exercise has been published.
6.2. Publication of the draft list of applicants admitted to the
attestation procedure
On the basis of the information in the applications, a draft list
of applicants who fulfil the criteria for admission will be drawn up by
DG ADMIN. This list will be submitted to the joint attestation committee
for an opinion and then published by the appointing authority as an
administrative notice.
Once this has been published you will be able to look in your
Attestation file in Sysper2 and see how the information in your
application form has been evaluated, how your superiors have assessed
the demonstration of your potential and, where appropriate, the reason
for rejecting your application. Based on the admission criteria (see
points 2.1 to 2.5), the reasons might be: insufficient seniority,
inadequate level of education, unfavourable assessment of the
demonstration of potential, insufficient performance.
6.3. How to appeal
If you wish to challenge the non-admission of your application, you can
lodge a reasoned appeal with the joint attestation committee.
This will have to be done in Sysper2 within ten working days of
publication of the draft list of admitted applicants.
You will have to enter the reason for the appeal in the space provided
(there is no limit on the length of the text) and attach supporting
documents by clicking "Annexes".
If, for some reason, you are unable to access Sysper2, you will have the
possibility to appeal by sending a letter stating the reasons for the
appeal to the following address:
European Commission
Unit ADMIN A/6
"Appeal – Attestation Procedure"
MO 34 5/15
B-1049 Brussels
This letter must also be sent within ten working days, as evidenced
by the postmark.
Once the joint committee has examined the appeals, the appointing
authority will decide whether or not to accept your appeal.
6.4. Publication of the final list of applicants admitted to the
attestation procedure
Once all the appeals have been heard, the appointing authority will
adopt and publish the final list of officials admitted to the
2009 attestation procedure (the "attestables").
- LAST STEP: ATTESTATION OF APPLICANTS ADMITTED TO THE 2009
ATTESTATION PROCEDURE
7.1. Validity of the list
The officials whose names are included on the final list of applicants
admitted to the 2009 attestation procedure will be eligible for
attestation, without any time limitation, subject to verification
of the information provided in their applications (see point 8). There
is no maximum number of attestations per year, per DG/Service or per
attestation exercise.
7.2. How to be attested
Attestation implies that all the functions performed by the attested
official correspond to "Administrative assistant" level. In order to be
attested, officials whose names are included on the final list of
applications admitted to the 2009 attestation procedure must be
appointed to a post at "Administrative assistant" level (with a job
description type "Assistant", "Technical assistant" ("Assistant
technique") or "Team leader" ("Chef d'équipe")).
To this end these officials will be authorised to apply for all
"Administrative assistant" posts published by Commission services.
If the description of the post occupied by one of these officials has
already been recognised as being of "Administrative assistant" level, or
if it has been modified so that it comprises only functions of that
level and is recognised as such, mobility will not be necessary and the
official can be attested on that post.
7.3. Training recommended for officials admitted to the attestation
procedure
In order to consolidate the skills they require to perform tasks at
"Administrative assistant" level, officials admitted to the attestation
procedure will be encouraged to take training courses to enable them to
acquire or supplement the skills necessary for performing such tasks,
taking account of their specific training needs and the requirements of
the service to which they are assigned. Participation in these training
courses is not a prerequisite for attestation.
The list of recommended training will be indicated at the time of
publication of the final list of applicants admitted to the 2009
attestation procedure.
- VERIFICATION OF THE INFORMATION IN YOUR APPLICATION
FORM
DG ADMIN will systematically check the information provided by an
admitted applicant in his/her application against his/her personal file.
This check will be made after publication of the final list of admitted
applicants and at the latest when a request for his/her attestation is
received and processed. The sole purpose of this check is to ensure that
the information given by the applicant is consistent with the data in
his/her personal file. Under no circumstances will it be possible to add
any information or professional experience that the applicant has
omitted to mention.
If the information is not correct, or if the personal file is
incomplete, the qualification or experience indicated in the application
will not be taken into account and attestation will not be granted.
You should therefore carefully check the information entered before
validating your application and complete your personal file if
necessary. The file should, for example, contain:
- the original or a certified copy of the
qualification(s)/title(s)/diploma(s) you declare in your attestation
application form; they must be officially recognised by the public
authorities in the Member State or third country in which issued;
- the original or a certified copy of statements from employers
attesting the professional experience outside the European
institutions you mention in your attestation application form.
Personal files are managed by ADMIN/B.3 (SC-11 3/63, Tel. 53790).
- THE ROLE OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE IN MONITORING THE PROCEDURE
The new attestation procedure reinforces the role of the joint
committee:
- the committee will be consulted on the draft list of officials
whose applications are considered to have been admitted and on the
appeals lodged by applicants who have not been admitted;
- the committee will be regularly informed on implementation of the
procedure, the number of attestations, the profiles of the attested
officials and monitoring of the training module;
- each year, the committee will adopt an opinion on the
implementation of the attestation procedure, together with any
recommendations it may wish to make to the appointing authority.
- TIMETABLE FOR THE 2009 ATTESTATION PROCEDURE
The provisional timetable is as follows:
- 4 September 2009: closing date for applications;
- September 2009: consultation of reporting officers and
countersigning officers to assess the demonstration of the applicants'
potential to perform these "Administrative assistant" level functions
and/or tasks;
- October 2009: publication of the draft list of officials admitted
to the attestation procedure following its submission to the joint
committee for an opinion;
- October/November 2009: meeting of the joint committee to analyse
appeals by applicants not admitted;
- November 2009: publication of the final list of officials admitted
to the 2009 attestation procedure.
- PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA
Information on the processing of personal data under Regulation (EC)
No 45/2001:(1)
- Identity of the controller: Unit ADMIN/A.6.
- Purpose of processing: attestation procedure.
- Recipients: Unit ADMIN/A.6, appointing authority, members of the
joint attestation committee, human resources managers; reporting
officers and countersigning officers (for the section on demonstration
of potential and annexes only).
- Questions in the application form marked with an asterisk (*) are
compulsory.
- Right to access and rectify data: once an application has been
made, the applicant has access to all the information contained in it.
Data can be rectified before the closing date for the validation of
applications, but not after the application has been validated by the
applicant.
- Other information contained in the notification to the DPO
covering Sysper2 – CDR professional appraisal.
- Applicants are entitled to have recourse at any time to the
European Data Protection Supervisor.
- CONTACT DETAILS
If you have any queries or difficulties in completing your application
form, you can contact ADMIN/A.6:
Tel.: 93640 & 93936 – E-mail:
ADMIN PROCEDURE D'ATTESTATION
"Attestation" site on Intracomm
http://www.cc.cec/pers_admin/attestation/index_en.html
___________________
Footnotes
(1) Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of
the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the
protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data
by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such
data (JO L 8 of 12.1.2001, p. 1–22). |