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3/27/13

EU-career: 2010 Administrators (AD) competition re-OPENED

The AD competitions (for Administrators, these are Mid-Management positions) for careers in the European institutions have become rare opportunities in the last years (due to EU  budget and administration rationalisation), and in the best case there is only 1 "concours" organised each year.
 
In 2013, EPSO will not organize any new AD competitions!
 
However, some old AD competition are reopened: EPSO/AD/177/10, EPSO/AD/178/10 and EPSO/AD/179/10.
 
A corrigendum was published and new tests are being organised for those candidates who were excluded from the selection process in 2010 on the basis of their results in the admission tests, either because they did not reach the pass mark, or because they were not amongst the highest-scoring candidates who could be admitted to the selection based on qualifications phase
 
The person that triggered all these rehearsals is a candidate named Dimitrios Pachtitis that challenged EPSO responsibilities and initiated a legal battle. The General Court confirmed the Tribunal’s ruling, and EPSO re-affirmed its pledge to allow participants of the 2010 general AD5 level Administrator competitions to re-take their exams in 2013.
 
So he is the one to be congratulated (in case you ere positively impacted by this decision) or blamed (in all the other cases, as you will not have a chance for an AD competition this year).
 
In my case it's a bravo Dimi ;)
 
Note: Don't forget that you can prepare for these exams by practicing Abstract Reasoning and Situatiational Judgement tests on your iPhone or iPad.

3/21/13

European "Silicon Valley": Skype, Spotify and Angry Birds creators promote Digital Europe

Web entrepreneurs worldwide have an enormous impact on the economy and society: the majority of new jobs are created by start-ups and 45% of Europeans would like to be their own boss if they could. 
With this mind set, the European Commission wants that young Europeans to be inspired by home-grown entrepreneurs, so their bright ideas start and stay in Europe!

So, to give a living proof example for web businesses, the EC launched the 
European "Silicon Valley" of  online entrepreneurship.

The Digital Leaders of Europe are nominated on the Startup Europe Leaders Club - the first part of Startup Europe initiative (Digital Agenda priority).

...nici un roman, din pacate...

3/20/13

EU budget - myth busted !!!

In the context of the European Council decision to reduce the 2014-2020 EU budget and the on-going negotiations on European budgetary cuts, the European Commission launches more communication campaigns addressing the EU budget (multi-annual financial programming, spending justification and budget lifecycle transparency). See also my previous post: Is the EU budget well spent?

The new campaign is very citizen-friendly and busts multiple EU budget related myths:

  • Myth: The EU budget is enormous!
  • Myth: The EU budget is constantly on the rise – whereas national governments reduce their spending!
  • Myth: The bulk of EU expenditure goes into administration!
  • Myth: The EU budget is riddled with fraud!
  • Myth: The EU budget is decided by Eurocrats without any democratic procedures!
  • Myth: The EU costs too much!
  • Myth: The EU finances silly projects like dog training centres or Elton John concerts!
  • Myth: The Commission wants to introduce a direct EU tax and increase the tax burden on citizens!
  • Myth: Most of the EU budget goes to farmers!
  • Myth: Cohesion policy is an expensive charity!


  • Download also the "EU Spending - a myth-buster" brochure.

    3/18/13

    500 EU Information Centres inform 500 million citizens across Europe

    The Europe Direct Information Centers (EDIC), since their creation - 4 years ago, received about 3.3 million personal enquiries, organised more than 41,000 events and answered more than a million e-mails.

    Today, the European Commission the European Parliament launched a new generation of "Europe Direct Information Centres". The new network will extend possibilities for citizens to get practical information and advice on exercising rights in the European Union.

    Read more in the press release about the statistics and activities of these centres, considered "the public face, the eyes, ears and mouth of our policies and of the rights of citizens on the ground".

    Romania are 31 de centre EDIC, locul 6 in functie de numarul total de centre in Europa!
    Statistic vorbind, centrele din Romania, in 2012:

    • au inchis 37.000 de apeluri (aproape 4% din totalul de tichete deschise in toate cele 500 de centre);
    • au produs 900 de publicatii (locul 2 !!! in functie de numarul de publicatii produse de o tara UE, dupa Spania);
    • si organizat vreo 250 de evenimente.
    Bravo!

    3/12/13

    An Open, Safe and Secure European Cyberspace

    The European Union is committed to assure that the European  fundamental rights, democracy and the rule of law are protected in cyberspace. This is why the European Commission, together with the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has published a cyber security strategy alongside a Commission proposed directive on network and information security (NIS).
     
    The strategy articulates the EU's vision of cyber-security in terms of five priorities:
    • Achieving cyber resilience
    • Drastically reducing cybercrime
    • Developing cyber defence policy and capabilities related to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP)
    • Developing the industrial and technological resources for cyber-security
    • Establishing a coherent international cyberspace policy for the European Union and promoting core EU values
     
    some cyber security statistics:
  • an estimated 150,000 computer viruses in circulation every day,
  • 148,000 computers compromised daily,
  • 56.8% of respondents had experienced over the past year NIS incidents with a serious impact on their activities,
  • 12% have already experienced online fraud and 89% avoid disclosing personal information,
  •  while only 26% of enterprises in the EU had a formally defined ICT security policy.

  •  

    3/6/13

    European Commission fines Microsoft with €561m !!!

    2 years ago I was blogging about this - "The EC killed Internet Explorer" and I was happy because the Commission won the case against the IT giant Microsoft for the Internet Explorer browser monopoly on Windows operating systems.
     
    Today, for the first time in history, the Commission fined a private company for non-compliance and did it with a huge fine of €561 million for failing to include the browser ballot in Windows 7 SP1. With 15 million people not shown the ballot, the EC is effectively fining Microsoft €37 per user.
     
    Microsoft said the failure to show the browser ballot was a "technical error" but the EC was not convinced and motivated their decision by the fact that this failure is considered a serious infringement to competition and European enforcement policy!
     
    An important decision of the EC that creates a precedent and maybe a new will give ideas for new ways to increase the European budget that faced massive cuts for the first time since the EU was borne.
     
    This fine practically compensates the huge costs the EC pays for Microsoft licenses, so it's like the institutions will use Windows and Office for free for a long time :) way to go !!!! the next fine it will be for Oracle ;))
     
    Reflection points:
    • Microsoft didn't considered seriously the Commission warnings and legal commitments, but they will from now;
    • The Internet Explorer browser is a very important piece of software for Microsoft and they are not willing to sacrifice it ... cheap;
    • The Commission likes big fines but gave no explanations on how the cost of €37 per impacted user was calculated?
    Read more: Microsoft fined €561m for missing browser ballot |

    Note: The European Commission has fined Microsoft, the global leader in PC operating systems, 2.2 billion euros (1.8 billion pounds) over the past decade, making it the world's biggest offender of European Union business rules (source Reuters.com).

    3/5/13

    Grand Coalition for Digital Jobs

    "We want to empower Europeans to fill the jobs that will drive the next ICT revolution", Commission President José Manuel Barroso.
     
    What does he mean?
     
    Basically the EC tries to address the 900 000 job vacancies expected to exist in Europe in Information and Communication technologies (ICT) by 2015; and the fact that the number of fresh ICT graduates and skilled ICT workers is not keeping up. The ICT workforce in Europe in 2011 amounted to 6.7 million, which is 3.1% of the overall workforce.
     

    With the Coalition for Digital Jobs (don't know why it's called Grand...), the Commission has sought pledges in the following key areas: Training and matching for digital jobs, Mobility, Certification, Awareness raising, Innovative learning and teaching.

     
    Some linked European initiatives:
    • Academy Cube - an European alliance between industrial companies and institutions; primarily intended for academics, graduates and job seekers – ideally from the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
    • EU Skills Panorama - a website presenting quantitative and qualitative information on short- and medium-term skills needs, skills supply and skills mismatches.

     
    Si de data asta, Romania e la coada clasamentului european cu cei mai multi cetateni fara cunostinte PC/IT, si anume peste 60%! Pare uimitor, tinand cont ca IT-istii nostri sunt vestiti in Europa; dar statisticile pulicate de Eurostat nu pot fi negate. Alte statistici (Panorama) arata ca in Romania IT-istii ,ca procent din numarul total de angajati, au un procent extrem de scazut in comparatie cu media europeana.

    European Smart Borders: enhancing mobility and security

    This should interest all non EU foreigners visiting Europe (the Schengen area) and the non-Schengen member countries. The new package proposed by the Commission wants to speed-up, facilitate and reinforce border check procedures for foreigners travelling to the EU.
     
    Smart Borders means efficient border management by using state-of-the-art technology.
     
    The package consists of
    • a Registered Traveller Programme (RTP) and
    • an Entry/Exit System (EES) that will simplify life for frequent third country travellers at the Schengen external borders and enhance EU border security.
    Business travellers, workers on short term contracts, researchers and students, third country nationals with close family ties to EU citizens or living in regions bordering the EU are all likely to cross the borders several times a year. Making it as easy as possible for them to come to the EU would ensure that Europe remains an attractive destination and help boosting economic activity and job creation.

    More information on the website of Home Affairs Directorate.

    Nu este foarte clar daca o tara ca Romania care nu face parte inca din spatiul Schengen (si nici nu prea sunt perspective reale) dar care foloseste pasaportul biometric, va obliga cetatenii romani sa se inregistreze in acest program si baza de date.
    Rusinica mare daca vom fi nevoiti...