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Data Privacy Statement

PROTECTION OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

This privacy statement provides information about 
the processing and the protection of your personal data.

 

Processing operation: Selection, by competition, of permanent staff for the European institutions, bodies and agencies

Data Controller: EPSO

Record reference:  DPR-EC-30388

  1. Introduction

The European Commission (hereafter ‘the Commission’) is committed to protect your personal data and to respect your privacy. The Commission collects and further processes personal data pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data (repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001).

This privacy statement explains the reason for the processing of your personal data, the way we collect, handle and ensure protection of all personal data provided, how that information is used and what rights you have in relation to your personal data. It also specifies the contact details of the responsible Data Controller with whom you may exercise your rights, the Data Protection Officer and the European Data Protection Supervisor.

The information in relation to processing operation Selection, by competition, of permanent staff for the European institutions, bodies and agencies, undertaken by EPSOis presented below.
 

  1. Why and how do we process your personal data?

Purpose of the processing operation: EPSO collects and uses your personal information for the following purposes:

  • to organise open and internal competitions, in order to select staff with a view to their recruitment as EU officials,
  • to manage the administrative aspects of registration and the successive stages of the competitions, and
  • to manage and monitor the use of the reserve lists.

Your personal data will not be used for an automated decision-making including profiling.
 

  1. On what legal ground(s) do we process your personal data

We process your personal data, because:

  • processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the Union institution or body;
  • processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.

The basis for the processing has been laid down in the following Union laws:

Regulation No 31 (EEC), 11 (EAEC), laying down the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community (OJ 45, 14.6.1962, p. 1385), as last amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1611 of 7 July 2016. Decision N° 2002/620/EC of the European Parliament, the Council, the European Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Ombudsman of 25 July 2002 establishing the European Communities Personnel Selection Office. Decision N° 2002/621/EC of the Secretaries-General of the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission, the Registrar of the Court of Justice, the Secretaries-General of the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions, and the Representative of the European Ombudsman of 25 July 2002 on the organisation and operation of the European Communities Personnel Selection Office.
 

We process special categories of personal data – namely, data concerning health – because:

  • the data subject has given explicit consent to the processing of those personal data for one or more specified purposes;
  • the processing is necessary for the purposes of carrying out the obligations and exercising specific rights of the controller or of the data subject in the field of employment and social security and social protection law insofar as it is authorised by Union law providing for appropriate safeguards for the fundamental rights and the interests of the data subject.

Specifically, in the application form candidates are asked to reply to the following question: "Do you need special adjustments of the selection tests due to a disability or a medical condition?" In the case of a positive reply, they are asked to provide data concerning their health, specifically the indication of their disability or medical condition due to which they request adjustments, and supporting documents. Collection of such data is indeed necessary to enable EPSO to assess objectively and on a case by case basis the particular situation of each candidate, with a view to offering adequate accommodation measures for the tests which would enable candidates to test under the best circumstances possible, given their needs. The data concerning health provided by candidates covers several categories: temporary medical condition, permanent medical condition / disability, pregnancy / breastfeeding.

  1. Which personal data do we collect and further process?

In order to carry out this processing operation EPSO collects the following categories of personal data:

  • Personal data allowing identification of the candidates: first name(s), family name(s) currently used, family name(s) at birth, date of birth, gender, citizenship(s), main language, type and number of identification document, copy of identification document with all personal data contained therein, national identification number, picture, e-mail address, competition application number, secret identification number attributed for the purpose of anonymous marking of tests, "eligibility number" used for identification in the context of computer-based testing. For internal competitions, also staff number, administrative status, function group, and grade.
  • Personal data of candidates required to enable contact and the practical organisation of tests: address, postcode, city, country, telephone number(s), languages of correspondence, languages of testing; data provided by candidates concerning special needs (in particular, indication of medical conditions and/or disability); data concerning family, social and professional relationships that might constitute conflict of interest.
  • Personal data of candidates required to allow evaluation in light of the eligibility and/or selection criteria fixed by the notice of competition, and to assess motivation: educational background, details of professional experience, expertise and technical skills, knowledge of languages.
  • Results obtained by the candidates at the different stages of the competition, and data concerning the assessment of candidates' qualifications, skills and competencies (scores and comments of the selection board).

The provision of personal data is mandatory for all fields of the on-line application form marked with an asterisk (*). If these fields are not filled in, registration cannot take place.

Data falling into the category of results obtained by the candidates at the different stages of the competition, and data concerning the assessment of candidates' qualifications, skills and competencies (scores and comments of the selection board), is obtained during the competition procedure and results from the assessment carried out by the competition’s selection board.
 

  1. How long do we keep your personal data?

EPSO only keeps your personal data for the time necessary to fulfil the purpose of collection or further processing, namely:

  • for individual files of candidates eliminated from a given competition, for a duration of 2 years starting from the date on which the candidate is excluded from the competition;
  • for individual files of candidates included on the reserve list of a given competition, for a duration of 2 years starting from the closure of the reserve list;
  • for background files documenting the organisation of competitions, for a duration of 10 years starting from the closure of the competition;
  • for personal data of candidates provided in the framework of an application for a specific competition which was not validated in time, for a duration of 1 year starting from the closing date of the application period for the competition.
     
  1. How do we protect and safeguard your personal data?

All personal data in electronic format (e-mails, documents, databases, uploaded batches of data, etc.) are stored either on the servers of the European Commission or of its contractors.  All processing operations are carried out pursuant to the Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2017/46 of 10 January 2017 on the security of communication and information systems in the European Commission.

The Commission’s contractors are bound by a specific contractual clause for any processing operations of your data on behalf of the Commission, and by the confidentiality obligations deriving from the transposition of the General Data Protection Regulation in the EU Member States (‘GDPR’ Regulation (EU) 2016/679.)

In order to protect your personal data, the Commission has put in place a number of technical and organisational measures in place. Technical measures include appropriate actions to address online security, risk of data loss, alteration of data or unauthorised access, taking into consideration the risk presented by the processing and the nature of the personal data being processed. Organisational measures include restricting access to the personal data solely to authorised persons with a legitimate need to know for the purposes of this processing operation.

  1. Who has access to your personal data and to whom is it disclosed?

Access to your personal data is provided to the Commission staff responsible for carrying out this processing operation and to authorised staff according to the “need to know” principle. Such staff abide by statutory, and when required, additional confidentiality agreements.

Data recipients:

Selection boards, statutory assessors (examiners serving in an advisory capacity) in the sense of Article 3 of Annex III SR, and EPSO staff: for the purpose of assessing candidates' eligibility and comparative merits, and for providing assistance to the selection boards, respectively:

  • EU institutions and bodies: for recruitment purposes (they do not receive any information concerning disability, unless the candidate has given explicit consent to the transfer of such data).
  • EU Courts, Legal services of the appointing authority concerned: in case of an administrative request or complaint under Article 90 § 1 or 2 of the Staff Regulations, and/or a judicial appeal to the EU Courts.
  • OLAF, IDOC, IAS and the Court of Auditors: upon request, and limited to what is necessary for official investigations or for audit purposes.
  • European Ombudsman: upon request, and limited to what is necessary for official investigations and enquiries.
  • EDPS, DPO: upon request, and limited to what is necessary for official investigations and enquiries.
  • EU Member States: based on the candidate’s explicit consent, their first name, family name, e-mail address, and the competition reference number may be transmitted to the national authorities of the EU Member State(s) of which the candidate is a citizen, for purposes of assistance throughout the selection procedure and with recruitment.

The information we collect will not be given to any third party, except to the extent and for the purpose we may be required to do so by law.

  1. What are your rights and how can you exercise them?

You have specific rights as a ‘data subject’ under Chapter III (Articles 14-25) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, in particular the right to access, your personal data and to rectify them in case your personal data are inaccurate or incomplete. Where applicable, you have the right to erase your personal data, to restrict the processing of your personal data, to object to the processing, and the right to data portability.

You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data, which is lawfully carried out pursuant to Article 5(1)(a) on grounds relating to your particular situation. 

You have consented to provide your personal data to EPSO for the present processing operation. You can withdraw your consent at any time by notifying the Data Controller. The withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of the processing carried out before you have withdrawn the consent.

You can exercise your rights by contacting the Data Controller, or in case of conflict the Data Protection Officer. If necessary, you can also address the European Data Protection Supervisor. Their contact information is given under section 9 below. 

Where you wish to exercise your rights in the context of one or several specific processing operations, please provide their description (i.e. their Record reference(s) as specified under section 10 below) in your request.
 

  1. Contact information
     
  • The Data Controller

If you would like to exercise your rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, or if you have comments, questions or concerns, or if you would like to submit a complaint regarding the collection and use of your personal data, please feel free to contact the Data Controller, via the  EPSO Webform

  • The Data Protection Officer (DPO) of the Commission

You may contact the Data Protection Officer (DATA-PROTECTION-OFFICER@ec.europa.eu) with regard to issues related to the processing of your personal data under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

  • The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS)

 You have the right to have recourse (i.e. you can lodge a complaint) to the European Data Protection Supervisor (edps@edps.europa.eu) if you consider that your rights under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 have been infringed as a result of the processing of your personal data by the Data Controller.
 

  1. Where to find more detailed information?

The Commission Data Protection Officer (DPO) publishes the register of all processing operations on personal data by the Commission, which have been documented and notified to him. You may access the register via the following link: http://ec.europa.eu/dpo-register.

This specific processing operation has been included in the DPO’s public register with the following Record reference: DPR-EC-30388.