JOB DESCRIPTION

COM/TA/COMP/25 (AD5/AD7)

CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR THE
SELECTION OF TEMPORARY STAFF FOR THE CHIEF
ECONOMIST’S TEAM IN THE
EUROPEAN COMMISSION’S DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR
COMPETITION

COM/TA/COMP/25 (AD5/AD7)

Closing date for the submission of applications: 29 August 2025, 12h00 noon
Brussels time

The Commission (EC) is organising a selection procedure to constitute a list of aptitude
of 12 successful candidates in order to fill approximately 6 administrator posts within the
Chief Economist Team (CET) of the Directorate-General for Competition (DG COMP).
Recruitment will take place at grades AD5 or AD7.

The CET assists DG COMP in the development of economic analyses and quantitative
evidence in the implementation of competition rules. CET economists also provide guidance on
methodological issues and policy developments and give assistance in relation to cases pending
before the European Union Courts.

Throughout the selection procedure, candidates will be invited to sit tests as set out in Title
5.3 below. The Commission will ensure that the conditions under which candidates sit such
tests are in line with the recommendations established by the relevant Public Health Authorities
(European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and other international, European and
national authorities).

The selection procedure covers two grades, AD5 and AD7. Candidates must select the grade at
the time of application and cannot change their choice after submitting the application form.

The candidate applying for grade AD7 can indicate their consent in the application form to
allow the selection committee to reassign their application to grade AD5 if they initially qualify
for AD7 based on pre-selection results but subsequent verification of supporting documents
shows they do not meet the AD7 eligibility requirements, while fulfilling those for AD5.

1. NATURE OF DUTIES

The economists belonging to the CET are expected to be able to work independently and
provide assistance with the following tasks:

• General guidance on substantive issues in antitrust, merger and State aid cases where

the CET is involved.

• Specific guidance and applied case work related to methodological issues of
economics and/or econometrics in the application of the EU competition rules.

• Contribution to the development of competition policy instruments.

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2. TYPE AND DURATION OF CONTRACT

Successful candidate(s) may be offered a temporary contract under point (a) of Article 2 of
the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants of the European Union (CEOS)1 in
accordance with the Commission Decision of 16 December 2013 on policies for the
engagement and use of temporary agents (‘the 2013 Decision’). 2

The duration of the contract may not exceed four years, with the possibility of renewal for a
maximum of two years.

The total duration of the contract will also take into account the relevant provisions of
Commission Decision C(2004)1597/6 of 28 April 2004 on the maximum duration of recourse
to non-permanent staff (seven years over a 12-year rolling period), as amended by Commission
Decision C(2013) 9028 final of 16 December 2013 and Commission Decision C(2019)2548
final of 5 April 2019). 3

PLACE OF EMPLOYMENT

Brussels

LEVEL

3. ELIGIBILITY

3.1. General conditions

AD 5 (as an indication, the basic monthly starting
salary is 5.973,44 EUR)4

AD 7 (as an indication, the basic monthly starting
salary is 7.646,86 EUR)

Candidates must satisfy the requirements set out in Article 12 of the CEOS, which include:

• Being a national of one of the Member States of the European Union;
• Meeting any obligations under national laws on military service; and
• Meeting the character requirements for the duties concerned.

The European Union institutions apply a policy of equal opportunities and accept applications
without distinction on the grounds of sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, genetic features,
language, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, membership of a national minority,
property, birth, disability, age or sexual orientation.

3.2. Knowledge of languages

Article 12.2(e) of the CEOS provides that a temporary agent may be appointed only on the
condition that he/she produces evidence of a thorough knowledge of one of the languages of the
Union and a satisfactory knowledge of another language.

1 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:01962R0031-
20210101&qid=1611304898611&from=EN
2 https://commission.europa.eu/document/download/a0c42654-bd5d-4fa6-8fba-
613603da63f5_en?filename=commission-decision-temporary-agents-c-2013-9049-en.pdf
3 https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/documents-register/detail?ref=C(2019)2548&lang=en
4 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52023XC0615%2801%29

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You must therefore have knowledge of at least 2 EU official languages, one at least at C1
level (thorough knowledge) and the other at least at B2 level (satisfactory knowledge). Please
note that the minimum levels required above must apply to each linguistic ability (speaking,
writing, reading and listening) requested in the application form. These abilities reflect those
of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages Assessment grid – English
(coe.int).

In this selection notice, we will refer to the languages as:

• Language 1 (L1): The language used for drafting the motivation letter and the
application form referred to in Title 6, with the exception of point 10.2 of the
application form;

• Language 2 (L2): The language (English or French) used when completing point 10.2
of the application form as well as in the interview and in the written test referred to in
Title 5.3.

Language 2 must be different from Language 1.

In point 10.2 of the application form, candidates are invited to explain how their qualifications
and professional experience fulfil the selection criteria set out in Title 5.1. It will therefore
play an important role in the preselection carried out by the selection committee, which will
imply a comparative assessment of candidates.

Further detail on the languages used in this selection procedure, as well as on the reasons for
this language regime is available in Title 4.

3.3. Selection specific criteria

3.3.1. Qualifications

By the deadline for submission of applications, candidates must have:

• A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a
diploma where the normal period of university education is four years or more

or

• A level of education which corresponds to completed university studies attested by a
diploma where the normal period of university education is at least three years and
appropriate professional experience of at least one year.

Only diplomas that have been awarded in EU Member States or that are the subject of
equivalence certificates issued by the authorities of one of these Member States shall be taken
into consideration.

3.3.2. Experience

By the deadline for submission of applications, candidates must have:

• For AD5: at least two years’ full time professional experience gained after obtaining
the qualifications required for admission to the selection procedure, as set out in point
3.3.1 above, in a field related to the nature of the duties (as set out in Title 1 above).

and

• For AD7: at least seven years’ full time professional experience gained after

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obtaining the qualifications required for admission to the selection procedure, as set out
in point 3.3.1 above, in a field related to the nature of the duties (as set out in Title 1
above).

This professional experience may have been gained, for example, in economic consulting,
academia, competition/regulatory agencies and other fields of work that are relevant for the
nature of the duties (e.g., international organisations and/or bodies, EU institutions and/or
agencies, national and/or regional administrations, research institutes, industry, non-
governmental organisations or as a self-employed activity).

Professional experience will only be taken into account:

•
•
•

If it constitutes genuine and effective work.

If it is remunerated (except in the case of a doctorate; see details below).

If it involves a subordinate relationship or the supply of a service.

Professional experience from the following arrangements will be taken into account subject to
the following conditions:

• Traineeships can only be taken into account if remunerated.
• Compulsory military service can only be taken into account if completed (before or
after the required diploma), and for a period not exceeding the statutory duration in the
relevant Member State.

• Maternity/paternity/parental/adoption leave can only be taken into account if

covered by an employment contract.

• Doctorate can be taken into account even if not remunerated, but only for a maximum

of three years, and provided the doctorate was actually obtained.

• Part-time work can be taken into account, calculated pro-rata on the basis of the
number of hours worked (e.g., half-time work for six months counts as three months).

4. LANGUAGE ASPECTS OF THIS SELECTION

Candidates are invited to choose in their application form which languages are, respectively,
their Language 1 (L1) and Language 2 (L2). Please note that candidates may choose language L1
different from their mother tongue, as long as it complies with the knowledge requirements set
out in the second paragraph of Title 3.2.

Language 1 can be any of the 24 official EU languages.

Language 2 must be English or French, for the following reasons:

In the interest of the service, successful candidates recruited for this particular field are
required to have a satisfactory knowledge (minimum B2 level) of English or French.

The CET of DG COMP uses English or French for carrying out analytical work, internal
communication as well as communication with stakeholders (including contacts with the
Member States and work during visits to Member States). Conferences organised by DG
COMP are held in both English and French. Therefore, with respect to DG COMP services, a

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satisfactory knowledge of one of these two languages is essential. This choice is determined
by the interest of the service: a successful candidate not fulfilling this requirement would not
be immediately operational.

The following aspects are also to be considered:

•

Internal meetings within the Chief Economist Team and meetings with other services of
the Commission are mainly conducted in English or French.

• English is the predominant language for drafting publications, reports and legislative

proposals. Staff also draft briefings and speeches mostly in English.

• The Chief Economist Team organises meetings with economists from the national
competition authorities within the European Competition Network. These meetings
are held in English without interpretation. The Chief Economist Team also organises
meetings with experts in the Economic Advisory Group for Competition Policy. These
meetings are held either in English or in French without interpretation.

5. CONDUCT OF THE SELECTION PROCEDURE

5.1. Pre-selection

selection committee, composed

The
the
Commission decision of 16 December 2013 on policies for the engagement and use of
temporary agents, and, if necessary, assisted by one or more examiners serving in an advisory
capacity, will carry out a pre-selection based on qualifications, experience, as well as on the
proven knowledge of languages of the candidates.

in accordance with Article 2(c) of

For this purpose, the selection committee will use the following weighting for each criterion
to rate the candidates:

Qualifications

Experience

Languages

35%

60%

5%

The following selection criteria will be taken into consideration while assessing the qualifications
and professional experience of candidates according to Title 3.3:

• Qualifications: Sound

empirical
microeconomics, finance, accounting, public economics and/or regulatory economics,
as evidenced by an undergraduate or graduate degree with courses in at least one of
these fields.

of microeconomic

knowledge

theory,

o A focus on theoretical or empirical industrial organization and quantitative

techniques is an advantage.

o A Master’s degree or other graduate coursework in microeconomic theory (in
particular theoretical industrial organization) or empirical microeconomics (in
particular empirical industrial organization) or behavioral economics or trade is an

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advantage.

• Experience: Professional experience in a field of economics or econometrics that is
related to industrial economics (e.g., competition economics or regulation), entailing
the design and
identification of economic problems, and
the
implementation of appropriate economic analysis to address such problems.

independent

o Concrete experience in the application of economics and quantitative techniques
such as data analysis and modelling in competition cases (e.g., in a competition
authority, economic consultancy, or sectoral regulator) or behavioral economics or
trade or finance is an advantage.

o Research experience and/or a Ph.D. in microeconomic theory (in particular in
theoretical industrial organization) or empirical microeconomics (in particular in
empirical industrial organization) or behavioral economics or trade or finance is an
advantage.

The selection committee will rank the candidates by descending order of the marks obtained in
the pre-selection stage and will then proceed to check the eligibility of the candidates (see Title
5.2 below).

5.2 Eligibility checks

Candidates who have obtained the highest marks in the pre-selection will be invited to provide
the official supporting documents proving the information given in their application form and in
the motivation letter (as set out in Title 6 below). If these documents are not submitted within the
deadline, the application will be considered null and void.

The eligibility requirements laid down in Title 3 above will be checked against the data
provided in the candidates’ applications and against these supporting documents. The
selection committee will check whether candidates meet all eligibility conditions. Only
candidates who meet all eligibility conditions will be admitted to the selection stage.

The selection committee will check the eligibility in descending order of the marks obtained in
the preselection stage until the number of eligible candidates reaches a maximum of two times
the number of successful candidates sought. Where a number of candidates tie for the last
available place, they will all be invited. The other files will not be checked.

5.3. Selection

Candidates who scored the highest overall marks at the pre-selection within the limit of a
maximum of two times the number of successful candidates sought, and meet the
eligibility requirements, will be invited for:

• A written test in L2 in order to assess the following competencies of the candidates:
a) analysis and problem solving; b) quality and results; c) prioritising and
organising and d) written communication, as well as their knowledge related to
the duties set out under Title 1. Candidates will choose one of two subjects
related to the duties set out under Title 1.

• An interview in L2 to assess the candidates’ motivation as well as the following
competencies: a) analysis and problem solving; b) quality and results; c) learning and
development; and d) oral communication, as well as their knowledge related to the

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duties set out under Title 1.

All practical information about the organisation of the tests will be provided in the invitation
letter to the tests.

Only candidates with the minimum required score of 10/20 in the written test and 35/60 at
the interview can be included on the list of aptitude, provided they meet the other conditions
set out in this Notice.

5.4. List of aptitude of successful candidates

The selection committee will place on the list of aptitude the names of successful candidates
who have obtained all pass marks as well as the highest combined marks for the written and
oral tests out of 80, within the limit of the number of successful candidates sought in the
selection. Where a number of candidates tie for the last available place, they will all be placed
on the list of aptitude.

The aptitude list will be valid for two years from the date the selection committee draws it up. The
validity of the list may be extended.

6. APPLICATIONS

Candidates must provide the following documents in their application file:

− Application form duly completed in any of the 24 EU official languages (pre-selection
criteria section (point 10.2) of the application form must be completed in English or
French). In point 10.2 of the application form, candidates are invited to explain in
English or French how their qualifications and professional experience fulfil the
selection criteria set out in Title 5.1. The information provided by the candidates in this
point will therefore play an important role in the preselection carried out by the Selection
Committee, which will imply a comparative assessment of candidates;

− Motivation letter, drafted in any of the 24 EU official languages;

− Copy of an official document proving EU citizenship (identity card or passport), in

original language of issue;

− Copy of the diploma(s) or certificate(s) of the required level of education, in original

language of issue;

− Employment certificates proving the length of professional experience. These
documents must clearly show the start and end date and continuity of each of the
periods of professional experience to be counted for this selection procedure. For this
purpose, candidates should ideally produce employment certificates from their former
employers and current employer. Failing this, copies of the following documents, for
example, will be accepted: employment contracts accompanied by the first and last pay
slips and the final monthly pay slip for each intermediate year in the case of a contract
of more than one year, official letters or acts of appointment accompanied by the final
salary slip, employment records, tax declarations (in original language of issue).

Completed applications, accompanied by a letter of motivation and all required documents
must be submitted via the functional mailbox at the following address:

[email protected]

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Candidates are requested to submit their applications in a single e-mail in .zip or .pdf format
in order not to overload the functional mailbox. The Commission reserves the right to remove
any message of more than 5 MB.

Your personal data are processed as required by 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. Any
complaints, comments, questions or concerns under Regulation (EU) 2018/1725, regarding
the collection and use of personal data, must be sent directly to the Data Controller, unit
HR.B.1 ([email protected]). Candidates should use also this functional mailbox for
all correspondence with the selection committee and for any request for information.

Final acceptance of the application is subject to presentation of the requisite supporting
documents.

If candidates are in any doubt about the nature or validity of the documents to be presented
they should contact the secretary of the selection committee at least 10 working days before
the deadline expires, via the functional mailbox at the following address:

[email protected]

The aim is to enable candidates to produce a complete and acceptable dossier by the deadline.

Successful candidates who are to be offered a job will, at a later date, be required to produce
the originals of all the required documents for the purpose of recruitment.

The closing date for the submission of applications is 29 August 2025, 12h00 noon
Brussels time.

7.

SECURITY CLEARANCE

Pursuant to Article 10(2) of the Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 of 13 March
2015 on the security rules for protecting EU classified information5, all individuals whose
duties may require them to have access to the EU classified information shall be security
authorised to the relevant level (EU SECRET) before being granted access to such EU
classified information.

Given that the European Commission regularly handles sensitive and classified information
requiring a high degree of confidentiality, it is in the interest of the service that those staff
members whose duties require them to have access to sensitive and classified information
have the appropriate security clearance of the relevant level (EU SECRET).

Consequently, the candidates successful in this selection may be asked, as a pre-requisite for
recruitment on certain posts, to submit themselves to the security clearance procedure
according to the above-mentioned Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444.

Candidates who are successful in this selection and who will apply to such posts are therefore
understood to be prepared to undergo security clearance procedure under the Commission
Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444. In all cases, these aspects will be clearly indicated in the
vacancy notice for the post concerned.

5 Commission Decision (EU, Euratom) 2015/444 of 13 March 2015, OJ L 72, 17.03.2015, p. 53.

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The security clearance procedure is carried out by a National Security Authority of the
Member State of the candidate’s nationality. The security clearance procedure may vary
considerably between Member States. Applicants are advised to inform themselves about the
procedure before applying to this selection procedure.

COM/TA/COMP/25 (AD5/AD7)

8. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This selection notice is published in the 24 official languages of the European Union on the
websites of DG COMP and EPSO. Candidates should consult DG COMP website as the
selection committee may publish additional information therein.

Any direct communication between candidates and the Commission services will be
exclusively by email. Therefore, to enable Commission services to contact candidates, each
candidate is required to indicate a valid e-mail address which can be used throughout the
entire selection procedure.

Communication between the secretariat of the selection committee and the candidates will take
place in English.

9. REQUEST FOR REVIEW – APPEAL PROCEDURE – COMPLAINT TO THE

EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN

Since the Staff Regulations apply to every stage of a selection procedure, please note that all
the proceedings of the selection committee are covered by the confidentiality laid down in
Article 6 of Annex III to the Staff Regulations. If at any stage in either part of the selection
process you consider that your interests have been prejudiced by a particular decision, you can
take the following action:

 Request for review

Within five calendar days from the date of notification of the decision, you can send an email
to:

[email protected]

Your request will be forwarded to the Chairman of the selection committee, and you will
receive a reply as soon as possible.

 Appeal

Candidates may lodge a complaint under Article 90(2) of the Staff Regulations of Officials
of the European Union.

• by email, preferably as PDF file, to the functional mailbox HR MAIL F6 (HR-
[email protected]) (for candidates working in the Commission at the time of the
complaint, Secem encrypted emails are accepted).

The three-month time limit for lodging a complaint laid down in Article 90(2) of the Staff
Regulations of Officials of the European Union begins on the day of notification of the decision
of the Selection Board adversely affecting the complainant.

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Administrative complaints received after the deadline set in Article 90(2) of the Staff
Regulations will be considered inadmissible.

The purpose of the administrative complaints procedure is to verify if the legal framework and
procedural rules of the competition have been respected. Candidates should note that the
Appointing Authority cannot overturn a value judgment made by a Selection Board and has no
legal powers to change the substance of a Selection Board’s decision.

The General Court has consistently held that the wide discretion enjoyed by Selection Boards is
not subject to review by the Court unless the rules which govern their proceedings have clearly
been infringed.

 Complaint to the European Ombudsman

Like all citizens of the European Union, you can make a complaint to:
European Ombudsman
1 avenue du Président Robert Schuman
CS 30403
F – 67001 Strasbourg Cedex
https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/home

Note that complaints made to the Ombudsman have no suspensive effect on the period laid
down in Articles 90(2) and 91 of the Staff Regulations for lodging administrative complaints
or for submitting judicial appeals.

Note also that, under Article 2(4) of the general conditions governing the performance of the
Ombudsman’s duties, any complaint lodged with the Ombudsman must be preceded by
the appropriate administrative approaches to the institutions and bodies concerned (for
the procedure, please check:

https://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/atyourservice/secured/complaintform.faces

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