Junior experts in delegation - Commission

Opinion of 22 April 2009 on the notification for prior checking regarding "Junior Experts in Delegation" (Case 2008-754)

The purpose of the processing operation in this case is to examine the eligibility of candidates put forward by the Member States for the Junior Experts in Delegation (hereinafter "JED") programme, select JEDs, determine who will be offered a posting to a delegation, ensure proper implementation of all aspects of their two-year contract and evaluate their performance in discharging their duties within the delegation. This processing operation therefore falls within the scope of the prior checking procedure within the meaning of Article 27(2)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 45/2001.

Any person who submits an application for a JED post, any referees named by applicants or any person indicated by the JED as the person to contact in the event of an accident/emergency and, where applicable, the JED's spouse.

In its recommendations, the EDPS emphasised inter alia that the Commission should:

• reword as soon as possible the sentence on the candidates' right of appeal against the decision of the selection panel, in order to indicate more clearly the available channels and procedures for appeal;
• remove the requirement to submit a photograph with the application form without prejudice to the formal identification of the data subject at a later stage in the selection process; 
• indicate that the sentence "Other elements to be taken into consideration" on the application form is optional and reword it so that it specifies that the information provided should be strictly relevant to the candidate's university and professional career;
• insert a note in both the application form and in the information sheets stating that the data subjects themselves should inform their referees, the persons to be contacted in the event of an emergency and their spouses that their data might be processed in the course of the processing operation.