Question for written answer E-001602-19
to the Commission
Rule 130
Biljana Borzan (S&D)

Further to the answer given by Mr Oettinger on behalf of the Commission on 13 March 2019, I believe Mr Oettinger did not answer the first and third questions and only partially answered the second question.

The notification of successful completion of EPSO/CAST/CRO/IV/09 only shows that, at the moment when candidates were sitting this CAST, there were no recruitment restrictions in place and that an EU competency test was also sat alongside a cognitive aptitude test.

1. Why did the Commission apply retroactivity in the case of CAST/CRO, contrary to the fundamental principle of EC law which guarantees legal certainty, namely the prohibition on the application of retroactivity (Court of Justice, TEU, European Convention on Human Rights, International Charter for Civil and Political Rights, the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU), and how does the Commission intend to rectify this discriminatory practice?

More than 10 years have now passed since the CAST/CRO competition took place, and the CAST results are still valid, so the argument that this competition was only held for the one-time needs of enlargement does not hold water.

2. When will the CAST/CRO database be incorporated into the main database, and how will the Commission ensure in the meantime that Croatian citizens who have passed this CAST have the same access to employment as other EU citizens who have passed other CAST competitions?