The European Commission ( EC ) has surpassed its own recruitment targets for Romania and Bulgaria. Since 2007 the EC has taken on a total of 428 Bulgarians and 727 Romanians, exceeding the target by 23.3 percent, or 228 employees.

Following accession, EC recruitment policy was temporarily suspended to allow the rapid hiring of staff from Romania and Bulgaria. This is in line with standard EC procedure during the transition periods of new member states. European Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič praised his new recruits, saying he was pleased that he “managed to find and persuade some of the most intelligent and talented people from Bulgaria and Romania to come and work for the EC.”

The Commission's statement also expresses satisfaction with the recruitment level of women – 75 percent of the total, over 60 percent of management and 46 percent of senior management. Objectives were met or exceeded in all areas except at senior management level, where only 13 of a targeted 15 posts were filled. The reason given for the shortfall was “the lack of suitable candidates,” and the EC concedes it was unable to fill the available positions despite its efforts.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com