Annual report 2002 - EOI

DECISIONS FOLLOWING AN INQUIRY 61
The Commission finally noted that it informed the complainant about this positive
outcome on 9 November 2001.
The complainant’s observations
On 10 December 2001, the complainant sent a letter to the Ombudsman informing him
that she had received a letter from the Commission dated 9 November 2001 according to
which she had been placed on the reserve list.
The complainant stated that, since her basic claim was to be placed on the reserve list, she
was satisfied with the Commission’s reaction, although she was disappointed by the
Commission’s failure to actually respond to her allegations and to acknowledge the unfair
treatment that she had received. She however considered the matter to be settled. Since the
issue had no practical importance anymore at this stage, the complainant noted that it was
not necessary anymore for the Ombudsman to invest undue time on the case.
The complainant also thanked the Ombudsman for his enormous contribution to this case,
as his involvement resulted in the Commission’s reconsideration of the case and, eventually,
on what she believed to be a fair settlement of the issue.
THE DECISION
1 The alleged discrimination and failure to respect the notice of selection
1.1 The complainant alleged that the Selection Committee did not respect the notice,
because due to the lack of Greek fonts it did not give the complainant the possibility to
typewrite her summary on the computer, an option specified in point V.C.3.c) of the notice
of selection. The complainant alleged that the Selection Committee thus discriminated
against her and was unfair to her. In its opinion, the Commission stated that the Selection
Committee considered that the non-availability of a computer with Greek fonts could not
in any event be regarded as constituting substantial prejudice, as both hand-written and
typewritten texts were accepted, and that no advantage in terms of marks was given to
either of these. The Commission however apologised for the absence of Greek characters
on the computer.
1.2 The principle of non-discrimination is a fundamental principle of Community law,
recognised by the case law of the Court of justice. In that respect, point II of the notice of
selection more particularly provided that “The Commission takes great care to avoid any
form of discrimination, both during the selection procedure and when making appointments”.
1.3 The Ombudsman notes that point V.C.3.c) of the notice of selection provided that “the
candidate must make a written summary of his/her discussion with the selection committee
on two typewritten pages or three hand-written pages. A computer with MS Word
(Windows 95 of Windows NT) software will be available to candidates”. It appears from
the notice of selection that candidates had thus the choice between a hand-written or a
typewritten summary.
1.4 In the present case, the fact that the computer at the complainant’s disposal did not
have Greek fonts clearly put the complainant in a weaker position than the other candidates
who could chose between using the computer or hand-write the requested summary.
However, taking into account the positive outcome of this case as described below, it is not
necessary to further inquire into this aspect of the complaint.