Reforming the staffing process in the European Union institutions: moving the sacred cow out of the road

Since the 1960s, the EU institutions have relied on a system of open competitions ( or concours) for hiring staff, with only incremental changes. That system is now undergoing a major reform that is currently in the implementation phase. A policy analysis approach explains how the leadership of the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) overcame resistance to change. Analysis from a public management and political sociology perspective sheds light on the challenges EPSO faces in the implementation and evaluation of the reform.