Equal opportunities

For the European Commission to function to its full potential, it needs to contain a good mix of people and talent. It is important for everyone to be treated equally in a respectful environment. By making the most of the capabilities of all our staff, recognising their potential, removing barriers and providing everyone with the opportunity to give all they have to offer, we will become part of a more efficient, innovative and dynamic institution.

In December 2010, the Commission adopted an equal opportunities strategy for 2010-2014 to benefit the women and men working at the European Commission.

The strategy is built around three pillars:

Talent management incorporates recruitment, internal mobility, improvement of individual performance, evaluation, and management of skills and training. Its scope therefore includes various aspects of human resources policy. Its purpose is to attract, manage, develop and consolidate talent.

Effective talent management that makes the best use of the talent available – men, women, people with disabilities and other groups – has a significant impact on the organisation's performance.

The European Commission's anti-harassment policy consists of three distinct but complementary elements:

• preventive measures and efforts to raise awareness among staff; 
• the introduction of an informal procedure to prevent and seek amicable settlements in possible cases of harassment, in order to help the alleged victim and prevent the situation from deteriorating. As part of this informal procedure, a network of confidential counsellors has been set up. Its purpose is to deal with, monitor and if possible resolve individual cases;
• a formal procedure whereby, if a complaint is made, an administrative investigation can be launched which may lead to disciplinary measures, depending on the findings. 

Telework and flexitime were introduced at the European Commission in 2007 as part of the institution's modernisation. These flexible working arrangements give employees more freedom in the organisation of working time by making use of new information technology. They focus on results-based management and objective-driven performance, which do not necessarily require staff to be physically present in the office.

Another positive aspect of telework and flexitime is that they are based on trust, respect and dialogue.

• Staff Regulations
• European Commission Equal Opportunities Strategy (2010-2014) [194 KB]
• Code of Good Practice on the employment of people with disabilities [613 KB]
• Decision relating to the prevention of harassment [125 KB]
• Decision relating to the implementation of telework [152 KB]