2,800 apply for 27 EU jobs in Malta

A call for applications to fill vacancies in the first EU agency to open its doors in Malta next month attracted an overwhelming response with about 2,800 vying for 27 top jobs.

The closing date for the applications for the posts, mostly at managerial level in the European Asylum Support Office, was mid-May.

“We were surprised by how many people actually want to work in this agency in Malta,” an EU official said.

No breakdown has been given so far on how many applications were received from Maltese citizens, who can include those already working with the EU institutions in Brussels and Luxembourg.

However, sources close to the European Commission said the majority of applicants were non-Maltese.A selection committee has been set up by the agency to sift through the applications and select those who would be asked to sit for an interview or a written exam to test their abilities for the posts advertised.

The agency, which will officially inaugurated by European Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom in July, has already recruited its first executive director. He is Robert Visser, a top Dutch civil servant with vast experience in international asylum and immigration issues.The agency, to be housed in the Maritime Centre in Grand Harbour next to the maritime directorate of Transport Malta, was given a budget of about €40 million for its first three years of operations and is expected to recruit about 60 officers over this period.

Its aim is to strengthen practical cooperation among member states on asylum and to improve the implementation of the common European asylum system in the EU.