The current model is “reaching its limits,” said a second EU official, lamenting that hiring currently takes between two and three years. “You will see quite far-reaching ideas on how the system could be changed.”

A spokesperson for the European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The plans follow a string of high-profile failures, including one last year that forced nearly 10,000 aspiring EU civil servants to retake an exam after a technical blunder voided their results.

Cristiano Sebastiani, who represents the Renouveau et Démocratie EU staff union, said the exam board isn’t delivering on its aim to boost hiring from underrepresented geographies and among younger applicants — but it should evolve, rather than be abandoned.

“There is a role where it provides expertise to different services for their recruitment. But abolishing it entirely would be the wrong message to EU citizens,” he said.