Bonum Certa Men Certa

EPO: It's Like a Family Business - Part III

The golden rule: people in the Establishment protect people in the Establishment

John Brennan

Summary: A look at how the EPO's management (Željko Topić in particular) defended the unprecedented promotion of Ms Bergot (wife of the president's close assistant), even in the face of outcry from EPO staff

THIS is the third part of a four-part series. In part one and in part two we focused on the case of Ms Bergot, who was promoted under very dubious circumstances. Now is a good time to proceed to part three, only two days after the protests that we covered here earlier on. SUEPO's Web site has just said: "The suspension of three staff representatives in Munich and the attacks on two more in The Hague, attracted quite some attention, most of it rather critical of the EPO."

"Ms Bergot’s promotion from grade A3 to grade A6 occurred before she had received a standard two-year performance report following her recruitment to the EPO on the 1st of December, 2010."As a result of these shameful attacks on staff representatives we are only going to accelerate our coverage of EPO scandals, starting with this third part of our latest series (there are more series to come in the future).

In accordance with the requirements of Article 49 Service Regulations, it is established practice at the EPO that for promotion of internal candidates, the competent Selection Board takes into consideration the candidate’s staff reports and remarks (recommendations) made by his/her direct superior.

Ms Bergot’s promotion from grade A3 to grade A6 occurred before she had received a standard two-year performance report following her recruitment to the EPO on the 1st of December, 2010. The first two year reporting period beginning after the end of her probation period would have ended in December 2013.

This means that Ms Bergot, who was initially appointed as administrator at grade A3 with main duties to support her Director (of grade A5) and senior management, was promoted to grade A6 without the competent Selection Board having taken into consideration a single full two-year staff report.

"By the standards of international administrative law, the Vice-President Mr Topić who was Ms Bergot's direct superior at the time in question could not be an impartial and independent Chairman of the Selection Board which recommended Ms Bergot’s promotion."The Chairman of the Selection Board recommending the promotion of Ms Bergot was none other than her immediate superior, Mr Željko Topić, who is said to be facing many criminal charges in his home country. The other members of the Selection Board nominated by the President were the Vice-Presidents of Directorates General 1 and 2, Guillaume Minnoye (warning: link to epo.org, so tracking may be possible by EPO management) and Alberto Casado Cerviño (warning: link to epo.org, so tracking may be possible by EPO management).

By the standards of international administrative law, the Vice-President Mr Topić who was Ms Bergot's direct superior at the time in question could not be an impartial and independent Chairman of the Selection Board which recommended Ms Bergot’s promotion.

Following the announcement of Ms Bergot's promotion by Mr Topić on the 30th of January (the same year), the EPO Staff Committee voiced strong criticism of the appointment.

Mr Topić immediately responded with an internal Communiqué addressed to all EPO staff in which he claimed that the procedure for the appointment of a new Principal Director 4.3 "was launched and conducted in strict accordance with the applicable rules and included use of an assessment centre and interviews."

To quote the original:

Elodie Bergot new Principal Director HR



30.01.2013

New Principal Director Human Resources as of 1 February 2013

I am pleased to announce that, with effect from 1 February 2013, Elodie Bergot is appointed Principal Director Human Resources (PD 4.3).

Ms Bergot will report directly to me. I wish her every success in her new role.

Željko Topić Vice-President DG 4



And from the following day (probably because he could not keep silent anymore):

Communiqué from Vice-President DG 4



31.01.2013

Email to all staff from the CSC regarding new Principal Director HR

Dear Colleagues,

one of the less edifying aspects of the internal culture of the EPO - very striking to a newcomer such as myself - is the habit of staff representatives of contesting systematically nominations to senior positions.

There have been innumerable challenges over the years, though the post of Principal Director 4.3, Head of Human Resources, seems to attract sustained fire.

Such incidents do not normally call for an individual response. However, this time a highly personalised attack on the new Principal Director 4.3 has been made which crosses the bounds of acceptable discourse and which calls for an immediate rebuttal.

The procedure for the appointment of a new Principal Director 4.3 was launched and conducted in strict accordance with the applicable rules and included use of an assessment centre and interviews. Ms Bergot emerged very clearly as the strongest candidate, a substantive judgement which was reached unanimously by the five members of the selection board.

Indeed, the strict adherence to the rules accounts for the delay in filling the post; in the interim, I performed the functions of PD 4.3 myself.

Those who are appointed to senior positions of responsibility can be expected to carry a heavier burden than most. They should not, however, become the target of dishonest campaigns of vilification. I am confident that the vast majority of staff at the EPO share this view and that there will be no repetition of this lamentable behaviour.

Željko Topić Vice-President DG 4


Topić further claimed that the decision to select Ms Bergot "was reached unanimously by the five members of the selection board."

"Bergot's promotion is still the subject of an appeal at the already-upset (at EPO) International Labour Organisation."Due to the fact that the members of the selection board are bound to respect the confidentiality of the procedure, it is impossible to verify the claim made by Topić that the decision was "unanimous."

As we stated in part two, this isn't over. Bergot's promotion is still the subject of an appeal at the already-upset (at EPO) International Labour Organisation.

Recent Techrights' Posts

New Article Explains How the GPL Came About and WordPress Having Copyleft Obligations
Having been involved in the WordPress development community since almost the beginning, I know why it chose the GPL and how it restricts abuse by Automattic
Dr Richard Stallman (RMS) Gives Talk in Oxford University in 4 Hours
If you live nearby, go there (it's free as in gratis)
Using a Law Firm's Licence to Exercise Politics Through Frivolous SLAPPs and Nastygrams (to Silence People, Remove Pages, Demand Fake or Forced 'Apologies')
Things must be getting really bad when lawyers act for raving antisemites
Another Site Bites the Dust: "Open Source For You" Becoming a Slopfarm (LLM Slop)
What a shame. Another dead site.
 
Links 24/04/2025: GAFAM Problems and No Peace (or Ceasefire) in Sight
Links for the day
Slopfarms on the Web Almost Always Generate Anti-Linux FUD When They Produce "Linux" Output
Welcome to the dying Web
Richard Stallman's Oxford Talk Has Just Ended, Here Are Some Photos
he might hop over to another European country
Gemini Links 24/04/2025: Birthday and Good Work of Academia in Esotericism
Links for the day
Links 24/04/2025: EU fines Apple and Facebook, Another Microsoft GitHub Security Blunder
Links for the day
IBM Gained Almost 6 Billion Dollars in "Goodwill" Value in Just 3 Months, According to IBM
Congrats to the management!
In Belarus, Yandex is Now Measured as 50 Times More 'Popular' (by Usage) Than Microsoft
Yandex continues to gain, whereas Bing cannot even register at 1%. Last month it was registered or measured at a measly 0.65%.
IBM Cannot Lie to Shareholders Anymore
"I would not be surprised if we see a layoff every quarter this year."
We're Working to Make Full-Site Search Available
This site has over 1,000 'wiki' pages, many thousands of documents, several thousands of videos, and about 50,000 blog posts or articles. We need to make them easier to find/navigate.
Links 24/04/2025: IBM Loses Many Contracts, Intel to Lay Off Over 20% (Not Counting Those Who Leave 'Voluntarily')
Links for the day
Richard Stallman Can Explain to Oxford Artificial Intelligence Society Why LLM Slop is Not Artificial Intelligence and Why It Hurts Society
another 'crop' of LLM slop that damages GNU/Linux and facts
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Wednesday, April 23, 2025
IRC logs for Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Open Source Initiative (OSI) Promoting Microsoft and Proprietary Software Using Microsoft Operatives
Because nothing says "Open Source" like GPL violations facilitated by Microsoft
Links 23/04/2025: Crackdowns on Dissent, Palin Loses Libel Retrial Against New York Times
Links for the day
Links 23/04/2025: Hard Times and Digital Amnesia
Links for the day
The GNU/Linux Site Formerly Known as "linoxide.com" is Back... as an LLM Slopfarm!
Better for linoxide.com to go offline than to do this
Get Rid of Back Doors, Don't Obsess Over Bounties and Other Corporate PR Stunts (or Needless Reboot Rituals)
Security as a term has mostly lost its meaning due to repeated misuse for many years
Richard Stallman to Speak in Oxford University Exactly a Day From Now
outsourced to GAFAM
Links 23/04/2025: "Hiding Corruption" and "The Cost of Defunding Harvard"
Links for the day
Microsoft 'Studies' Again? Leon Musolff is Writing Papers With Microsoft.
Even if one can see/find a link to "the study" (in the Bezos-controlled publication), most people won't look any further and just take everything at face value.
Towards GNU World Domination
The FSF led by Geoffrey S. Knauth with his friend Richard Stallman in the FSF's Board [...] Let's encourage people to adopt GNU/Linux. There has never been a better time.
statCounter Helps Visualise Just How Deep in Trouble Microsoft is (Especially in Africa)
Microsoft sabotaged efforts to connect Africans and equip them with GNU/Linux laptops
The Register is Using Linux-Hostile Clickbait in Articles of Linux Proponents
Don't be a "whore" to advertisers, team El Reg
Microsoft Windows in Cyprus Lacking a Future
Most people access the Web there from mobile
Matrix Has a Severe Problem With Illegal Images
If Matrix cannot get the CP problem under control, many projects and people will dump Matrix
Never Try to Justify Strangulation of Women (Not in the US and Not in the UK)
Joint post by Mrs. Rianne Schestowitz and Dr. Roy Schestowitz
Links 23/04/2025: Tesla Profits Plunge 71%, Intel Ready to Lay Off 20% of Staff, Microsoft and IBM Layoffs
Links for the day
Microsoft's Most Profound Issue is That People Moved to 'Mobile' and "App Stores" (Microsoft's Presence There is Negligible)
Expect a wild ride for Microsoft this year
Google News is Amplifying FUD and Lies About Linux (and OpenSSH/SSH) by Promoting Slopfarms With Machine-Generated FUD and Slop Images
Google should know better
Gemini Links 23/04/2025: Librarians, Anubis, and Refactoring a Gemini Capsule
Links for the day
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Tuesday, April 22, 2025
IRC logs for Tuesday, April 22, 2025
Links 22/04/2025: Ending DEI Policies at Adobe, FTC Sues Uber
Links for the day
RMS is Done at KCL, Next Stop is Oxford
The message of RMS has long resonated well in India
US Government Already Bailing Out OpenAI/Microsoft With "Contracts", As Usual, Back Doors You Cannot Remove Becoming 'a Step Closer' on New PCs (Unless Everyone Acts ASAP)
The next "logical" step towards digital prisons
Microsoft Devises PR Stunts to Distract From Impending Mass Layoffs and Likely Bad Results Preceding Those Mass Layoffs
A "voluntary exit plan"
Gemini Links 22/04/2025: Deaths, HamsterCMS, and More
Links for the day
Links 22/04/2025: FTC v. Meta Trial and Google Remedies
Links for the day
In Turkey, Windows Down Rapidly While GNU/Linux Grows
Although Turkey is in NATO (but not the EU), it cannot quite trust computer systems controlled by the United States
GNOME, Microsoft, and GitHub: The Lack of Reporting on Abusive Colleagues Contributed to Profound Media Vacuum (or Blackout), Now Resorting to SLAPPs
This lack of morality/courage has helped enable further abuse, lining up more victims
Richard Stallman Has Updated His Article on Why "Free Software Is Even More Important Now"
Richard Stallman is about to give a talk here in the UK in a few hours
Microsoft Already Attacks the BSDs as Well (the E.E.E. Way, as Usual)
Bearers of bad news
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) is in Trouble, May Soon be Out of Business
Openwashing needs to end
Microsoft's Debt Grew Over 6 Billion Dollars in the Last Reporting Quarter (Before Inauguration), Expect Worse Next Week When 'Results' Are Disclosed and Mass Layoffs Resume
Microsoft is bleeding. It does not want people to notice.
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Monday, April 21, 2025
IRC logs for Monday, April 21, 2025
Richard Stallman Gives Public Talk in London in 7 Hours (Need to Register as Venue Limited to 150 Seats), Public Announcements Begin to Appear
These are not announced weeks or months in advance