The French government has filed two complaints before the EU’s top court against the European Commission over the primacy of English in hiring practices, reports Politico. Brussels is hiring new officials in fields such as space, defense and economics, using a selection process involving some tests only given in English. Paris contends that those criteria favour anglophone candidates over their rivals and has filed two complaints before the EU’s top court; one was made public on Monday.

For France, English-only tests amount to discrimination and violate the EU treaties. The bloc’s rules generally provide that all EU citizens should be treated equally, regardless of nationality. Rules on recruiting EU officials also ban language-based discrimination and accept it only under certain conditions. “It discriminates against non-anglophone candidates,” a French diplomat said on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak on the matter publicly. They added this was not just a French fight, as other member states shared the same concern.

A European Commission spokesperson said that “an important component of EPSO (European Personnel Selection Office) selection tests is already available in all 24 languages (namely the abstract, verbal and numerical reasoning skills tests)” and noted that “EPSO is moving gradually to a full 24-language regime for its upcoming open competitions.” In previous, similar court cases, the Commission defended itself by noting that it only carried some tests in English because its recruiting services needed candidates immediately operational in that language.

The European Personnel Selection Office, which handles pre-hiring exams set by EU institutions, regularly publishes decisions (known as “competition notices”) that specify the criteria for each selection procedure. France targeted two notices published in 2022 and 2023 that involved some exams given only in English.

The General Court of the EU, which adjudicates disputes involving EU institutions, is expected to rule on the issue within a year. It has previously annulled EPSO competitions for unduly restricting the choice of languages. Earlier this year, the Court of Justice of the EU, the final court of appeal for cases involving EU institutions, ruled in similar cases in favour of Italy and Spain.