New development: Eloquent silence—civil service career development in the EU financial assistance programmes conditionality

This article examines how civil servants’ career development was treated in the loan-driven EU reform recommendations for Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Ireland and Spain in the aftermath of the 2007–2008 global financial crisis. Neither the European Commission (EC), nor the ‘Troika’, made any proposals for reforming the career development of those countries’ civil services. This omission is dysfunctional given the otherwise ambitious reform agenda the EC required from these countries in order to grant them financial support.