Public Administration and the Transformation of Civil Service:

The articles published in this special issue of CERIDAP are a revised version of papers presented at the "Public Administration in the New Millennium" conference, which took place on December 15 and 16, 2022, at the University of Milan. The conference was held to celebrate the third anniversary of CERIDAP, the Research Centre and Scientific Journal.

The last session of the CERIDAP conference took place on December 16, was held in English only, and focused on conducting a comparative analysis of the transformation of the public sector in a group of European countries (Norway, Italy, France, Poland, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom), aligning with CERIDAP's international and pro-European objectives. This special issue comprises the majority (but not all) of the contributions that were presented in a preliminary form during that panel of the conference.

The contributions published in this special issue emphasise very clearly how, despite the adherence to rules, institutions, and diverse national administrative cultures, the challenges posed by cross-fertilisation processes resulting from European integration and the increasingly influential role of the Court of Justice and the EDU Court are significant. By examining the impact of European law and the subsequent process of approximation and even "homogenization," the contributions shed light on a fundamental paradigm shift in the public sector. This shift undermines longstanding traditions that were once considered indisputable prerogatives of public administration, such as employment stability and other privileges. This special edition of CERIDAP Journal aims to stimulate discussions on a complex and relatively understudied subject from a comparative and EU law perspective. It recognises the crucial role played by human resources within a public administration that aspires to remain modern, efficient, and competitive on the international stage.