diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 96be10b9f..54371b21e 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -324,7 +324,16 @@
 	<!-- Maven plugin versions are mentioned in order to guarantee the build reproducibility in the long term -->
 	<build>
 		<defaultGoal>install</defaultGoal>
-		
+		<testResources>
+		  <testResource>
+		  	<!-- declared explicitly so Spring config files can be placed next to their corresponding JUnit test class 
+		  		(see example with ValidatorTests) -->
+		    <directory>${project.basedir}/src/test/java</directory>
+		  </testResource>
+		  <testResource>
+		    <directory>${project.basedir}/src/test/resources</directory>
+		  </testResource>
+		</testResources>
 		<plugins>
 			<plugin>
 				<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>