EU traineeships and contracts
Traineeships in the EU institutions
Taking a traineeship (often known as a ‘stage’) with one of the EU Institutions is a great way to gain experience of working life in the EU and, for many, it can act as the launch pad to an EU career.
All of the EU Institutions and agencies offer stages to University graduates. Most are for periods of five or six months and, in a majority of cases, are paid. Payments vary depending on the Stage.
Whether at the European Commission, Parliament or one of the smaller institutions or agencies, the work of a trainee (known as a ‘stagiaire’) is typically extremely varied and rewarding and includes everything from preparing policy and position papers to coordinating visits.
Application process for EU traineeships
Unlike the recruitment process for permanent posts, EPSO is not involved in the stage programme. Instead, each institution holds its own application process.
One of the most popular traineeship programmes, the European Commission’s Bluebook Traineeship Programme takes place twice a year from the beginning of March to the end of July and the beginning of October to the end of February the following year.
The living allowance for the Bluebook traineeship sessions is about €1,376.89 per month.
Other institutions, such as the European Central Bank, regularly recruit traineeships. If you have at least a bachelor’s degree and meet the eligibility requirements, a traineeship at the ECB can be a great way to kick-start your career. The ECB publish vacancies via their careers site.
Find details of how some of the largest institutions manage applications here:
- European Commission
- European Parliament
- Council of the EU
- Court of Justice of the EU
- European Ombudsman
- European Economic and Social Committee
- European Committee of the Regions
You can also explore traineeship opportunities in the many different EU Agencies here: Traineeships / Young Professional Programmes - European Union (europa.eu)
European Movement Ireland (EMI) publishes an annual guide to the EU stage, the Green Book, specifically prepared for Irish applicants. They also advertise the latest job and internship opportunities in Europe.
The organisation is available to answer questions about the stage and guide you through the application process. You can contact them at +353 (0) 1 662 5815 or by emailing info@europeanmovement.ie.
Contract and temporary positions
The Concours (‘Competition’) is the only process through which the EU institutions recruit permanent staff. However, the institutions regularly recruit non-permanent staff in the form of contract agents and temporary agents.
Contract Agents are generally recruited for fixed-term contracts (maximum 6 years in any EU Institution), but in some cases they can be offered contracts for an indefinite duration (in offices, agencies, delegations or representations).
They are recruited in two different ways: via the CAST Permanent procedure or via an ad hoc selection process.
In the first type of selection, the word CAST stands for Contract Agents Selection Tool while Permanent means that it is open-ended, with no application deadline.
CAST Permanent positions are available for a wide range of job profiles. There is no closing date for making an application. In this selection, candidates apply for a profile and not for a specific job position.
EU institutions, bodies and agencies can also recruit contract staff to fill specific positions via ad hoc contract staff vacancies. In this case, for each vacancy an application deadline is set.
As contract staffing needs arise, ad hoc vacancies may be published for a wide range of profiles such as webmasters, policy officers, linguists, project coordinators, security officers, scientific engineering managers, drivers, communication specialists, researchers, to name but a few.
The selection competitions for both of the non-permanent positions are substantially shorter and less complicated than for permanent positions and the requirements – specifically in terms of languages – more limited.
While non-permanent contracts are, of course, of limited duration, they are considered a great way to get a start at the Institutions. The salaries are competitive and the work is varied and interesting.
Many of those who are successful in the EU Concours each year have previously served in non-permanent posts, taking the opportunity, while there, to develop their language skills, EU knowledge and general competencies, and hence greatly boosting their prospects in the EU Concours.
For regular bulletins on non-permanent contract opportunities, register with the Public Appointments Service and the EU Jobs mailing list by emailing through the EU Jobs contact form.