The European Union functions through its 11 Institutions, with the support of numerous Agencies and other bodies located around Europe.
Since its inception as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951, the EU has evolved into an organisation spanning a huge range of areas, from development aid to environmental policy, offering potential employees wide-ranging career choice.
The 11EU Institutions and the many EU Agencies are outlined here, including where they are located, who works for them and how you can pursue a career in your chosen one.
The European Commission is the executive body which is responsible for the day-to-day running of the European Union. The Commission has 28 members, known as Commissioners, one to represent each EU Member State. Once selected, Commissioners are entrusted with proposing legislation, upholding treaties and implementing decisions with the goal of forwarding the Union as a whole.
The Commission has offices in Brussels and Luxembourg as well as in each individual Member State. Currently 23,616 [RM1] people are employed by the European Commission.
Beginning Your Career with The European Commission
Administrative Traineeship
The European Commission is divided into Directorates-General, similar to government departments. Traineeships are available in all Directorates-General and services of the European Commission, including the cabinets of the Commissioners. Traditionally, the most competitive traineeship placement has been in Directorate-General for Competition, which handles competition law.
To be eligible:
You must have a first or upper second class degree from a university (1:1 or 2:1);
You must not have undertaken work experience (paid or unpaid) in any of the other EU institutions for a period longer than 6 weeks. This includes all delegations, representation bodies and executive agencies;
You should have a good knowledge of a second official EU language.
Those undertaking an administrative traineeship are eligible for a grant of about €1,000 per month (the exact figure is subject to change). Travel expenses to and from Brussels at the beginning and end of the stage are also usually covered.
The Blue Book
The Blue Book is a large database containing information on all the people who have advanced to the second round of the European Commission’s traineeship application process.
Commission officials will look through this database to get an idea of your academic background, language skills and interest areas. Based on this information they will decide if you are suited to working in their department.
Once in the Blue book, approaches should be made to EU officials/departments in which you’d like to spend your traineeship, to tell them that you’d like to work for them.
The Blue Book database is only used for the European Commission’s administrative stage application procedure. The translation section has separate eligibility criteria and systems.
Translation traineeships at the European Commission
DG Translation offers a small number of traineeships each year. Traineeships are offered for a period of five months and are open to graduates looking to gain some professional translation experience within the European Institutions.
During the traineeships, trainees are assigned to a translation unit made up of translators with the same mother tongue or main language. As a trainee you do the same work as staff colleagues – translating into your mother tongue from at least two official EU languages.
Trainees receive a grant of about € 1,000 per month.
To be eligible for this traineeship, you must:
Hold a full university-level degree;
Be able to translate into your mother tongue or main language from two EU official languages (one of which must be French, English or German).
The deadlines for applications are:
30 August for traineeships starting in March;
3 February for traineeships starting in October.
The Next Step
Those looking beyond traineeships within the European Commission can do so through a variety of pathways.
Getting a Foot on the Ladder
Permanent Staff
Permanent officials are selected by open competitions organised by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO)
Open Competitions have tests and assessment exercises designed to measure your professional skills and a number of core competencies. Applicants who pass a competition are placed on a reserve list from which the institutions draw recruits as and when they need them. These lists are published in the Official Journal. Once on a reserve list, candidates can be recruited to a vacant post by any interested service in the Commission.
Contract Staff
The European Commission also recruits contract staff. The recruitment process is as follows:
A call for expressions of interest to set up a pool of contract agents.
The Commission services will search the database and identify candidates to be invited for competency interviews.
The successful candidates will be offered a fixed-term contract
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary Institution of the European Union. The Parliament is comprised of 751 members, known as Members of the European Parliament (MEPs).
The European Parliament has offices in Brussels and Strasbourg, as well as an information office in each of the EU’s 28 Member States.
Beginning Your Career with the European Parliament
The Schuman Traineeships Programme
Graduates who wish to begin a career within the European Parliament can take their first steps on the Schuman Traineeships programme. The programme involves a five-month placement in the European Parliament.
The Schuman Programme is open to applications twice a year and traineeships begin in March and October. The deadline for the March traineeship is in October of the previous year, and the deadline for the October traineeship is in the previous May.
Those who have completed the leaving cert/technical qualification can avail of The European Parliaments Training Placements program.
Such placements are generally for a period of one to four months.
The European Parliament’s Training Placements are open to applications between 1 August – 1 October for those wanting to start in January, 1 December – 1 February for those wanting to start in May and 1 April – 1 June for those wanting to start in September.
The European Parliament also accepts applications form those who are compulsory required to undertake a traineeship.
Applications for such will be accepted should they meet the following requirements:
as part of a course of study at a university or at an educational establishment of an equivalent standard.
in high-level vocational training organised by a non-profit-making body (notably public institutes or bodies).
as a prerequisite for access to a profession.
Programme of Traineeships for People with Disabilities
A core belief at the heart of the European Parliament is the promotion of equality and encourages applications from women and men with disabilities for its traineeship programmes.
The European Parliament offers paid traineeships to persons with disabilities, as a positive action measure aimed at facilitating the integration of people with disabilities in the workplace.
Traineeships are open to both University graduates, or graduates of equivalent institutions, and to people whose qualifications are below university level.
Traineeships are awarded for a five month period, which cannot be extended.
To be eligible, applicants must:
Be nationals of a Member State of the EU or of an applicant country;
Be over 18 years of age on the traineeship starting date;
Have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the EU;
Not have been awarded any other traineeship, or have been in paid employment for more than four consecutive weeks at the expense of the European Union budget;
Be able to certify that they have a disability/ies (medical certificate or disability certificate/card issued by a national authority).
Traineeships are open to applications between 15 August – 15 October for those starting in March and 15 March – 15 May for those starting in October.
Translation Traineeships for University Graduates
For those interested in gaining a foothold in the field of translation, The European Parliament offers the opportunity to undertake translation training placements to those who have obtained a secondary-school leaving certificate/technical course of study.
Such placements are intended in particular for applicants who are required to complete a training placement as part of their course of study, provided they have reached the age of 18 by the first day of the training placement.
Applicants for a translation training placement must:
Be nationals of a Member State of the European Union or a candidate country;
Be aged 18 or over on the traineeship start date;
Have a perfect knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union or the official language of a candidate country, and a thorough knowledge of two other official languages of the European Union
Not have been awarded any other traineeship or have been in paid employment for more than four consecutive weeks at the expense of the European Union budget.
Placements are awarded for a period of between one and three months.
The placement is open to applicants between 15 June - 15 August for those wanting to start in January, 15 September -15 November for those wanting to start in April, 15 December - 15 February for those starting in July and 15 March - 15 May for those wanting to start in October.
The Next Step
Those looking beyond traineeships within the European Parliament can do so through a variety of pathways:
Parliamentary Assistants
Each of the 751 MEPs elected to the European Parliament work with at least two Parliamentary Assistants.
Parliamentary Assistants undertake a variety of work, reflecting the particular interests and engagement of their MEP.
The employment of Parliamentary Assistants is the responsibility of each sitting MEP.
If you are interested in working for an MEP, do some research and identify those MEPs you think you would like to work with, taking into account their political affiliations, interests and background etc., and then contact them directly.
It is also worth looking beyond Ireland when applying for these roles. Irish graduates have worked successfully as Assistants to MEPs from different Member States. This can allow you to make the most of your language skills or an expertise background in a certain field which matches the profile of a specific MEP.
Another pathway for those wanting to work in the European Parliament is through the Political Groups.
Each European Political Group employs research and administrative staff as well as offering their own traineeships. Vacancies for these positions are generally advertised on the group's websites, which are listed below.
With a staff of 6,000 people, the Parliament is second only to the European Commission in the number of those employed on a permanent basis. Recruitment to the Parliament, as with all the EU institutions, is by open competition organised by EPSO.
To visit the European Parliament website click here.
The Council of the European Union is the institution that shares legislative powers with the European Parliament. It represents the executives of Member States. A government minister from each country attends Council meetings. The minister in question is decided by the topic being discussed. For example, if the meeting relates to agriculture, Ireland’s current Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Simon Coveney TD, will attend.
Meetings are chaired by the country that holds the Presidency of the Council, which is held for 6 months by each country on a rotational basis. Ireland held the Presidency from January to June 2013.
The Council of the European Union offices are based in Brussels.
Beginning Your Career with The European Council
Around 100 paid and 20 unpaid traineeships are available each year for the General Secretariat of the European Council to EU nationals who have completed at least the first part of their university studies, and have obtained a degree certificate.
Citizens from countries currently in accession negotiations may only take part in the traineeships for national officials programme
Traineeship intakes take place twice a year, once in February and again in September.
A thorough knowledge of French or English is required, as they are the main working languages at the Counsel.
The Next Step
Those looking beyond a traineeship should first consult the Council of the Europe’s jobs portal and consult the vacancies page in search for potential opportunities. Should the potential employee find an opening simply fill out the attached application forms to apply.
The job of the European Court of Justice is to make sure that EU legislation is interpreted and applied in the same way in all EU countries, so that the law is equal for everyone. It ensures, for example, that national courts do not give different rulings on the same issue.
The Court also makes sure that EU member states and institutions do what the law requires. The Court has the power to settle legal disputes between EU member states, EU institutions, businesses and individuals.
The European Courts of Justice are based in Luxembourg.
Beginning Your Career with The Court of Justice of the European Union
The Court of Justice of the European Union offer a limited number of 5 month traineeships. These traineeships are generally undertaken in the Research and Documentation Directorate, the Press and Information Service, the Directorate-General for Translation or the Interpretation Directorate.
A large number of staff in the Court's services are recruited from the reserve lists of open competitions as organised by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO). From time to time the Court’s interpretation services may require freelance translators.
Further information is available through the Court of Justice of the European Union’s website here.
Visit the Court of Justice of the European Union’s website.
The European Court of Auditors is the external auditor for the EU and checks that EU funds are correctly accounted for and spent in compliance with the rules and legislation, while having regard for achieving best value for money.
The European Court of Auditors is based in Luxembourg.
Beginning Your Career with The European Court of Auditors
The Court of Auditors organises traineeship periods throughout the year in areas of interest to its work. The training periods are granted for a maximum period of five months.
To apply, applicants must fill out an application form which can be accessed via the European Court of Auditors website.
More information and application forms can be found here.
The Next Step
Job vacancies within the European Court of Auditors can be found here
To visit the European Court of Auditors website click here
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a consultative body of the European Union and its goal is to bridge the gap between Europe and organized civil society.
The European Economic and Social Committee are based in Brussels.
Beginning Your Career with The EESC
Twice a year the European Economic and Social Committee offers traineeships for a period of five months to university graduates who are nationals of the Member States of the European Union, as well as to a number of university graduates from non-EU countries (long-term traineeship).
In addition, the EESC can offer short, unpaid traineeships from one to three months to university graduates or university students who are required to complete their degree by undertaking a period of in-service training (short-term traineeship).
More information and application forms can be found at EESC here.
The Next Step
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) generally recruit staff through open competitions or selections organised by EPSO.
The mission of the Committee of the Regions is to involve regional and local authorities in the European decision making process at the earliest stage through mandatory consultation with the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers on key policy areas of regional concern.
The Committee of the Regions has offices in Brussels.
Beginning Your Career with The Committee of the Regions
The Committee of the Regions offers a limited number of traineeships for university graduates and local and regional authority staff.
More information about traineeships with the committee of the regions can be found here.
The Next Step
In order to be recruited as an official by an EU institution, you need to pass an open competition organised at the inter-institutional level by the European Personnel Selection Office.
The Committee of the Regions also employs temporary or contract staff.
Employees of local, regional and national bodies or intergovernmental organisations may also apply for positions as seconded national experts.
The European Ombudsman investigates complaints about maladministration in the institutions and bodies of the European Union.
The European Ombudsman has offices based in both Strasbourg and Brussels.
Beginning Your Career with The European Ombudsman
The European Ombudsman offers a limited number of traineeships
The traineeships are normally for a duration of four months and can be extended up to a maximum of 11 months.
More information on traineeships with The European Ombudsman can be found here.
The Next Step
Vacancies for permanent posts in the Secretariat of the European Ombudsman are filled through internal transfer or promotion, transfer or secondment of officials from other Community institutions or bodies, or recruitment from reserve lists set up following open competitions organised by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) or by an EU institution or body.
Persons interested in working for the European Ombudsman's Office should regularly consult EPSO's website where they will find all the necessary information concerning future selection procedures.
The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) is an independent supervisory authority whose primary objective is to ensure that European institutions and bodies respect the right to privacy and data protection when they process personal data and develop new policies.
The European Data Protection Supervisor is based in Brussels.
Beginning Your Career with The European Data Protection Supervisor
The European Data Protection Supervisor offers a limited number of traineeships for university graduates.
More information on traineeships with the EDPS can be found here.
The Next Step
EDPS vacancies are filled via the following process:
The European External Action Service serves as a foreign ministry and diplomatic corps for the EU, implementing the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy and other areas of the EU's external representation.
The European External Action service is based in Brussels with offices based around the world.
Beginning Your Career with The European External Action Service
The European Investment Bank is the long-term lending bank of the European Union. The task of the Bank is to contribute towards the integration, balanced development and economic and social cohesion of the EU Member States.
The European Investment Bank is based in Luxembourg
Beginning Your Career with The European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank offers a limited number of traineeships for university graduates.
More information on traineeships with The European Investment Bank can be found here
The Next Step
Further career opportunities are available. For more information click here.
To visit the Website of the European Investment Bank click here.
View Agencies
THE AGENCIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
The EU has a large number of specialised agencies, which deal with tasks of a legal, technical and/or scientific nature.
They offer a huge variety of potential job opportunities – in particular for specialists – and are based in countries all around the EU, offering opportunities for employment from Sweden to Greece, and from Ireland to Italy.
The function of many of the agencies are outlined below, together with further information or links to the agency website for relevant career information and opportunities.
European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA)
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
The main objective of the EMSA is to provide technical and scientific assistance to the European Commission and EU Member States in the proper development and implementation of EU legislation on maritime safety, pollution by ships and security on board ships.
The Agency’s main responsibility is the protection and promotion of public and animal health, through the evaluation and supervision of medicines for human and veterinary use.
European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA)
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
The EMCDDA was established in 1993 and exists to provide the EU and its countries with a factual overview of European drug problems and a solid evidence base to support the drugs debate. Today it offers policymakers the data they need to draw up informed drug laws and strategies. It also helps professionals and practitioners working in the field to pinpoint best practice and new areas of research.
European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA)
Location: Crete, Greece
ENISA works with the EU’s Institutions and Member States to develop a high-level security information network in the EU for the benefit of the EU’s citizens, consumers, business and public sector organisations.
ERA was set up to help create an integrated railway area by reinforcing safety and interoperability. The Agency also acts as the system authority for the European Rail Traffic Management System project, which was set up to create unique signalling standards throughout Europe.
ETF’s aim is to help transition and developing countries to harness the potential of their human capital through education, training and labour market systems in the context of the EU’s external relations policy.
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA)
Location: Vienna, Austria
FRA’s goal is to ensure that the fundamental rights of people living in the EU are protected. The Agency does this by collecting evidence about current fundamental rights across the European Union and providing advice to EU bodies, EU Member States, candidate countries and potential candidate countries, based on evidence, on how to improve the situation. FRA also informs individuals about their fundamental rights.
European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO)
Location: Alicante, Spain
OHIM’s mandate is to provide protection of intellectual property in the EU. The Office carries out examination, registration, opposition and cancellation procedures for Community Trade Marks and examination, registration and invalidity procedures for registered Community Designs.
Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union (CDT)
Location: Luxembourg
The Translation Centre’s mission is to meet the translation needs of the EU’s decentralised agencies. It also participates in the Inter-institutional Committee for Translation and Interpretation.
European Foundation of Living and Working Conditions (Eurofound)
Location: Dublin, Ireland and Brussels, Belgium
Eurofound provides information, advice and expertise on living and working conditions, industrial relations and managing change in Europe. The information is provided for key actors, such as trade unions, in the field of EU social policy through research and analysis.
Set up in 2005, the CFCA coordinates fisheries control in the EU, inspects the activities of EU countries, and assists Member States to cooperate and comply with the rules of the Common EU Fisheries Policy.
European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders (FRONTEX)
Location: Warsaw, Poland
FRONTEX was created as a specialised, independent body of the EU to coordinate operational cooperation between EU countries in the field of border security.
This Agency manages the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction processes for chemical substances to ensure consistency across the European Union. The Agency provides information on chemicals to ensure their safe use, and ensures the competitiveness of the European chemical industry.
The EEA works to help the EU and its individual Member States make informed decisions about improving the environment, integrating environmental considerations into economic policies and moving towards sustainability. The EEA also coordinates the European environment information and observation network. Most of the EEA’s advice is directed towards the European Institutions.
This new agency was established in 2007 to support the EU and its Member States in their efforts to promote gender equality, to fight discrimination based on sex and to raise awareness about gender issues. EIGE collects and analyses comparable data on gender issues; develops methodological tools, in particular for the integration of the gender dimension in all policy areas; facilitates the exchange of best practices and dialogue among stakeholders; and raises awareness among EU citizens about gender equality issues.
Eurojust was set up in 2002 to improve the fight against serious crime by facilitating the coordination of investigations and prosecutions covering more than one EU Member State, with full respect for fundamental rights and freedoms.
European Agency for the Cooperation of the Energy Regulators (ACER)
Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia
ACER is a not-for-profit association in which Europe’s independent national regulators of electricity and gas voluntarily cooperate to protect consumers’ interests and to facilitate the creation of a single, competitive, efficient and sustainable internal market for gas and electricity in Europe.
The EU employs more than 50,000 officials who serve over 505 million people across the 28 Member States, making it one of the largest international organisations in the world.
The largest employer of the EU Institutions is the European Commission, which employs about 33,000 people.
The European Commission is divided into departments known as Directorates General (DGs), roughly equivalent to ministries. Each covers a specific policy area or service such as trade or environment, and is headed by a Director-General who reports to a Commissioner.
In the European Parliament, around 6,000 people work in the general secretariat and in the political groups. On top of this are the 751 Members of Parliament and their staff.
In the Council of the European Union, around 3,500 people work in the general secretariat.
Whether your background or interest is in languages or law, public administration or social sciences, the EU offers the chance to pursue a unique international career where you can make a real and lasting difference.
Current issues
Multilingualism is essential to the success of the European Union. It means that European citizens are able to move, work and learn freely throughout Europe. This in turn contributes to the development of jobs and growth, reducing unemployment and increasing living standards throughout the Union.
One of the objectives of the EU’s language policy is that every European citizen should master two languages in addition to their mother tongue.
Multilingualism ensures that languages are not a barrier to participation in society and that marginalised language groups can be identified, represented, and included in the EU.
As part of its efforts to promote mobility and intercultural understanding, the EU has designated language learning as an important priority, and funds numerous programs and projects in this area.
Multilingualism underpins Europe’s competitiveness. One of the objectives of the EU’s language policy is therefore that every European citizen should master two languages in addition to their mother tongue.
Multilingualism is central to the EU’s cultural diversity. The EU has 24 official languages. Those of us who live in the EU have access to all EU documents in the official language of our own country. We also have the right to write to the Commission, and receive a reply from them, in our own language.
Shortage of Irish language translators
When Ireland joined the EEC in 1973, Irish was a “treaty” language only, and not an official working language. In 2005 the EU Council of Ministers voted unanimously to make Irish the 21st official and working language of the EU.
This decision took effect on 1st January 2007, meaning that legislation approved by both the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers is now translated into Irish, and interpretation from Irish is available at all EU Parliament plenary sessions and at some EU Council meetings.
Irish is now heard regularly in the EU and all EU Institutions use some Irish in communication with the public.
With the new EU status of Irish, lots of new career opportunities have been created for Irish graduates. This has also resulted in the creation of new third-level courses in translation and interpretation in Irish colleges.
However, a temporary and transitory relaxation of the rule round Irish was introduced in 2007 due to difficulties in recruiting sufficient numbers of Irish language translators. This derogation was renewed in 2010 and further reviewed in 2015. The Irish language was granted full recognition by 31 December 2016, bringing with it a significant recruitment drive for people with Irish language skills.
Irish Translation unit within DG Translation
The European Commission and Council Secretariat have set-up an Irish translation unit within its DG Translation and have translated its Europa website into Irish.
Useful publications for those interested in Translation and Interpretation Careers with the EU:
Official Languages of the EU
The European Parliament granted full recognition to the Irish language in December 2016, creating 180 jobs for Irish speakers within the EU institutions.
The EU currently has 24 official and working languages:
Bulgarian
Croatian
Czech
Danish
Dutch
English
Estonian
Finnish
French
German
Greek
Hungarian
Irish
Italian
Latvian
Lithuanian
Maltese
Polish
Portuguese
Romanian
Slovak
Slovene
Spanish
Swedish
With a permanent staff of around 1,750 linguists and 600 support staff, the European Commission has one of the largest translation services in the world. In addition to this, the Commission's interpretation service employs 600 staff interpreters, a pool of 3,000 freelance interpreters and 250 support staff.
The EU represents over 505 million people in 28 Member States, making it one of the largest international organisations in the world
The largest employer of the EU Institutions is the European Commission, which employs about 33,000 people
With a permanent staff of around 1,750 linguists and 600 support staff, the European Commission has one of the largest translation services in the world
The European Commission's interpretation service employs 600 staff interpreters, a pool of 3,000 freelance interpreters and 250 support staff
In the European Parliament, around 6,000 people work in the general secretariat and in the political groups
There are also 751 Members of Parliament and their staff
In the Council of the European Union, around 3,500 people work in the general secretariat.
