European Union (EU) Traineeship Program for Foreign Language Graduate Students

Trainees work all over the European Commission, its services and agencies, mostly in Brussels, but also in Luxembourg and elsewhere across the European Union.

The nature of your work will depend on the service you are assigned to.

You may, for example, work in the field of competition law, human resources, environmental policy, etc.

What does a trainee’s daily work consist of?

Attending and organising meetings, working groups, and public hearings
Researching, drafting end editing documentation – including reports and consultations
Answering citizens’ inquiries
Supporting the management of projects

What do we expect from you?

An open-minded approach to European issues
An interest in learning about the Commission’s working methods
Willingness to work in a multicultural environment
To contribute to the Commission’s daily work from a fresh perspective
A proactive attitude

Who can apply?
Subject to eligibility criteria, the traineeship is open to all EU citizens, regardless of age. A limited number of places are also allocated to non EU nationals.

Eligibility

The traineeship programme is open to university graduates who

have completed a standard 3-year higher education degree (180 credits), corresponding to a complete Bachelor’s cycle, or equivalent. Only if you have a certificate or official confirmation from your university that you have such a degree will you be eligible to apply. We accept the following documents
- diplomas or certificates with final grades clearly indicated
- the Europass Diploma Supplement (if available)
- university transcripts
have no prior work experience of any kind, in excess of 6 weeks in any EU institution, body or agency, delegation, with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), or Advocates General at the Court of Justice of the European Union (EUCJ).
have a very good knowledge of languages

For the administrative traineeship – you must have a very good knowledge of two EU official languages, one of which must be a procedural language: English, French or German at C1 or C2 level as per the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and a second one at B2 level at least as per the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. For non-EU nationals, only one procedural language is required.

For the translation traineeship in the Directorate-General for Translation (DGT) – you must be able to translate into your main/target language (normally your mother tongue), from two other official EU languages (‘source languages’*).
- your main/target language must be one of the official EU languages
- your first source language for translation must be a working language of the EU: English, French or German
- your second source language can be any of the official EU languages with at least B2-level proficiency

All candidates must declare one mother tongue. No points are awarded for the mother tongue and, therefore, no evidence of this is required. You can declare up to three mother tongues.

If you have more than one mother tongue and wish to receive points for them, you can declare these in the ‘Other languages’ section of the application provided you can supply appropriate written evidence of this.

Please note that traineeships carried out as credits contributing to the completion of academic studies will not be taken into account.

Additional points are given for

international profile demonstrated through education, work or volunteering experience abroad, and aptitude to work in an international environment
motivation for the application and quality of reasoning
rare fields of study
papers and publications

You can only apply once per session but for as many sessions as you want. If you are not selected you will have to submit your application again. The same process will apply each time but without guarantee that you will make it to the final stage.

Application procedure

The application procedure consists of three steps: register on EU Login, complete the application form and submit.

Step 1: Register

If you are a new user

EU Login

click here to create an account
fill in the sign up form
click ‘submit‘
check your email account (including your spam folder) for confirmation
in the email, follow the link to ‘create your password‘
choose your password and submit it
click ‘proceed‘ to the application form
use either the email or your ECAS username to login afterwards. Candidates to EC traineeships and trainees cannot login using electronic IDs.

Issues? Check ‘Help for external users‘.

For all questions regarding your registration with EU Login (European Commission’s authentication service) see the EU Login FAQ page or contact eu-login-external-support@ec.europa.eu.

Step 2: Complete your application

You do not have to fill in everything in a single session.

You can save and log back in any time to complete your application.

Please note: DG DEVCO is now DG INTPA!

Attention! In the ‘Motivation’ section you will be asked to indicate your choice of DG(s), Services or Agencies for a possible traineeship. Be aware that the Commission Junior Professionals Programme (JPP) is open exclusively to Blue Book trainees posted in the Commission DGs. (Others post-traineeship career opportunities are explained in the FAQ.)

Step 3: Submit your application

Please do not wait until the very last few days before submitting your application.

Allow up to 3 working days for a response if you require (technical) assistance.

You do not have to fill in the entire form in a single session. You can save your entries and log in later to make changes and submit your application using your username and password. You can also preview your application form in a printer-friendly pdf format at any time during the application period.

Before submitting your application, the system will show you an overview, as well as any remaining sections that need to be completed before submission. Once your form is fully and correctly completed, you will be able to submit your application.

After submission, you cannot make any changes to your application.

A confirmation receipt will appear on-screen, along with your candidate number. This confirms that your application has been correctly submitted. Please view the frequently asked questions and contact us if you experience any issues.

Should you not receive a candidate number, return to your application homepage and try to resubmit. Applications without a candidate number will not be considered.

You do not need to submit any documents with your application. Only once you have passed the first stage of the application will you have to provide evidence of your stated skills and experience. You will need to provide the following

a copy of your
- valid ID card or passport
- university qualifications completed before the deadline for applications
proof of
- ongoing studies, university exchange programmes abroad, participation in EU or international programmes, seminars or workshops
- All declared language skills (other than the mother tongue/s)
- all declared work experience
- all declared publications (publications which are part of education will not be considered)

Please ensure that you submit all proof necessary to support only your declared experience. Your application will be rejected if you do not provide adequate evidence of your declared experience. Please ensure you can evidence any experience before declaring it and prepare your supporting evidence in advance to avoid missing the deadline.