The European Commission is an institution of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the EU treaties and managing the day-to-day business of the EU. The commission was established in January 16, 1958.
The European Commission with the European Commission (or some executive bodies and agencies of the European Institutions like, for instance, the European External Action Service or Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation), offers a paid traineeship of 5 months to local and international students.
These Traineeships in the European Commission are biannual events (occurring twice a year), and starting on either 1st March or 1st October. You will receive monthly grants, in addition to reimbursement for your travel expenses. So if you didn’t know before, you now know!
Application registrations open twice each year at appointed times for either the October – February Traineeships OR the March – July Traineeships, and you are invited to apply if you are a university graduate from any part of the world.
Eligibility
The traineeship program is open to university graduates from all over the world who have a:
- degree of at least 3 years of study (minimum a bachelor),
- very good knowledge of English or French or German.
- very good knowledge of a second EU official language (required for nationals of EU countries).
You must have completed at least 3-years of study with a degree to apply for a Blue Book traineeship. Only if you have a certificate or an official confirmation from your university that you have at least a 3-year degree will you be eligible to apply.
You can apply once per session but as many times as you want until you are finally selected. If you do not pass the pre-selection, or you are in the Blue Book but not selected for a traineeship, you will have to submit again your application. It will undergo again the pre-selection with no guarantee that you will successfully pass it and be in the Blue Book again.
Selection Criteria:
Candidates are anonymously evaluated in the assessment phase by two different evaluators, on the basis of following criteria:
- Level of education (a full university degree of at least three years of studies is mandatory);
- Language level in one of the three European Commission working/procedural languages (English, French, German) other than your mother tongue/s (mandatory);
- Language level in the remaining European official languages and/or non EU-languages, if applicable;
- Relevance of work experience, if applicable;
- International profile – experience of living/working abroad (mobility);
- Motivation and quality of reasoning;
- IT Skills, organisational skills, publications and rare domains of study.
If they successfully pass the first phase of the pre-selection, candidates are “pre-identified” and admitted to the second phase of the pre-selection, i.e. verification of supporting documents/eligibility check.
Eligible groups
Citizens of ANY country of the world
Fields of study
No particular course is favoured. Interested candidates can only apply for one type of traineeship at a time – administrative or translation. The content of the job largely depends on the service you are assigned to.
A traineeship at the European Commission is much more than just a professional experience. Each batch of trainees organises a huge range of non-formal learning, social activities, from football to wine-tasting and much in between – in true bureaucratic fashion, each with its own organising committee. There are usually 40-50 of such activities to choose from.
The main social committee is the Trainees’ Committee, which organises parties and social events in Brussels and Luxembourg. Among the most popular events are the Job Fair, which is meant to help you work out your next steps in your professional life, and the prestigious Euroball.
Number of awards
Every year, there are about 1,300 places available
Sponsorship duration
There are two 5-month traineeship periods: March to July of same year, AND October to February of the next year
Scholarship benefits
You will receive a monthly grant of some €1,159 and reimbursement of travel expenses. Accident and health insurance can also be provided. Visa costs and related medical fees may be reimbursed together with the travel expenditures.
If you are one of the selected candidates you get hands-on experience in an international and multicultural environment. This can be an important enrichment for your further career.
Method of Application
This involves an easy 2 step application process: 1). REGISTER, and 2). FILL IN & SUBMIT THE APPLICATION FORM.
The European Commission does not require you to submit any paper documents at this stage. Afterwards, only preselected candidates for the Virtual Blue Book will be invited to provide supporting documents, such as: copy of valid ID/passport, copy of university qualifications, proof of ongoing studies, proof of declared language skills, proof of work experience (if applicable) and proof of IT skills/publication (if applicable).
It is important to visit the official website (link to it is below) for complete information on this traineeship program.
DEADLINES:
Applications for the ‘October 2017 – February 2018 Traineeship Programme’ has ended. Applications for the ‘March 2018 – July 2018 Traineeship Programme’ starts from 17th July 2017 until 31st August 2017 at noon (UTC/GMT +01:00).
Application Deadline:
Applications for the ‘October 2017 – February 2018 Traineeship Programme’ has ended. Applications for the ‘March 2018 – July 2018 Traineeship Programme’ starts from 17th July 2017 until 31st August 2017 at noon (UTC/GMT +01:00).
Open to International Applicants:
