Rules governing the traineeship programme

Legal base

 

 

Annex I - Basic diplomas required for the traineeship

Please note that you can only apply once you have been awarded a university-level or equivalent diploma comprising at least 3 years of study (see point 2.2 of the rules).

Many countries are in the process of reviewing their higher education systems. It is, therefore, not possible to provide a complete list of basic diplomas.

 

Annex II - European institutions and bodies

Application criteria:

• If you have already worked (paid or unpaid) for more than six weeks (42 calendar days) in any other European institution, EU body, EU Agency, EU delegations, or for Members of Parliament (MEPs) or Advocates General at the EUCJ, you are not eligible to apply for Blue Book traineeship.
• If you volunteered for activities supporting the European Union and its institutions (such as EPSO's EU Career Ambassadors, DG Education and Culture's Erasmus Ambassadors, Youth Ambassadors or similar initiatives), please mention this in the 'motivation' section of your application, not under 'professional experience'.

 

Privacy statement

Application management system

This privacy statement explains the reason for the processing, the way we collect, handle and ensure protection of all personal data provided, how that information is used and what rights you may exercise in relation to your data (the right to access, rectify, delete etc.).

The online application form on this site is the ‘public’ part. The application management system serves to process personal data, which means that it is subject to the applicable data protection legislation currently in force (Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018). Included in the Register of DPO (Data Protection Officer) grouping basic Commission documentation for data processing operations, this privacy statement explains how the system uses personal data and how their confidentiality is ensured.

 

Correspondence

Any emails and attachments which are part of an email exchange between the Traineeships Office and external parties are strictly confidential and intended solely and exclusively for use by the individuals and/or entities to whom they are addressed.

The content of the messages may be confidential. If you are not the intended addressee, it is forbidden for you to disseminate, disclose, distribute or copy any message received.

If you have received one or more messages by mistake, please notify the sender immediately by email and delete the message(s).

 

Disclaimer

The running of the Commission’s traineeship programme relies on its ability to offer a quality practical experience of the day-to-day work of the European Commission. To be able to experience the traineeship as meant, trainees need to be able to interact in person with colleagues and therefore presence at the office must be possible. The performance of the traineeships also depends on the Commission’s ability to guarantee safe working conditions and the possibility for prospective trainees to travel to the place of assignment and work.

In accordance with the rules governing the organisation of the traineeship programme, the number of trainee places to be attributed to DG and services is determined at the end of the application process, as part of the so-called ‘final selection procedure’, following pre-selections and including a number of candidates in the Virtual Blue Book.

From one traineeship session to another, the number of traineeship places may vary based on a variety of factors including the existing conditions (size, absorption capacity, results of evaluations, etc.) and available budget. The database contains at least three times as many pre-selected candidates as there are training places available. You can find more details in section 3 of Decision C(2005)458, which describes the application process and is the legal basis of the traineeship programme.

Please note that the Placement Offer is the only document with legal value offering an opportunity to a given candidate for a traineeship with the Commission.