Traineeship at the Directorate-General for Translation (DGT)

The Directorate-General for Translation selects exclusively candidates from the EU Member States.

The Directorate-General for Translation (DGT) ensures the translation of  texts into and out of the 24 official languages of the European Union. It is organized into language departments dealing  exclusively with written texts.  

Responsibilities of DGT:

• translate laws, policy papers, reports, correspondence, etc. drafted by or sent to the Commission 
• help the Commission communicate with the public, thereby helping citizens understand EU policies 
• edit original documents drafted by Commission authors 
• advise Commission departments on language and on managing multilingual websites 
• ensure correct terminology in all official EU languages, as documented in the interinstitutional database IATE 
• contribute to the development of advanced data-driven language technologies, and to the digitalisation of multilingual systems and processes

Translation positions are exclusively offered by the Directorate-General for Translation (DGT), representing 5% of the total posts available across the entire Commission and its agencies.

Key requirements for translators:

• Language Proficiency: Translators must translate into their target language, typically their mother tongue, from at least two other official EU languages. Given that most documents are to be translated from English (91,6%), French (2.6%), and German (0.8%), at least one of these source languages is required. The remaining EU languages account for 5% of the documents.

• Predominance of English: English is the principal drafting language at the Commission, explaining its high proportion among source documents.

   

Application and selection process:

Phase 1

If you have successfully passed the preselection procedure and are included in the Virtual Blue Book, you will be invited to apply for up to three traineeship positions.   

You will receive instructions to connect to Virtual Blue Book portal, where Commission Directorates-General (DGs), services and agencies offer various positions for the next traineeship session. The number of available positions corresponds to the number of trainees for each session.

Please note that pursuant to article 4 of the legal basis, certain Directorates General, Services or Agencies may not recruit nationals from non-Member States.    

1. Consultation of the posts:

During the first days of Phase 1, you will be able to view all available traineeship positions.

You may mark as many positions as you like as favorites.

2. Application for the posts: 

The consultation period will be followed by 3 application rounds.

You may apply for a maximum of 3 posts, one post at a time, following a schedule communicated in advance.

General Motivation and Cover Letter:

When applying for your first post, you will be required to fill in a general motivation section (min. 500, max. 1500 characters). Use this section to explain why you are interested in a traineeship at the European Commission. 

• Keep in mind that there is only one general motivation for all posts. If you modify it when applying for your second or third post, the changes will be reflected for the 3 posts. 
• The same applies to any skills or achievements you declare: the latest update will be shown for all posts. 

Once you will have identified a post to apply for, you will have to upload your cover letter (a motivation letter specific to the post, in PDF format) and click "Apply online." We recommend tailoring each cover letter to the specific post. 

Both the general motivation text and the cover letter(s) will be reviewed by recruiting services and can significantly influence the outcome of your application. 

For translation posts at DG Translation (DGT), both motivation texts must be written in the target language unless otherwise stated in the vacancy. 

Recruitment Process and Confirmation of Selection: 

During the first phase, recruiting units have access to all applications submitted across the 3 rounds. 

They do not have to wait to reach the maximum number of applications per post to start the selection process. They may select in the first round or wait until the final round. 

Recruiting units have no obligation to inform candidates about the outcome of their application, or to justify their selection. 

You may be contacted for an informal interview. You may also be informed of your potential selection before you apply for a second or third post. 

However, such contacts are not binding. Only a written placement offer from the Traineeships Office will confirm your selection. 

As long as you have not received an official placement offer in your candidate account, we advise you to keep applying for up to three posts to improve your chances.