Join the European Parliament

8/18/2019 Join the European Parliament

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Join theEuropean

Parliament!


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The members of the staff of the EU institutions play their part

every day in building the Europe of today and of tomorrow.

Working for hundreds of millions of people is a goal they all

share, and every EU citizen potentially has the chance to join

them. Whether you are interested in traineeships or in embarking

on a career at the European Parliament, this guide provides

an overview of the opportunities on offer and the application

procedures. We hope that it answers all your questions and that

one day we will have the pleasure of working with you.

Happy reading!

Unit for Relations with Personnel

Directorate-General for Personnel

The competent authorities exercise broad discretionary powers

in the area of recruitment. Please note, therefore, that the

informat ion contained in this guide may not in any circumstances

be used against the European Parliament in legal proceedings.


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Table of contents

Background information on the EuropeanParliament

Becoming a European Parliament official

Fixed-term contracts in the Secretariat

Parliamentary assistants

Jobs in the European Parliament’s political groups

Traineeships and study visits

European Personnel Selection Off ice

Work environment

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1 Background informationon the European Parliament

As the only European institutionelected by direct universalsuffrage, as it has been since1979, the European Parliamentis one of the cornerstones ofdemocracy in the EuropeanUnion. This assembly, whichhas 751 Members in its eighthterm, is the voice of more than500 million Europeans in28 Member States.

The European Parliament haspowers in three main areas:legislative powers, budgetarypowers and the power toexercise political scrutiny overthe other European institutions.Its role is constantly evolving.By way of an example, EUMember States are requiredto take account of the results of

the European elections whenchoosing a nominee for the postof President of the Commission.That nominee is then approvedby the new Parliament. Underthe terms of the Treaty, therefore,the President of the Commissionis ‘elected’ by Parliament, which

means that voters now havea real say in who becomesthe head of the EU’s executivebody.

For more information visit the EPwebsite at http://www.europarl.

europa.eu/portal/en, and followour activities on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/europeanparliament and Twitterhttps://twitter.com/Europarl_en

The European Parliamenthas three main places of

work: Brussels, Luxembourgand Strasbourg. Whilst theSecretariat is located inLuxembourg, the Members ofthe European Parliament (MEPs)and the departments whichwork closely with them are inBrussels. This is where politicalgroup and parliamentarycommittee meetings and mini-sessions (additional sessions tothe main plenaries) are held.The European Parliament holds12 one-week part-sessions peryear in Strasbourg, its official

seat.

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/enhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/enhttps://www.facebook.com/europeanparliamenthttps://www.facebook.com/europeanparliamenthttps://twitter.com/Europarl_enhttps://twitter.com/Europarl_enhttps://www.facebook.com/europeanparliamenthttps://www.facebook.com/europeanparliamenthttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/enhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/en


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The Secretariat is the EuropeanParliament’s administration. Itconsists of 12 directorates-

general and a Legal Service.Its role is to assist MEPs in theirdaily work and to providefacilities and logistical support.The Secretariat also assists thepolitical groups, whilst the MEPs

are supported by their ownparliamentary assistants andpolitical group staff. In total, the

European Parliament employssome 9 000 people. A widerange of possibilities are on offer,from traineeships to careers inthe European civil service.


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2 Becominga European Parliament official

If you would like to embark ona career as an official in theSecretariat of the EuropeanParliament, you first have to passa competition organised by theEuropean Personnel SelectionOffice (EPSO). The selectionprocedure involves varioustests to assess candidates‘reasoning skills, their knowledgeof the European Union, their

professional skills and theirknowledge of an EU language

other than their own. EPSO isresponsible for organising opencompetitions for all the Europeaninstitutions. Future Europeancivil servants are recruited fromreserve lists drawn up on thebasis of these competitions.

Recruitment to the EuropeanParliament’s Secretariat there-fore follows a procedure

which is common to all the EUinstitutions.


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While the European civil serviceembraces many different activi-ties and professions, the eligibility

criteria are the same for everyone.In order to be admitted to acompetition, candidates must:

• be a citizen of a MemberState of the European Union;

• enjoy full rights as a citizen;

• have fulfilled any obligationsimposed on them by national

laws concerning militaryservice;

• have a thorough knowledgeof two official languages

of the European Union, atleast one of which must beEnglish, French or German;

• where appropriate, have thenecessary qualifications and

professional experience forthe degree of specialisationrequired by the post andthe grade at which it ispublished.

All information on current andforthcoming procedures and howto register for them can be foundon the website of the European

Personnel Selection Office(EPSO). Further information canbe found in Chapter 7 of thisbrochure.

Areas of activityThe varied and stimulatingwork performed by the staffof the European Parliament iscrucial to democracy in Europe.The countless opportunitiesfor professional development,

the multicultural workingenvironment in which 24 official

languages are spoken, and theexcellent work-life balance arejust some of the advantagesof working at the EuropeanParliament. With a view to givingMEPs the support they need,

the Secretariat offers a widerange of jobs for candidates


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with professional experience in arange of areas:

• Parliamentary assistance,• linguistic assistance,

• communication,

• management,

• finances,

• information technology,

• legal assistance,

• administration,

• logistical assistance.

Function groups and professions

Staff in all the European institutions are divided into threecategories:

Administrators (AD)

There are 12 AD grades.Administrators perform admin-istrative, advisory, linguistic,scientific and managementduties. The European Parlia-ment offers a wide varietyof career paths for university

graduates:• administrators in parliament-

ary bodies,

• press officers,

• lawyer-linguists,

• financial administrators,

• translators and interpreters,etc.

Assistants (AST)

There are 11 AST grades.Assistants perform executive

duties in all the institution’s areasof activity. The wide range of vitaltasks they carry out in the areasof budgetary and financialaffairs, personnel management,IT and document management,to name but a few, make themindispensable.


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Secretaries and clerks(AST/SC)

There are six AST/SCgrades. These staff members

perform secretarial and officemanagement duties, andother practical, support and

logistical tasks, which in manycases call for the ability to workunsupervised.

Career progression in the Secretariat is governed by the StaffRegulations and the Conditions of Employment of Other Servants.Staff are promoted either within the same function group or, on the basisof specific procedures, to a higher function group.


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3 Fixed-term contractsin the Secretariat

In addition to careers as anofficial, the European Parliamentalso offers fixed-term contracts.The purpose of these contractsas temporary or contract staffmembers is to provide cover forpermanent posts which remainvacant due to an unsuccessfulinternal or interinstitutionalselection procedure, if they couldnot be filled from a reserve list, orto strengthen a team for a specificpurpose. Fixed-term contractsare available for all posts and

professional profiles.Contract staff members areselected following a ‘call forexpressions of interest’ andsuccessful applicants are placedon a reserve list. If selected,candidates are employed in

accordance with departmental

needs. Contracts usually run fora maximum of six years.

Contracts for temporary staffmembers are also usually validfor a maximum of six years.However, open-ended contracts

are available for people withcertain specific profiles. Thesetypes of jobs are rare, andapplication procedures areusually tailored to the post inquestion.

Special rules apply to staff

recruited on fixed-term contracts.Further information can be foundon the European PersonnelSelection Office’s (EPSO)website:

http://europa.eu/epso/

http://europa.eu/epso/http://europa.eu/epso/


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4 Parliamentary assistants

Parliamentary assistants, whowork directly for MEPs, make upanother category of temporarystaff.

Parliamentary assistants helpMEPs in their day-to-day

work and are either based inBrussels (accredited parlia-mentary assistants) or in theMEP’s home constituency(local assistants); they work inStrasbourg during part-sessions.

Accredited parliamentary

assistants work in Brussels andare responsible for compilingbackground information onimportant political issues relatingto their MEP’s work and forwriting the draft reports, opinionsand amendments tabled by theirMEP. They also draft speeches,answer questions from membersof the public and look aftergroups of visitors, and are incharge of the day-to-day runningof their MEP’s office.

Local parliamentary assistantsare based in an MEP’s homeconstituency. They help theMEP concerned with his orher dealings with constituents,authorities and associations.They provide a link between theirMEP, the public and local partybodies.

MEPs work closely with theirassistants and rely heavily onthem, which is why they choosetheir staff personally. If youwish to apply for a job as aparliamentary assistant, youshould contact the office of theMEP concerned directly.

A full list of MEPs – by country andpolitical group – can be found onthe European Parliament websiteat the following address:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/map.html

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/map.htmlhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/map.htmlhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/map.htmlhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/map.html


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Rather than forming nationalblocs, MEPs at the EuropeanParliament sit in political groupsin accordance with their politicalleanings.

Political group staff help the

MEPs in their group with theirdaily work, and their role ishighly political in nature.

They are mainly involved informulating and defending thepolitical positions that their groupwill take and drafting opinions

on specific topics, but they alsodo the preparatory work for thereports that MEPs produce.

Staff recruited by the Politicalgroups are normally offeredopen-ended contracts. Politicalgroup staff are divided into thesame three function groups asstaff in the Secretariat of theEuropean Parliament.

If you want more informationon recruitment procedures, orif you wish to apply for a jobin a political group, you shouldcontact the group directly.

A list of Parliament’s political

groups can be found at thefollowing web address:

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/en

5 Jobs in the European Parliament’spolitical groups

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/enhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/enhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/enhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/en


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The European Parliament’sSecretariat offers a rangeof general and specialisedtraineeships and study visitswhich are designed toenable members of the publicto familiarise themselveswith Parliament’s work andactivities.

The traineeships are paid orsubsidised. They include ‘general’and ‘journalism’ traineeships foruniversity graduates, trainingplacements and translationtraineeships.

Applications for all traineeshipsare completed online. You areadvised not to wait until the lastday to apply, as the fact thatlarge numbers of applicationsare being submitted at the sametime can overload the system.

Once you have confirmed andsent your online application,you will receive a confirmatione-mail. The message will containa confirmation number, whichyou should quote in all futurecorrespondence concerning thetraineeship, and a copy of yourapplication in PDF format. If youare offered a traineeship youwill be asked to send us a papercopy.

You will find an overview of thevarious types of traineeshipsbelow. More information canbe found on the EuropeanParliament’s website, includingdetails of the selection criteria,the internal rules and theapplication form:

h t t p : / / w w w . e u r o p a r l .europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/007cecd1cc/Stages.html

6 Traineeships and study visits

http://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/007cecd1cc/Stages.htmlhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/007cecd1cc/Stages.htmlhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/007cecd1cc/Stages.htmlhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/007cecd1cc/Stages.htmlhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/007cecd1cc/Stages.htmlhttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/aboutparliament/en/007cecd1cc/Stages.html


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For further information, please contact the relevant departments:

For general and journalism

traineeships for universitygraduates, training placementsand study visits:

European ParliamentTraineeships OfficeGEO 02A016Plateau du Kirchberg2929 LuxembourgLUXEMBOURG+352 [email protected]

For translation traineeships:

European ParliamentTranslation TraineeshipsTOB 02B005Plateau du Kirchberg2929 LuxembourgLUXEMBOURG+352 4300-23107 [email protected]

mailto:stages%40ep.europa.eu?subject=mailto:dgtrad.translationtraineeships%40ep.europa.eu?subject=mailto:dgtrad.translationtraineeships%40ep.europa.eu?subject=mailto:dgtrad.translationtraineeships%40ep.europa.eu?subject=mailto:dgtrad.translationtraineeships%40ep.europa.eu?subject=mailto:stages%40ep.europa.eu?subject=


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Traineeships for university graduates- general option or journalism option

(Schuman Scholarships)These traineeships are awardedonly to graduates of universitiesor equivalent institutions. Theirpurpose is to give such graduatesthe opportunity to build on theknowledge acquired during

their studies and to familiarisethemselves with the activitiesof the European Union and,

in particular, the EuropeanParliament.

They include:

• Robert Schuman scholarships,general option;

• Robert Schuman scholarships,journalism option.

Training placements

The European Parliamentoffers training placements toyoung people who, before theapplication deadline, haveobtained a secondary-schoolleaving certificate correspondingto the level required for entry touniversity or have completed a

higher or technical course to anequivalent level. Priority is givento students who are required tocomplete a training placement aspart of their studies. Applicantsmust be aged 18 or over on thefirst day of the placement.

Traineeship programme for personswith a disability

The European Parliament is an

equal opportunities employerand encourages persons

with a disability to apply for

its traineeship programmes.This programme offers paid


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traineeships to persons with adisability as a positive actionmeasure in an effort to facilitate

their integration into working life.Special arrangements are madefor these trainees.

Translation traineeships for university graduates

These traineeships are awardedonly to graduates of universitiesor equivalent institutions. Their

purpose is to give graduatesthe opportunity to build on theknowledge acquired during

their studies and to familiarisethemselves with the activitiesof the European Union and,

in particular, the EuropeanParliament.

Translation training placements

The European Parliament offerstranslation training placementsto applicants who, before theapplication deadline, haveobtained a secondary-schoolleaving certificate correspondingto the level required for entry touniversity or have completed

a higher or technical course

to an equivalent level. Theseplacements are intended inparticular for students who arerequired to complete a trainingplacement as part of theirstudies. Applicants must be aged18 or over on the first day of theplacement.

Study visits – for specific research

Study visits are designed to givepersons aged 18 or over the

opportunity to study specific

subjects relating to Europeanintegration in greater depth.

Applicants also have the option


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of carrying out research at theEuropean Parliament’s library orhistorical archives in Luxembourg.

Study visits last a maximum ofone month. If you have alreadycompleted a traineeship at the

European Parliament, you areasked to wait six months beforeapplying for a study visit.

The European Parliament makesno contribution towards expensesof any kind incurred by visitors.

Traineeships with an MEP or a political group

MEPs and political groupsregularly accept trainees inBrussels and Strasbourg. Studentsand recent university graduatesare given the opportunity toexperience everyday political lifein the European Parliament at first

hand. Some MEPs also accepttrainees in their constituencies.

Unlike those organised bythe European Parliament’sSecretariat, these traineeshipsare not part of Parliament’sofficial programme. Availability

is determined by the ability ofa given group or MEP to caterfor trainees and traineeships aregoverned by the relevant internalrules of the political groups andthe rules laid down by eachMEP. As a result, the terms of

the traineeships, their duration,the application deadlines andthe remuneration arrangementsvary. You are therefore advisedto contact the relevant MEP orpolitical group directly.


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7 European Personnel Selection Office

The European PersonnelSelection Office (EPSO) isresponsible for most of the staffrecruitment procedures for theEuropean institutions.

It organises the competitions for

officials and the tests taken bycandidates for non-permanentposts, in particular contract staffmembers.

All information concerningapplications can be found on theEPSO website (http://europa.

eu/epso), including:

• a provisional calendar offorthcoming competitionsgiving details of the relevantfields and the languages inwhich the competition can betaken;

• official competition notices;

• overview of the applicationprocedure;

• por tal where you canfollow the progress of yourapplication(s);

• sample tests;

• ...

Competition notices arepublished in the Official Journalof the European Union (OJ) and

in national newspapers.

For further information, pleasecontact EPSO:

• by post:European PersonnelSelection Office

Candidate Contact ServiceOffice C-25 5/401049 BrusselsBELGIUM

• by phone:+32 22993131

• by fax:

+32 22957488

• online

Once you have been placedon a reserve list, you maybe contacted by any ofthe European institutions.

http://europa.eu/epsohttp://europa.eu/epsohttp://europa.eu/epsohttp://europa.eu/epso


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Departments interested in yourCV will usually invite you to aninterview.

EPSO does not deal with therecruitment of parliamentaryassistants or European Parliament

political group staff.


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8 Work environment

As a European Parliament staffmember you will enjoy socialsecurity cover (sickness andaccident insurance, pension)provided by the Communityhealth insurance scheme, as wellas tailored training throughoutyour career and a workingenvironment where equalopportunities, diversity, staffwell-being and environment arerespected. Parliament’s staffpolicy also encourages careermobility. Moreover, you will

have the option of enrolling your

children in Parliament’s crècheand the European schools.

European Parliament staffremuneration is governed by theStaff Regulations of Officials andthe Conditions of Employment ofOther Servants of the EuropeanUnion, which apply to staff inall the European institutions. Itconsists of a basic salary linkedto the grade and step at whichyou have been recruited, yourremuneration may include

allowances granted on the basis


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of your personal circumstances(expatriation allowance, familyallowances, etc.). Salaries are

subject to European Uniontax and social insurancecontributions.

Conclusion

Joining the European Parliamentoffers you the opportunity ofan interesting career in a range

of different fields. If you takethis opportunity, you will bechoosing a unique, multicultural

and international workingenvironment.

The European Parliament looksfor excellence in a range ofareas and recruits candidateswith extremely varied profiles.Do you want to be part of this ?

What are you waiting for ? Jointhe European Parliament today!


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PERSONAL NOTES


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PERSONAL NOTES


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