Working in an international organisation

• Careers of public administrators: EU public administrators enter their careers via selection competitions, which are open to both young people and candidates with professional experience. The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) has been in charge of staff recruitment for the European institutions since 2002. EPSO regularly organises a general AD5 competition aimed at higher education graduates, whatever their field of expertise. Competitions are also organised in more specialised fields, such as finance, economics, translation, justice, etc.
• Temporary agents: In addition to officials recruited through open competitions, the institutions recruit temporary agents (TAs) on the basis of fixed-term contracts. Recruitment procedures are not uniform, and vacancies are generally advertised on the public pages of the institutions or agencies concerned.
• Contract agents: The European institutions and agencies also recruit contract agents for a wide range of profiles (Secretariat, Finance, Law, Political Affairs etc.) and many other profiles (academics, secondary school graduates) via the permanent CAST procedure. Contract agents work in different function groups (FG I-IV) and on fixed-term contracts, generally with a maximum total duration of six years. Candidates can apply via the EPSO website.
  Please note that only candidates shortlisted by the recruiting institutions or bodies are invited to take part in the selection tests in the event of a vacancy.
• Seconded national experts: Luxembourg civil servants can be seconded by their home administration to the EU institutions as seconded national experts (SNEs). These are temporary assignments for a period of 6 months to 2 years (with options for renewal) for a specialised activity subject to a call for applications. Throughout the period of secondment, the original employer (the Luxembourg State) is responsible for paying the remuneration/salary of the employee, who also remains subject to the Luxembourg social security system.
• Traineeships in EU institutions

In principle, access to a career as an official is possible with a higher education diploma (AD) or a secondary education diploma plus three years' professional experience (AST and AST/SC).

Graduates of compulsory education can apply for a career as a contract agent (CAST).

To find out more about staff categories, profiles and areas of work, click here.

Notices of competition are published in the Official Journal of the EU and on the EPSO website. You can consult information on forthcoming, ongoing and closed competitions under the ‘selection procedures’ tab.

In addition, vacancies within the European institutions, bodies and agencies are published on the EPSO website, in the ‘Jobs and traineeships’ section. Other vacancies are available through the network of EU agencies or on the respective websites of the EU institutions and agencies.

It is recommended to regularly visit the relevant websites to keep abreast of open positions.

For EU institutions, bodies and agencies, job vacancies can be consulted via the following links:

• Working at the European Parliament
• Working at the General Secretariat of the Council
• Working at the European Commission
• Working for the Court of Justice of the European Union
• Join the European Court of Auditors
• Working to give a voice to civil society (European Economic and Social Committee)
• Work for the European Committee of the Regions
• Recruitment in the secretariat of the European Ombudsman
• European Central Bank ;
• European Investment Bank ;
• European Stability Mechanism ;
• European External Action Service ;
• Decentralised European Agencies, for which you can find a summary of current vacancies on the EPSO and European Agency Network websites

The recruitment of new officials within the European Union is generally carried out through open or specialised competitions. These competitions are organised by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) on behalf of the EU institutions, to select the best qualified candidates from the large number of applications received from all EU Member States. In general, candidates are required to be proficient in at least two official EU languages. The language requirements depend on the selection procedure concerned.

The duration of selection procedures may vary from one competition to another. EPSO aims to shorten the procedures to a timetable of 6 months from the publication of the competition notice to the constitution of a reserve list.

Since 2023, the main stages of the competitions have been organised as follows :

1. Publication of the competition notice which gives full details of the profile sought, the duties, the eligibility criteria and the selection procedure. Please read this notice thoroughly as it may vary from one competition to another.

2. Applying using an EPSO Account - All candidates must create an EPSO Account, which is the main tool for receiving notifications and communications during a selection procedure. Communication does not necessarily take place by e-mail. You should therefore check your EPSO Account regularly.

3. Testing phase

All tests are taken online (with automated remote supervision) in one day. The assessment centres and related oral tests were abolished in 2023. In 2024, EPSO introduced the option of taking all their tests in any official EU language.

• Multiple-choice questionnaire :
  • For all selection procedures :
    • Logic tests (mathematical comprehension, language comprehension and abstract thinking).
  • For specialised competitions :
    • An additional multiple-choice test in the field of the competition.
  • For generalist competitions (AD 5):
    • A computer-based multiple-choice test on EU knowledge [1] ;
  • On a case-by-case basis :
    • A multiple-choice test on digital skills.
• As from 2024, EPSO will introduce a new type of test in its selection procedures: the written test, which will assess candidates' written communication skills. This test will be marked only for those candidates who obtain the best results in the multiple-choice questionnaires.

Sample tests are available here. In addition, the MAE regularly organises information or preparation sessions for competitions.

4. Verification of eligibility ;

5. Creation of the reserve list (valid indefinitely) ;

6. Recruitment according to the procedure of the institution, body or agency seeking to recruit.

You can check the progress of the competitions (number of candidates, test dates) at any time on the EPSO website, on the specific pages for the various competitions.

For more information, please visit the EPSO website.

[1] The documents relating to EU knowledge are published on the EPSO website at the beginning of the selection procedure. Questions will only be asked on the basis of these documents.

• What is a SNE? 

Seconded national experts (SNEs) are civil servants from EU Member States who are detached made available for a fixed period (between six months and four years) to a European institution, agency or body.

This exchange of expertise is designed to benefit all parties: SNEs bring high-level professional expertise to the institutions and at the same time gain valuable experience of Community and European affairs which they can pass on to their home administration on their return.

• How to apply ?

All applications should be sent to the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade, which will forward them in accordance with the procedures decided by the institution, agency or body concerned, which will decide on recruitment after a selection interview.  

Unsolicited applications will not be accepted.

Applications must be accompanied by

• the staff member's CV in French or English and in Europass format ;
• a covering letter in French or English ;
• a reference to the vacant post for which the candidate is applying for ;
• the agreement of the administration or ministry confirming that it supports the application and undertakes to continue to pay the staff member for the duration of the secondment.

Please note that EU institutions, bodies and agencies are responsible for their own recruitment procedures. Eligibility requirements may therefore vary from one vacancy notice to another.

CAST is the EU's selection tool for contract agents. Permanent means that there is no deadline for applying, so you  can submit an application at any time. The procedure requires the creation of an EPSO account and the input of personal, professional and educational information into a database.

In the event of a recruitment need, EU institutions, bodies and agencies may select several candidates from the CAST application database whose qualifications match the required professional profile. Shortlisted candidates are invited to take a series of online multiple-choice tests, organised by EPSO.

Candidates who pass the tests will be invited to an interview and/or other forms of assessment organised directly by the recruitment services of the EU institutions in accordance with the procedure in force. Candidates who are successful at all stages of the selection process may receive a job offer.

Further information can be found in the FAQs on the EPSO website for more information.

Sample tests are available here.

The list of profiles for the permanent CAST procedure can be found here. For a full list of eligibility requirements, please refer to the call for expressions of interest