Traineeships and programmes for young people

The European Commission offers around 1,000 paid 5-month traineeships twice a year. The traineeships, which start on 1 March or 1 October, give ‘'Blue Book’' trainees practical experience of in developing EU policies in a multicultural environment.

The Blue Book traineeship is open to university graduates from all over the world and gives them an insight into working in the European institutions. The nature of the tasks depends on the department concerned and may cover a variety ofvarious areas such as competition policy, human resources, the environment, communication, etc.

For more information, visit the European Commission website.

The European Parliament offers two types of traineeships: traineeships in the General Secretariat (‘'Schuman’' traineeships) and traineeships with Members of the European Parliament.

• The Schuman traineeship
  The European Parliament selects around 800 Schuman trainees each year, spread over two sessions (starting dates in March and October, respectively). Named after Robert Schuman, one of the great architects of the European integration project, the 5-month traineeship is paid and can. It can be carried out in one of the European Parliament' three workplaces,s three places of work, located in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg. It is also possible to carry out your Schuman internship in one of the European Parliament Liaison Offices (EPLO) in the EU Member States, which are responsible for the local implementation of institutional communication activities.

• Internship with a Member of the European Parliament
  Members of the European Parliament may offer paid traineeships in their offices located on the premises of the European Parliament in Brussels or Strasbourg, on the basis ofbased on an agreement concluded with the European Parliament. MEPs are free to choose their trainees, although they must meet certain specific criteria. Applications must be sent directly to the MEPs. 

The duration of the traineeshiptraineeship duration varies between six weeks and five consecutive months and is decided by the MEP proposing the traineeship. Traineeships can start at any time during the year.

For more information on traineeships at the European Parliament, click here.

The General Secretariat of the Council (GSC) offers around 100 paid traineeships and around 20 compulsory unpaid traineeships every year.

By working in areas such as justice, foreign or economic affairs, law, culture and education, communicationcommunication, or translation, you will discover how the Council of the EU works and how it negotiates EU laws, policies and the budget.

The application periods are open twice a year (in February for traineeships starting in September;  and in September for traineeships starting in February of the following year).

Visit the Council's dedicated website for more information.

The Court of Justice of the EU, located in Luxembourg, offers young graduates or national magistrates the opportunity to follow a traineeship programme. The number of traineeships offered is limited, around 200 per year. They can take place either in the chambers of the Members (judges and advocates-general), for a period of 3 to 5 months, or in the departments of the institution, for a period of 5 months.

More information is available on the CJEU's dedicated website.

The European Court of Auditors, based in Luxembourg, organises three traineeship sessions a year, during the following periods:

• from 1 March to 31 July of the same year ;
• from 1 May to 30 September of the same year;
• from 1 October of the current year to 28 (or 29) February of the following year.

During these three sessions, each work placement may last between three and five monthsEach work placement may last between three and five months during these three sessions.

Internships can be carried out in any of the Court's areas of activity, namely audit, translation, communication, general administration, IT and library management.

For further information, click here.

Lasting between three and five months (or six, if required by the university), internships at the European Investment Bank, based in Luxembourg, offer you the chance to gain professional experience while learning about the workings of the EIB.

There are two internship sessions per year; they start on 1 February and 1 September and are usually announced about four months before each starting date.

More information is available here.

The European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission have set up a high-level internship programme, Young Professionals in Delegation (YPD), which gives highly qualified young professionals from EU Member States the opportunity to work in EU delegations around the worldworldwide. Every 2 years, the EEAS and the Commission launch a call for expressions of interest.

The programme enables participants to benefit from experience within an EU delegation and thus gain a deeper understanding of their role in the implementation of Community policies, in the field of external relations and in particularimplementing Community policies in the field of external relations, particularly the Common Foreign and Security Policy.

The distribution of trainees and the definition of their training assignments within the various sections of the delegations are decided by the EEAS and the European CommissionEEAS and the European Commission decide on the distribution of trainees and the definition of their training assignments within the various sections of the delegations. The place of assignment may be in a Luxembourg cooperation partner country or in another country proposed by the employer.

For more details, consult the EEAS website.

Find out more here.

The Erasmus for Public Administration programme was launched in 2008 at the initiative of the European Parliament. It is organised and managed by the European School of Administration (EuSA) with the aim of helping young national civil servants responsible for European affairs and, through their administrations, to learn more about the history of the EU, decision-making processes and the workings of the institutions. It is also an opportunity to make contacts with civil servants from EU member states.

The 10-day programme includes lectures, training seminars and visits to the European institutions in Brussels, as well as 2.5 days of job shadowing in an institution of the participant's choice.

For more information, please consult the information brochure.