European Commission Blue Book Traineeship for Europeans and Non Europeans 2023

A traineeship at the European Commission is much more than just a professional experience. Each batch of trainees organises a huge range of non-formal learning, social activities, from football to wine-tasting and much in between – in true bureaucratic fashion, each with its own organising committee. There are usually 40-50 of such activities to choose from.

• Table of Content
• About European Commission
• Blue Book Traineeship
• Aim and Benefits of Blue Book Traineeship
• Requirements for Blue Book Traineeship Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for Blue Book Traineeship
• Documents Required for Application
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About European Commission

We are the European Commission’s department for International Partnerships under the leadership of Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen. Our role is to: work together with partner countries across the world to achieve sustainable development design the EU’s international partnership and development policy We are responsible for formulating the EU’s international partnership and development policy, with the ultimate goal to reduce poverty, ensure sustainable development, and promote democracy, human rights, and the rule of law across the world. EU Internationa... continue reading

Blue Book Traineeship

Aim and Benefits of Blue Book Traineeship

• The living allowance for the traineeships sessions will be €1 252,68 per month.
• Visa costs and related medical fees may be reimbursed together with the travel expenditures.

Requirements for Blue Book Traineeship Qualification

Subject to eligibility criteria, the traineeship is open to all EU citizens, regardless of age. A limited number of places are also allocated to non-EU nationals.

The traineeship programme is open to university graduates who:

1. have completed a standard 3-year higher education degree (minimum EQF 6 level), corresponding to a complete Bachelor’s cycle, or equivalent. Only if you have a certificate or official confirmation from your university that you have such a degree will you be eligible to apply. You will have to provide the following documents:
   • diplomas or certificates with final grades clearly indicated
   • and proof of minimum EQF 6 level. Find out more about EQF levels
2. have no prior work experience of any kind, in excess of 6 weeks in any EU institution, body or agency, delegation, with Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), or Advocates General at the Court of Justice of the European Union (EUCJ)
3. have a very good knowledge of languages:

• For the administrative traineeship – you must have a very good knowledge of two EU official languages, one of which must be a working language: English, French or German at C1 or C2 level as per the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages and a second one at B2 level at least as per the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. For non-EU nationals, only one procedural language is required at C1 or C2 level.
• For the translation traineeship in the Directorate-General for Translation (DGT) – you must be able to translate into your main/target language (normally your mother tongue), from two other official EU languages (‘source languages’*).:
  • your main/target language must be one of the official EU languages
  • your first source language for translation must be a working language of the EU: English, French or German
  • your second source language can be any of the official EU languages with at least B2-level proficiency

Interview date, Process and Venue for Blue Book Traineeship

Candidates are anonymously evaluated in the assessment phase by two different evaluators, on the basis of following criteria:

• Level of education (a full university degree of at least three years of studies is mandatory);
• Language level in one of the three European Commission working/procedural languages (English, French, German) other than your mother tongue/s (mandatory);
• Language level in the remaining European official languages and/or non EU-languages, if applicable;
• Relevance of work experience, if applicable;
• International profile – experience of living/working abroad (mobility);
• Motivation and quality of reasoning;
• IT Skills, organisational skills, publications and rare domains of study.

If they successfully pass the first phase of the pre-selection, candidates are “pre-identified” and admitted to the second phase of the pre-selection, i.e. verification of supporting documents/eligibility check.

Documents Required for Application

For the level of education, candidates can send:

• The certificate/s with the final grade/s clearly mentioned;
• The Europass Diploma Supplement, if available;
• University transcripts.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

The application procedure consists of three steps:

1. Create a EU Login account or login with an existing one
2. Complete and submit the application form along with your supporting documents
3. If successful, you will be invited to check the openings published on VBB portal and apply for a chosen traineeship post.

Up to three relevant work experiences can be mentioned in the application. Only work experience that is related to the profile that is selected and lasted, uninterruptedly, more than 6 weeks should be declared. Traineeships made during university courses are already assessed as part of the education and shall not be mentioned as work experiences.

For more details, visit European Commission website