European Council
Council of the European Union
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Paid traineeships

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The application period is open from:

  • 12 pm CET, 31 August 2020, to
  • 12 pm CET, 28 September 2020

For:

  • paid traineeships
  • unpaid compulsory traineeships
  • the positive action programme for trainees with a disability (paid)

COVID-19 disclaimer: the organisation of traineeships is currently affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. See below for more information.

At a glance

The General Secretariat of the Council (GSC) offers around 100 paid traineeships a year to EU nationals who, by the deadline for submitting applications, have completed at least the first part of their university studies and have a degree certificate or equivalent.

Traineeships are split into 2 different periods, each lasting 5 months:

  • 1 February to 30 June (first period)
  • 1 September to 31 January (second period)

There are other types of traineeships at the Council, you can choose a traineeship which is of interest to you:

Application

Applications are open for a limited period, please see the Apply now box on the top of the page. You must apply using the online system. You do not need to send supporting documents when you make your online application. If you are offered a traineeship, you will need to supply them at that stage.

The Council receives a large number of applications. To avoid overloading the system, please don't wait until the last day before submitting your application.

The application form is available in English and French. You must have a thorough knowledge of one of these two languages in order to apply. 

Address in your profile

Please ensure you update your profile if your address changes. This address will be used both in the traineeship offer and for the administrative processing of your file, and will be considered as your place of recruitment. 

Emails from the traineeships office or "Traineeship" often end up in the spam folder,  please check it regularly for incoming messages from "Traineeship".

What do you need if you are successful?

  • a legible copy of your passport or identity card
  • a copy of your diplomas or official certificates
  • where necessary, proof of your professional experience
  • proof or a substantiated declaration of your knowledge of the languages stated on the application form

Selection procedure

First period selected candidates will be contacted in December at the latest, second period selected candidates will be contacted in June, at the latest. 

Successful candidates

If you are successful, you will receive an offer by email stating the period of your traineeship and the department where you will work. You will be asked to supply certain documents by email to support the information in the application form.

You will not be admitted unless you supply the complete file. You will have to deliver proof for all information in your application form (education, professional experience, language knowledge). Therefore you should only include information in the application form for which you have supporting documents.

After verification of supporting documents, the traineeships office will send you a traineeship agreement for signature.

Unsuccessful candidates

The GSC receives many applications every year for the paid traineeships. Unfortunately, there are only 100 places available.

Unsuccessful candidates will be informed by email by the end of December (for traineeships starting in February) and by the end of June (for traineeships starting in September).

If you are interested in a future traineeship at the GSC and still satisfy the conditions for admission you can reapply for the next traineeship period.

Contact

For more information you can contact the traineeships office:

Important information for candidates applying for a traineeship on the implications of COVID-19 for their application and pursuit of the traineeship

The organisation of traineeships is currently affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the uncertainty as to how the situation will evolve, we are not able to guarantee that traineeships will take place as planned. The working arrangements put in place by the GSC also depend on the measures taken by the Belgian federal government.

The Traineeships Office is keen to ensure that the traineeship experience is beneficial both for trainees and for the GSC. As the GSC is not able to guarantee in advance that travelling and working conditions will be such as to make a real traineeship experience possible, changes may be made to the selection procedure and traineeships periods. Candidates will be informed of any such changes in due time.