Positive action programme for trainees with a disability

At a glance

The General Secretariat of the Council (GSC) guarantees 4-6 paid traineeships a year to EU nationals with a recognised disability. Candidates must have a university degree or be third year students (or equivalent) of a higher education establishment.

Traineeships take place in two periods, each lasting five months:

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

The list of domains is available via the application form.

Candidates with a disability are welcome to apply simultaneously for other types of traineeships if they fulfill the eligibility criteria.

• Paid traineeships
• Compulsory unpaid traineeships
• Traineeships for students of national administration schools

Application

Applications are open for a limited period – please see the Apply now box at the top of the page. You must apply using the online system. During registration you will be asked to upload an official document from a national authority or any accredited body confirming your disability.

The application form is available in English and French. You must have a thorough knowledge of one of these two languages (C level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) in order to apply. 

If you require special adjustments during the application process due to a disability, please contact the traineeships office, using the following email: [email protected]

• Common European Framework of Reference for Languages

Reasonable accommodation

Reasonable accommodation enables people with disabilities to perform a job on an equal basis with others. People with disabilities have the right to reasonable accommodation unless such measures would impose a disproportionate burden on the employer.

In the GSC, reasonable accommodation can include provision or modification of equipment or technical devices, adjustment of policies or practices, etc. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. To provide the appropriate accommodation, a case-by-case examination is therefore needed.

In order to request reasonable accommodation, please send a message to [email protected] once you have submitted your application. The request should describe the reasonable accommodation arrangements that you would need during the traineeship and be accompanied by documentary justification of the need for reasonable accommodation arrangements. Please indicate your full name and the candidate number received when submitting your application.

Your request for reasonable accommodation will be handled by the equal opportunities office and will not be visible to the traineeships office.

Address in your profile

Please notify the traineeships office of any change of address. 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, so please check it regularly for incoming messages from "Traineeship".

What will 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 all the documents requested. You will have to deliver proof for all the information stated 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 the supporting documents, the traineeships office will send you a traineeship agreement to sign.

Unsuccessful candidates

Non-selected candidates will be informed via email after the selection procedure has ended.

If you are interested in a future traineeship at the General Secretariat of the Council of the EU 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:

• Send an email to: [email protected]
• Call: +32 22813677

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.