Traineeship in Delegations of the European Union

Traineeship in Delegations of the European Union

The European Union (EU) has a long tradition of offering traineeship opportunities in EU Delegations around the world.

Traineeships are essentially established for the benefit of students and young graduates. It is an educational project that does not foresee any contractual or employment relationship with the Delegation.

Objectives of traineeships

Traineeships in EU Delegations should have the following main objectives:

• To provide trainees with a unique experience about the daily work of an EU Delegation while learning about the representation of the EU interests and values outside of the EU;
• To offer trainees the possibility of discovering directly the multicultural, multilingual and multi-ethnic working environment of a Delegation;
• To offer trainees the possibility of applying the knowledge acquired during their studies or their early professional life;
• To create a group of young people with direct experience in the work of the EU outside of its borders and who could become future collaborators of the EEAS or other EU Institutions.

Based on the Decision ADMIN(2017)28 of 22.12.2017 on the Rules related to Traineeships in the Delegations of the European Union and the Decision ADMIN(2025) 37 of 24.10.2025, traineeships are offered under four different pillars:

1. Funded traineeship for young graduates with less than one year of professional experience;
2. Unfunded compulsory traineeship for students already residing and studying in the host country;
3. Traineeship for students of national administration schools of Member States;
4. Traineeship for trainee civil servants of an administration in a Member State as part of their compulsory professional training.

Who can apply?

Nationality

Depending on a specific pillar, traineeships in EU Delegations are open to:

• citizens from Member States of the EU
• citizens from candidate countries which signed an accession agreement with the EU
• citizens from the host country

Diploma

• For funded traineeships, applicants must have graduated from a university or equivalent higher-education establishment with at least a Bachelor's level
• For unfunded compulsory traineeships, applicants shall be 3rd, 4th or 5th year students of a University or another higher-education establishment.

Languages

In order for the trainee to fully benefit from the traineeship and to be able to follow meetings and perform adequately, candidates must have the capacity to speak in the working language of the EU Delegation. Knowledge of the official language of the host country would be an asset.

Previous experience in the EU Institutions

Please note that applications will not be accepted from candidates who have already benefited from any kind of training (paid or unpaid) or employment for more than 6 weeks within an EU institution, body, agency or office.

Additional requirements

When publishing a call for expression of interest, Delegations may add specific requirements relevant to the offered position.

The selection process is managed at Delegation's level.