Deadline:
March 15, 2025
Program Starts: October 01, 2025
Program Ends: February 28, 2025
Location(s)
Belgium Luxembourg
Brussels, Luxembourg
Overview
A paid traineeship of 5 months with the European Commission, 1 October 2025 - 28 February 2026.
The Blue Book Traineeship programme is a five-month paid internship offered by the European Commission, providing young graduates from around the world with hands-on experience in EU policymaking and administration.
Trainees work in a multicultural environment, develop professional skills, and gain insights into the operations of EU institutions.
Details
What does a trainees daily work consist of?
- Attending and organising meetings, working groups, and public hearings
- Researching, drafting and editing documentation – including reports and consultations
- Answering citizens’ inquiries
- Supporting the management of projects
- Translating, revising translations or researching terminology
What do we expect from you?
- An open-minded approach to European issues
- An interest in learning about the Commission’s working methods
- Willingness to work in a multicultural environment
- To contribute to the Commission’s daily work from a fresh perspective
- A proactive attitud
Please do not wait until the last moment to submit your application!
Technical problems cannot be forseen and could prevent your application from reaching us in time. The application platform closes automatically at the given time and cannot be reopened.
Once the application period has closed
Once the application period has closed, candidates are evaluated anonymously by two independent evaluators and get points on the basis of the following criteria, in the following order of relevance:
- Level of education (minimum – 'bachelor' or equivalent);
- Level of knowledge of one of the three European Commission working/procedural languages (EN, FR, DE);
- Level of knowledge of any other of the official/working languages of the EU as well as in any other European or non-EU languages, if any;
All candidates must declare 1 mother tongue; no points are awarded for mother tongue and therefore no proof is required. You can declare up to 3 mother tongues. If you have more than 1 mother tongue and wish to receive points for them, you can declare these in "Other languages" as long as you can provide written documented proof.
- Relevant work experience, if any; Please note that traineeships carried out in the framework of academic studies will not be taken into account.
- International profile (education/work/volunteering abroad, mobility, aptitude to work in an international atmosphere), if any;
- Motivation and quality of reasoning;
- Rare domains of studies
- Papers and publications, if any.
If you pass the first phase successfully, you will be requested to upload all your supporting documents in a single PDF file. These supporting documents will then be verified.
About European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the executive branch of the European Union, responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the EU treaties and managing the day-to-day business of the EU. Commissioners swear an oath at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg City, pledging to respect the treaties and to be completely independent in carrying out their duties during their mandate. Unlike in the Council of the European Union, where members are directly and indirectly elected, and the European Parliament, where members are directly elected, the Commissioners are proposed by the Council of the European Union, on the basis of suggestions made by the national governments, and then appointed by the European Council after the approval of the European Parliament.
This EU institution operates as a cabinet government, with 28 members of the Commission (informally known as "commissioners"). There is one member per member state, but members are bound by their oath of office to represent the general interest of the EU as a whole rather than their home state. One of the 28 is the Commission President (currently Jean-Claude Juncker) proposed by the European Council and elected by the European Parliament. The Council of the European Union then nominates the other 27 members of the Commission in agreement with the nominated President, and the 28 members as a single body are then subject to a vote of approval by the European Parliament. The current Commission is the Juncker Commission, which took office in late 2014, following the European Parliament elections in May of the same year.
The term Commission is variously used, either in the narrow sense of the 28-member College of Commissioners (or College) or to also include the administrative body of about 32,000 European civil servants who are split into departments called directorates-general and services. The procedural languages of the Commission are English, French and German. The Members of the Commission and their "cabinets" (immediate teams) are based in the Berlaymont building in Brussels.
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
ELIGIBILITY
The Blue Book Traineeship programme is open to university graduates who:
- 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
- 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)
- 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 (C level or mother tongue)
- your second source language can be any of the official EU languages with at least B2-level proficiency
Extra points
No points are awarded for the mother tongue and, therefore, no evidence of this is required.
If you have more than one mother tongue and wish to receive points for them, you can declare these in the ‘Other languages’ section of the application provided you can supply appropriate written evidence of this.
Additional points are given for:
- work experience
- international profile demonstrated through education, work or volunteering experience abroad, and aptitude to work in an international environment
- rare fields of study
If you are not selected you will have to submit your application again. The same process will apply each time but without guarantee that you will make it to the final stage.
Dates
Deadline: March 15, 2025
Program starts:
October 01, 2025
Program ends:
February 28, 2025
Program Starts: October 01, 2025
Program Ends: February 28, 2025
Cost/funding for participants
The living allowance for the traineeship sessions is about €1.418,20 per month.
Visa costs and related medical fees may be reimbursed together with the travel expenditures.
Un-save Opportunity
Internships, scholarships, student conferences and competitions.
