EU opportunities for early-career EAs: quick overview from someone who applied broadly
I applied to several EU entry programmes to test the waters, and I wanted to share what worked, what didn’t, and what I’m still uncertain about, hoping to get some insights.
Quick note: I’m a nurse, currently finishing a Master of Public Health, and trying to contribute as best I can to reducing biological risks. My specialisation is in Governance and Leadership in European Public Health, which explains my interest in EU career paths. I don’t necessarily think the EU is the best option for everyone. I just happen to be exploring it seriously at the moment and wanted to share what I’ve learned in case it’s useful to others.
⌨️ What I applied to & how it went
Blue Book traineeship – got it (starting October at HERA.04, Emergency Office of DG HERA)
European Committee of the Regions traineeship – rejected in pre-selection
European Economic & Social Committee traineeship – same
Eurofound traineeship – no response
EMA traineeship (2 applications: Training Content and Vaccine Outreach) – no response
Center for Democracy & Technology internship – no response
Schuman traineeship (Parliament) – no response
EFSA traineeship – interview but no feedback (I indicated HERA preference, so not surprised)
If anyone needed a reminder: rejection is normal and to be expected, not a sign of your inadequacy. It only takes one “yes.”
📄 Key EA Forum posts that informed and inspired me
Includes Blue Book, Schuman, and agency-specific roles (EMA, EFSA, ECDC...).
Traineeships are just traineeships: don’t underestimate what you can aim for, especially if you already have some experience or a strong application.
🚀 Other promising entry routes
JPD (Junior Professionals Delegation): EU delegations worldwide: great if you want diplomatic field experience.
JPP (Junior Professionals Programme) – perfect next step after a Blue Book traineeship or another contract position at the EU, for those with less than three years of experience post‑bachelor.
💼 How EU hiring actually works
To understand EPSO, CAST, competitions, etc., check the free webinar ‘Overview Of EU Career Opportunities In Brussels and Beyond’ on this page.
Very briefly, here’s a shortlist of acronyms and keywords to know when exploring EU recruitment:
EPSO: European Personnel Selection Office—organises competitions for Permanent Staff positions (keep an eye out for the upcoming AD5 competition, to be announced after the summer)
CAST: Contract Agents Selection Tool—rolling open calls for profiles, more decentralised
Is it the best path to impact? I’m honestly not sure. I still have a bunch of open questions:
How much can one individual influence anything in the EU machinery?
Would advocacy work from outside (e.g. think tanks, interest groups) be more effective?
These roles are highly selective, so maybe the counterfactual impact is low?
Still, I think that if someone manages to “hack” the recruitment process by showing perfect alignment with the selection criteria, gets in, and then pushes for underexplored topics (like shrimp welfare or far-UVC disinfection), the impact could be very real. And if you don’t have better immediate opportunities for higher impact, working at the EU is probably a strong credential and a great chance to better understand how policies are shaped and what influences them.
🙏 I’d love your feedback
If you’ve worked in or around EU institutions, or explored EA-aligned routes, I’d greatly appreciate your thoughts on:
Working inside vs outside the EU
Other effective paths to influence EU policy
Ways to navigate EPSO, CAST, AD5 competition, etc.
Any promising programmes or organisations I missed
I hope this is useful to someone. If you’d like to get in touch and chat more about this or anything else, I’m up for a virtual coffee break.
Congrats on landing a Bluebook position, that’s so cool! Through the Impactful Policy Careers program I know some EA-aligned folks who’ll also start the next round of Bluebook—happy to put you in touch :)
EU opportunities for early-career EAs: quick overview from someone who applied broadly
I applied to several EU entry programmes to test the waters, and I wanted to share what worked, what didn’t, and what I’m still uncertain about, hoping to get some insights.
Quick note: I’m a nurse, currently finishing a Master of Public Health, and trying to contribute as best I can to reducing biological risks. My specialisation is in Governance and Leadership in European Public Health, which explains my interest in EU career paths. I don’t necessarily think the EU is the best option for everyone. I just happen to be exploring it seriously at the moment and wanted to share what I’ve learned in case it’s useful to others.
⌨️ What I applied to & how it went
Blue Book traineeship – got it (starting October at HERA.04, Emergency Office of DG HERA)
European Committee of the Regions traineeship – rejected in pre-selection
European Economic & Social Committee traineeship – same
Eurofound traineeship – no response
EMA traineeship (2 applications: Training Content and Vaccine Outreach) – no response
Center for Democracy & Technology internship – no response
Schuman traineeship (Parliament) – no response
EFSA traineeship – interview but no feedback (I indicated HERA preference, so not surprised)
If anyone needed a reminder: rejection is normal and to be expected, not a sign of your inadequacy. It only takes one “yes.”
📄 Key EA Forum posts that informed and inspired me
“EAs interested in EU policy: Consider applying for the European Commission’s Blue Book Traineeship”
“What I learned from a week in the EU policy bubble” – excellent perspective on the EU policymaking environment
🔍 Where to find EU traineeships
All together here:
🔗 https://eu-careers.europa.eu/en/job-opportunities/traineeships?institution=All
Includes Blue Book, Schuman, and agency-specific roles (EMA, EFSA, ECDC...).
Traineeships are just traineeships: don’t underestimate what you can aim for, especially if you already have some experience or a strong application.
🚀 Other promising entry routes
JPD (Junior Professionals Delegation): EU delegations worldwide: great if you want diplomatic field experience.
JPP (Junior Professionals Programme) – perfect next step after a Blue Book traineeship or another contract position at the EU, for those with less than three years of experience post‑bachelor.
💼 How EU hiring actually works
To understand EPSO, CAST, competitions, etc., check the free webinar ‘Overview Of EU Career Opportunities In Brussels and Beyond’ on this page.
Very briefly, here’s a shortlist of acronyms and keywords to know when exploring EU recruitment:
EPSO: European Personnel Selection Office—organises competitions for Permanent Staff positions (keep an eye out for the upcoming AD5 competition, to be announced after the summer)
CAST: Contract Agents Selection Tool—rolling open calls for profiles, more decentralised
Temporary staff: shorter, sometimes higher-paid roles
🔍 Who’s working externally on EU policy?
EA-aligned organisations active in EU policy (not in order of importance or impact):
Center for Democracy & Technology: tech and digital policy advocacy (also where I applied and got rejected)
Centre for European Policy Studies: leading think tank and forum for debate on EU affairs
Eurogroup for Animals: leading EU-level animal welfare lobby
Talos: offers a fellowship aimed at launching European policy careers focused on AI
And many more: Impactful Policy Careers, The Future Society, Pour Demain, Center for Future Generetions, etc.
For more on EUxAI, see this and this.
🤔 Why I’m pursuing this (despite doubts)
Is it the best path to impact? I’m honestly not sure. I still have a bunch of open questions:
How much can one individual influence anything in the EU machinery?
Would advocacy work from outside (e.g. think tanks, interest groups) be more effective?
These roles are highly selective, so maybe the counterfactual impact is low?
Still, I think that if someone manages to “hack” the recruitment process by showing perfect alignment with the selection criteria, gets in, and then pushes for underexplored topics (like shrimp welfare or far-UVC disinfection), the impact could be very real. And if you don’t have better immediate opportunities for higher impact, working at the EU is probably a strong credential and a great chance to better understand how policies are shaped and what influences them.
🙏 I’d love your feedback
If you’ve worked in or around EU institutions, or explored EA-aligned routes, I’d greatly appreciate your thoughts on:
Working inside vs outside the EU
Other effective paths to influence EU policy
Ways to navigate EPSO, CAST, AD5 competition, etc.
Any promising programmes or organisations I missed
I hope this is useful to someone. If you’d like to get in touch and chat more about this or anything else, I’m up for a virtual coffee break.
Congrats on landing a Bluebook position, that’s so cool! Through the Impactful Policy Careers program I know some EA-aligned folks who’ll also start the next round of Bluebook—happy to put you in touch :)
And happy my post was helpful!
Thank you Joris! And sorry for forgetting to mention Impactful Policy Careers. I’ll add it to my quick take now.
Yes please, I’d be glad to get in touch with more EAs doing the next round of Blue Book! My cal.com is above, and my LinkedIn here.
Very surprised not to see the usual suspects (TFS, Pour Demain, Center for Future Generations...)
That’s probably because it was too quick of a ‘quick take’. Thanks for flagging it! I’ve updated the post.