European Committee of the Regions: opportunities for traineeships

• to give trainees a general overview of the objectives of European integration and of the CoR;
• to provide trainees with practical knowledge relating to the work of the CoR;
• to enable trainees to make contacts through their everyday work in order to acquire further experience;
• to provide a multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-ethnic working environment, contributing to the development of mutual understanding, trust and tolerance;
• to allow trainees to develop knowledge acquired during their academic and/or professional careers, specifically related to their areas of expertise.

The CoR offers three types of traineeship, of which only the first offers financial remuneration for trainees by the European Union:

• standard traineeships;
• traineeships reserved for government officials; 
• short-term study visits.

Standard traineeships

Any person holding the nationality of one of the EU Member States may apply for a traineeship if they: 

• have completed at least the first cycle of a higher education course and obtained a full undergraduate academic degree by the closing date for applications; 
• have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union and a satisfactory command of another EU language, one of which must be English or French.

Traineeship periods last for a period of five months. There are two traineeship periods per year:

• from 16 February to 15 July;
• from 16 September to 15 February of the following year.

Traineeships reserved for government officials

This programme is intended primarily for government officials from the Member States of the European Union. Government trainees may come from national, regional or local authorities.Government officials applying for a traineeship must comply with the following criteria:

• have a university degree or at least three years’ professional experience in duties requiring university-level education;
• have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union and satisfactory knowledge of another of these languages, as necessary to be able to carry out the duties of the traineeship. In practice, adequate knowledge of at least French or English is necessary.

A government traineeship period may be granted for a period of one to four months. The director in charge of Human Resources may authorise an extension of this period to a maximum of six months.

Short-term study visits

Any person holding the nationality of an EU Member State may be eligible for a shortterm study visit provided that they: 

• have as a minimum prerequisite a full undergraduate academic degree. In duly justified exceptional circumstances, and upon request of the requesting service, the Secretary General may make an exception for candidates who do not yet hold a full academic degree. In such cases, the candidate must be able to demonstrate, at the start of the study visit, that they have successfully completed at least half of the training cycle of a full academic degree deemed relevant to the CoR's activities;
• have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union and a satisfactory knowledge of another, to a standard sufficient to be able to carry out the duties of the traineeship. In practice, adequate knowledge of at least French or English is necessary.

The short-term study visit may be granted for a period of one to four months. The director in charge of Human Resources may authorise an extension of the period to a maximum of six months.

Standard traineeships

• Paid by grant (approx. 1200 euros/month)

Trainees shall be awarded a monthly grant, which remains the same for the full 5-month traineeship period. The amount of the grant is determined at the beginning of each traineeship period and is equivalent to 25% of the basic salary of AD*5 officials effective at the start of the traineeship, regardless of the potential indexation of officials' salaries.

In duly justified circumstances, the director in charge of Human Resources may decide on a different calculation method for the trainee grant, to be communicated to applicant trainees in good time prior to the start of the traineeship. A supplementary grant amounting to up to half of the monthly grant may be granted to a trainee with a disability recognised by the institution's medical officer, on a case-bycase basis. Where appropriate, other reasonable accommodating measures may be provided.

If a trainee receiving a grant has another source of income from outside the CoR during the in-service traineeship period, the trainee shall have no claim to any financial contribution from the CoR, unless the external remuneration amounts to less than the inservice traineeship grant. In that case, the trainee shall receive the difference amounting to the value of the grant.

Standard traineeships

Deadlines:

• Spring Session:16th of February to 15th of July - Application period: 1st of April to 30th of September (midnight, Brussels time) of the previous year 
• Autumn Session: 16th of September to 15th´of February - Application period: 1st of October to 31st of March (midnight, Brussels time) of the same year

At the end of the traineeship period, each trainee shall receive a certificate specifying the dates of their traineeship and the department they worked in.