What EU Officials Do
Officials working in the EU’s Institutions and Agencies pursue rewarding international careers in a uniquely multicultural and multilingual environment. EU officials serve 446 million EU citizens across 27 Member States, and develop and implement policies that have a real impact on peoples’ lives. The work of the EU is very wide ranging and, reflecting that, the Institutions and Agencies require staff with a variety of backgrounds and skill sets.
Policy experts, linguists and lawyers are needed, as are economists, ICT specialists, scientists, medical and agricultural experts and engineers, in addition to administrative and support staff with more general backgrounds. The range of workplaces is also extremely wide. While a little over half of the EU’s total staff are employed at the European Commission, other Institutions - such as the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the Court of Justice of the European Union - also recruit staff regularly. So do the EU Agencies, based across the 27 Member States, including Eurofound which is based in Loughlinstown, Co Dublin.
Following the end of the derogation on the official status of the Irish language in the European Union. Linguists and Lawyer-Linguists who speak Irish are much sought after and competitions to recruit for these positions are now held regularly.
Whatever your background, if you have the right attitude and the right aptitudes, it’s likely that there is a career opportunity in the EU for you.
Interpreters in the EU institutions
EU Career Ambassadors
EU Career Ambassadors are students that have been nominated by their University / Third Level Institute to provide information to fellow students and graduates on Job and Traineeship opportunities in the EU.
This EU wide programme is run by the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO), the EU’s recruitment service. In Ireland, it is managed in close collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and with the assistance of the University’s / Third Level Institute’s Career Services.
All of the EU Career Ambassadors have dedicated email address and most have Facebook pages, copied below, where you can get further information about their work.
Contact Your Career Ambassador
National University of Ireland Maynooth
National University of Ireland Galway
Recent articles on EU careers
- ‘Jobs in the EU offer opportunity for those interested in working in a multicultural and multilingual environment: The Government has committed to provide tailored support and training to Irish candidates applying for jobs in EU institutions’
The Irish Times, Thu May 25 2023 https://www.irishtimes.com/special-reports/2023/05/25/jobs-in-the-eu-offer- opportunity-for-those-interested-in-working-in-a-multicultural-and-multilingual-environment/
- ‘The lure of Brussels: Brexit is a big opportunity for Irish people interested in EU jobs’
The Irish Times, Thu May 25 2023 https://www.irishtimes.com/special-reports/2023/05/25/the-lure-of-brussels/
- EU Careers: "The amount of things you can accomplish is amazing"
Hot Press, 29 JAN 23 https://www.hotpress.com/opinion/eu-careers-the-amount-of-things-you-can-accomplish-is- amazing-22949123
- ‘State lobbies for Irish-only recruitment drives in EU: Number of EU officials with Irish nationality expected to collapse by about a third by 2025’
Naomi O'Leary, The Irish Times, Wed Nov 2 2022 https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2022/11/02/state-lobbies-for- irish-only-recruitment-drives-in-eu/
- My daughter wants to work in the EU. What options are there? Ask Brian: There are large number of opportunities for careers in Brussels, Luxembourg and Strasbourg’
Brian Mooney, The Irish Times, Tue Oct 18 2022 https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2022/10/18/my-daughter-want-to-work-in-the-eu-what-options-are-there/