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.