Unit for Europe: Eastern Partnership and Russia - Post B

The Directorate-General for External Policies (DG EXPO) is made up of four directorates: Committees, Regions (covering interparliamentary delegations), Resources and Democracy Support.  

Staff of DG EXPO form a European team of advisers supporting the European Parliament's President and political bodies in their work on the EU's external policies. Colleagues in DG EXPO provide advice on matters of substance and procedure, liaise with other EU institutions and manage resources. The focus is on legislation, parliamentary oversight of the European Commission and EEAS, and support for parliamentary democracy. Most of the work is done in Brussels. 

The Eastern Partnership and Russia unit in the Directorate for Regions organises the work of EP delegations for relations with the six Eastern Partnership countries and with Russia, at bilateral level, as well as the work of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, at multilateral level. Our Administrators act also as the European Parliament's desk officers for each country concerned, i.e. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Russia and Ukraine. In this capacity, they provide expertise to other units in the EP, liaise with their counterparts in the other relevant EU institutions, and interact with a number of external stakeholders (e.g. journalists, think tanks, civil society organisations, academia, etc.).

Our unit is looking for a trainee who could contribute to the unit's tasks in the following areas:

• Preparation and follow-up of the meetings of the interparliamentary delegations covered by the unit (Delegation for relations with Belarus, Delegation for relations with Moldova, Delegation for relations with Russia, Delegation for relations with Ukraine, Delegation for relations with the South Caucasus and Delegation to the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly);
• Preparation for the plenary session of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly;
• Preparation and follow-up of the meetings of the different bodies of the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly (Bureau, Committees and Working Groups);
• Update of the different communication tools of the unit, including the intranet and internet webpages;
• Research and forward-looking analysis on the Eastern Partnership countries and Russia, and on their relations with the EU, especially at interparliamentary level;
• Drafting notes and briefings for Members and Parliament services;
• Participation in internal and external meetings and conferences, seminars and events of interest for the unit, and drafting of feedback notes on such events.

The successful candidate will:

• Be preferably a graduate in the field of international relations, political science or related fields with research experience and strong drafting skills;
• Have a good knowledge of the EU institutional system and of the political, economic and security issues related to Russia and to the Eastern Partnership region, as well as the Eastern Neighbourhood Policy and its instruments;
• Have good communication skills and be a good team worker;
• Have a strong command of English and possibly other EU language.