Europe Unit: Enlargement, Western Europe and Northern Cooperation - Post A: primary focus on the UK

The Directorate-General for External Policies 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 unit ‘Europe: Enlargement, Western Europe and Northern Cooperation’ (NEWE) is responsible for EU relations with the United Kingdom, Switzerland and the EP's involvement in multilateral parliamentary forums of the North (Arctic, Nordic, Baltic, Barents). The unit also serves as the secretariat of European Parliament delegations which maintain relations with the parliaments of seven ‘enlargement’ countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Türkiye) and of the EEA/EFTA States (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein).

The unit's five desk officers liaise with their counterparts in the partner parliaments to ensure the smooth organisation of all delegation meetings that fall within the remit of the unit.

(Note: Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine, which also have candidate country status, are not covered by NEWE).

You will be involved in following and reviewing developments in the EU’s and the EP’s bilateral relations with the countries and/or regions covered by the unit, with a primary focus on EU relations with the United Kingdom and areas of mutual interest. Your tasks will also include research for and partial drafting of tailor-made briefings, reports, minutes and notes for different clients within the European Parliament (mainly Delegations that fall within the remit of the unit, but also DG EXPO Committees and the Cabinet of the President). Physical attendance of and reporting on internal EP meetings or other meetings outside the EP that are relevant to the activities of the unit will also be part of your duties. The traineeship further involves work related to the organisational and logistical modalities for the smooth running of meetings of delegations.

As an applicant for the Post A traineeship in the NEWE unit, you have fundamental credentials (education, previous professional experience, linguistic skills, research...) that are solid and relevant to the specific tasks to be performed. Previous demonstrable working experience on EU-UK relations and knowledge of topics and frameworks relating to said relations will be considered assets, but are not preconditions. You should be able to effectively combine a keen interest in EU-UK relations with an objective, fact-based approach to your tasks.

Excellent drafting and communication skills in English are of key importance. Flexibility is required to manage urgent requests and at times challenging deadlines. A highly developed sense of responsibility, discretion and diplomacy is essential given the confidential nature of some of the tasks. A creative mindset and proactive attitude as well as the overall ability to think out of the box will be particularly appreciated. A sound knowledge of other EU working languages and experience with the organisation of meetings are welcomed.

An important element of your application is your personal motivation letter, which provides you with a unique opportunity to convince us why you are the most suitable candidate for this traineeship.