Archives: Glossary

A ‘Blue Book trainee’ is a participant in the European Commission traineeship programme. The programme got its name from the “blue book” in which pre-selected candidates’ names were listed in the pre-internet age.

CAST stands for ‘Contract Agents Selection Tool’. It is a procedure used by EPSO to select job applicants for positions in Function Groups I-IV. Information about Contract Agents salaries | EPSO CAST information

CEFRL stands for the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. It is also sometimes abbreviated to CEFR or CEF.

A ‘Commission Representation’ is a European Commission “embassy” in each of the EU member states. The same institution in a non-EU country is called an ‘EU delegation’ or an ‘EU office’.

A European Commissioner is a member of the European Commission, which is the executive arm of the European Union responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding EU treaties, and managing the day-to-day business of the EU. The College of Commissioners consists of one Commissioner from each EU member state, including the President and the High…

Employees of EU institutions pay a number of taxes and levies. One of these is the income tax that deducts between 8% and 45% from the basic salary. The majority of EU institutions employees pay the lowest amount of tax at 8% as their annual salaries are below ~60000 euros.

A competency-based interview is a structured interview process used in EPSO competitions to evaluate candidates’ suitability for a position within EU institutions. This interview technique focuses on a candidate’s past behavior and experiences as indicators of their future performance by assessing specific competencies required for the role.

Contract agents, also known as ‘contract staff’, are employees of EU institutions in grades FGI to FGIV. This is a separate category of employees of EU institutions that are usually hired for time-limited contracts of up to six years to address the lack of officials in AD and AST positions and save EU budget funds.

Contract renewal in EU institutions refers to the process by which a temporary or fixed-term contract for a staff member is extended, allowing the individual to continue their employment with the institution for an additional period. This applies to staff in several (but not all) categories, namely, Administrators (AD), Assistants (AST), Contract Agents (CAs), and…

The European Commission ‘Correction coefficient’ is an adjustment that increases or decreases the salary of an EU official based on the relative price level of consumer goods and services in the place of employment, compared to Brussels. The correction coefficient for Brussels is always 100%, and is adjusted at least once every year. Article on…

The Council of Europe (‘Conseil de l’Europe’ (CdE) in French) is an international organisation founded in 1949. It is most widely known as the guardian of the European Convention on Human Rights, which is enforced by an institution of the CoE – the European Court of Human Rights. The Council of Europe is NOT an…

The ‘Council of the European Union’ is one of the three main institutions of the European Union along with the European Commission and the European Parliament. It is often called the ‘Council of Ministers’ or just the ‘Council’. The Council meets in 10 different configurations of 27 national ministers responsible for the particular policy under…