Back in 1992, when I was taking my accountancy bachelor’s degree in Porto, Portugal, my public accountancy professor explained to us what the then European Community would mean to Portugal (which had joined 6 years earlier) and the impact it would have in the way accountancy, reporting and public accountability were disclosed.

After some years working in the private and public sector in Portugal, I joined the European Commission in 2003, having passed a competition for accounting assistants. I was very excited to come to Brussels as I wanted to be part of the team which was the centre of competence for accounting and financial control of the European Union (EU).

Coming from a country in the western periphery of the EU which has been very dependent on EU aid, I appreciate that my work contributes to good decision-making in the EU and provides stakeholders with meaningful financial information about the use of EU resources.

To achieve this, our team analyses the operational data provided by the different services, DG’s and Institutions and processes it in order to deliver high quality accounting information, on time, efficiently and in an innovative manner. 

As I progressed in my career, I was able to participate in a myriad of projects and to take on new and exciting responsibilities and learn a lot about the diverse financial activities of the Commission and the other EU entities (the European Parliament, EU agencies, etc). 

In case you wonder, there is never a dull moment! Work is complex and challenging but my unit is both young and dynamic: we genuinely enjoy working together so as to support the goals of the EU and celebrating together our achievements, both professional and personal!

I have been working in the European Parliament for five years. In my Unit, we advise and support the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in the management of their local assistants’ and local service providers’ contracts. ‘Local’ in this context means that the operations are occurring in the countries in which the MEPs were elected. 

My role is to make sure that MEP’s requests are handled professionally and payments to their staff and service providers are made on time. An important part of my job is to verify and guarantee the legality and regularity of these transactions by ensuring that the appropriate rules are observed. 

The variety of situations and questions that I face daily, while having direct contact with MEPs and their assistants, is what I consider the most challenging but also interesting aspect of my job. Furthermore, it is rewarding to know that my work contributes to the sound and transparent management of the Parliament's finance and budget.

"Yes! I am an energy engineer and I work in the Department of Climate Action. The beauty of working on climate change is that it's complex, interconnected and inevitably touches every corner of our economy & society. It is very rewarding to see the relevance of my technical expertise in EU policy-making."

“I joined the Council’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs in 2016, and this is my second post here. In my first post I had the unique opportunity to be responsible for the negotiations on the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the main programme of NextGenerationEU, the post-pandemic recovery plan.

In my current post in the Budget and Cohesion Unit, I am in charge of the budget heading dealing with the Union’s external action, and as a result I was also fortunate enough to be responsible for the negotiations on the EUR 18bn macro-financial assistance package to Ukraine for 2023.

Before coming to the Council, I worked in DG FISMA at the Commission, and before that I worked at the European Parliament, where I had the chance to support the negotiations on the so-called six-pack and two-pack (the Stability and Growth Pact and the Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure).

In sum, while I don’t work as a hardcore economist, my job does require the thinking, the knowledge and the type of analysis that an economist’s work does. Having a handle on the figures and being able to interpret them is always a valuable skill to bring to your work. And as you can see, you can switch institutions as and when it suits you, which also enriches your growth and your work – particularly, for example, during negotiations. I’m never bored!”

"Crisis management encompasses the response to emergencies, in Europe and around the world. Organised along the pillars of civil protection and humanitarian aid, crisis management, for DG ECHO, means tight deadlines, coordination with the other EU institutions and the Member States and with international organisations, travel, and, most of all, the sense that you are doing something that brings tangible benefits to millions. I work in communication – keeping the public informed on what the Union is doing in response to crises from the COVID-19 pandemic to the activation of the civil protection mechanism for Ukraine, to the organization of humanitarian air bridges to the strengthening of the EU’s firefighting fleet. Every day brings something different."

"My name is Emmanuel, I am from France, and I speak English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German – the five languages of the Office. The EUIPO, where I started working back in 2008 as an external Project Manager, was my first European institution. A couple of years later I started working in International Cooperation, which brought me closer to IP - and I loved it. A few years later, after a period working for the European Parliament, I passed a competition for IP professionals and went onto work in Design examinations in the Operations Department of the EUIPO.  
I deeply enjoy my work within the Operations department, especially the balance between examining designs (core business) and being part of more horizontal projects such as Artificial Intelligence applied to trade marks and designs (mostly for image recognition and automatic classification). One of the activities that I love getting involved in is delivering presentations and conferences to international stakeholders. For instance, next October I'll be going to Cameroon to train African examiners on designs. In the past, I also had the chance to visit Latin American countries such as Costa Rica, Peru, or Ecuador in the context of International Cooperation. 
Alicante is a great place to live if you are an outdoor enthusiast. I enjoy activities such as sailing and hiking. Alicante has a manageable size, and it was not difficult at all to adapt when I first arrived."
 

My name is Marko, and as a lawyer-linguist at the Court of Justice of the European Union, my task is to ensure that court documents in foreign languages are translated into Estonian in such a way that the reader believes they were originally drafted in Estonian.

In my daily work, I not only need to be proficient in foreign languages, but, in addition to a solid knowledge of EU law, I must also be familiar with the legal systems of other EU Member States, sometimes creating new legal concepts in Estonian when necessary. As a quality advisor at the Estonian Translation Department, I believe that, alongside ensuring access to the widest possible body of case law in Estonian, it is crucial that our translations are as accurate as possible. This allows us to convey the true meaning of legal texts to Estonian readers.

Having worked at the Court of Justice of the European Union for over 20 years, I can confirm that the legal issues I translate are both highly engaging and topical, offering an opportunity to contribute personally to the development of the Estonian legal language. The rapid development of technology and artificial intelligence also presents daily challenges in my work – I have the extraordinary privilege of being at the heart of it all in Europe.

*****

Euroopa Liidu Kohtu jurist-lingvistina on minu ülesanne tagada, et võõrkeelsed kohtudokumendid oleksid tõlgitud eesti keelde nii, et lugejale jääks mulje, et need ongi algselt koostatud eesti keeles.

Minu igapäevane töö eeldab laialdast võõrkeelte oskust, liidu õiguse tundmist ning võrdleva õiguse analüüsi, mis hõlmab kõikide liikmesriikide õigussüsteemide mõistmist, selleks et kasutada tõlkimisel võimalikult täpset eesti õigusterminit või vajaduse korral luua uus termin. Eesti tõlkeosakonna kvaliteedinõunikuna seisan hea selle eest, et eesti keeles kättesaadava kohtupraktika tõlked oleksid võimalikult kvaliteetsed ja usaldusväärsed. Nii saab Eesti lugejale eesti keeles edasi anda õigustekstide tegeliku mõtte.

Olles Euroopa Liidu Kohtus töötanud üle 20 aasta, kinnitan, et tõlgitavad õigusprobleemid on äärmiselt põnevad ja aktuaalsed ning pakuvad võimaluse isiklikult panustada eesti õiguskeele arengusse. Tehnoloogia ja tehisintellekti kiire areng seab iga päev väljakutseid ka minu töös – mul on erakordne privileeg olla otse Euroopa südames.

"My name is Michaela and I am the European Commission Anti-racism Coordinator. Working for the European Commission has deepened my commitment to public service. Every day, I have the opportunity to contribute to policies that strive to reflect European values of human rights, equality and freedom with the aim of uplifting all Europeans, whether addressing inequalities in education, advocating for inclusive digital transformation, or amplifying marginalised voices in policymaking. True public service demands more than good intentions, it requires confronting systemic gaps. As a Black European woman, I’ve felt both the honour and the weight of representing communities often underrepresented in EU spaces. I’ve found strength in turning these gaps into opportunities for change. Initiatives like the EU Anti-Racism Action Plan remind me that progress is possible when institutions prioritise equity as fiercely as they preach it. 
Europe’s strength lies in its diversity, and diverse voices are vital to shaping a Union where everyone belongs."

“European transport policy touches upon everyone’s daily lives. That is what I realised soon after I started working in the Transport Committee of the European Parliament 15 years ago. I am now in DG MOVE (Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport) in the inter-institutional relations team.

In this coordination unit, you have a very good overview of the DG and the pending ad upcoming MOVE proposals. It’s a perfect position to understand the working methods and dynamics of other institutions as well. It is extremely interesting to closely follow the proposals though the different stages of the co-legislation process and to see how the text evolves in the Council working parties/Coreper meetings and parliamentary Committees/plenaries, and later during the trilogue negotiations”.

"I am a lawyer by training and have been working for the European Commission since 2005. I started my career in the legal team of DG Agriculture, then moved around inside the same DG, dealing with topics as diverse as international trade negotiations and organic farming. But after 10 very intense and interesting years, I moved to DG ECHO. I worked as an Assistant to the Director-General and later joined the Cabinet of the European Commissioner for Crisis Management. Especially these two assignments gave me a good overview of the diversity of work carried out by DG ECHO: From coordinating international emergency response in case of natural disasters in the EU to supporting humanitarian funding across the globe.

More recently, I became the Manager of a Unit of 27 colleagues that deal with the development of the Union Civil Protection Knowledge Network, a structure that will help civil protection and disaster management stakeholders to connect better and share knowledge. It also entails assisting in civil protection field exercises, organising expert trainings and many more things.

Working in DG ECHO is very special. Because it is essentially about helping people in need and preparing better for disaster. Ultimately, to save lives. I consider this a great privilege: to be part of what is probably one of the most noble policy areas of the Union. It is not about pushing paper, but delivering concrete help when it is most needed. And the COVID-19 pandemic as well as Russia’s aggression against Ukraine have shown how important it is to stand together in solidarity.

In fact, I would probably not have thought during my studies of international law at Tübingen and Bonn, London and Berne Universities that I would end up here. But I have not regretted that choice ever since.

And by the way, Brussels is also a very nice place to live and to raise a family. I cannot think of a more international and inspiring workplace. For the three children, growing up in an international environment is a huge opportunity. They grew up bilingual from the beginning and the European Schools make sure that they become enthusiastic young Europeans.

The only thing I should also point out: The weather in Belgium is not always what you would like it to be … but Belgian food and drink compensate."