“Working in the Budget and Cohesion Unit in the General Secretariat of the Council is not all about crazy Excel tables and getting caught up in figures. It is actually a very exciting policy post! People may think that budgetary affairs are boring, but the opposite is true. We work in a very political environment where the real priorities of the EU get decided: where the EU spends the money is what really matters, and we are right at the heart of that interesting and (sometimes) exhilarating decision-making process!”

"My name is Maria and I am Spanish, from Madrid. I have lived in Brussels for the last 20 years and I have to say that I have very much enjoyed it since the start. Brussels is a not so big, but it is very cosmopolitan, which suits me very well. In the streets, you overhear so many languages and see so many different types of people, which strangely makes me feel at home.
Having a background as a lawyer, I have been working in DG ECHO since 2008. DG ECHO deals with Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection. Specifically, since 2016 I have been working in the directorate dealing with emergencies, first in the European Emergency Response Center (ERCC) and now dealing with the European Humanitarian Response Capacities (EHRC).  
The ERCC helps to coordinate a coherent EU response to major natural and man-made disasters occurring inside and outside the EU: earthquakes, cyclones, floods, conflicts, etc. The Center provides a platform for coordination within the EU institutions and Member States.  It also has a 24/7 duty system that coordinates with partners like the UN, international organizations, NGOs and other crises centers in the EU and the world.
Concretely, now I work as a Team Leader of the EHRC which designs, sets up, and monitors DG ECHO's directly implemented operations outside the EU, especially after emergencies.
The EHRC is a set of operational tools designed to provide rapid but temporary support to partners to fill operational gaps in the humanitarian response where the humanitarian community struggles to provide support, thus helping to cover immediate needs of the affected population.   
The different instruments of the EHRC include the provision of common logistics services to humanitarian partners in the form of international and in-country transport operations (i.e., Air Bridges), warehousing capacities, prepositioning and delivery of emergency stockpiles, deployment of logistics and health experts, etc.
Unfortunately, there are too many crises in the world, but what I really like about my job is that, when disasters strike, I contribute to saving lives and bringing support and relief to vulnerable populations, partially fighting the feeling of helplessness that we all have when facing such human tragedies. 
If you feel this itch and like to work in an international environment, I encourage you to join us. It is also a very dynamic environment, with many dedicated colleagues driven by a shared passion to bring European solidarity to those in need.  Good and committed professionals have plenty opportunities to grow, travel, live abroad while doing a fulfilling job at the European institutions."

"I am Maurizio, I am the Head of the European Parliament's Liaison Office in Milan. I am blind and I have been working for the EU institutions since 2015, when I started my European career as press officer.

My everyday work consists in dealing with different audiences of Italian citizens – media, youth, students, stakeholders, businesses – in order to raise awareness on European Parliament functioning and activity.

I never had problems because I was disabled. I don’t feel any obstacles. If you have a positive attitude, even if people are ignorant or sceptical, if you’re keen on sharing your experience, you can break walls."

Daniela is an official since 2000. She joined the EU and started working at Luxembourg, after 2 years she moved to Brussels and her career path transformed into a new way of serving the European Organizations. She started in DG INFSO, moved to DG AGRI and finally arrived at DG HOME. In 2005, she started to study transpersonal counseling and in 2010, she moved into another direction. She decided to support colleagues in the European institutions through coaching and systemic healing. She studied in different universities until she got the PCC ICF, professional coaching certificate and discussed her university thesis on master systemic constellation in Belgium.

Daniela keeps a systemic methodology when assisting her clients: she enhances strengths and weaknesses, to empower officials, staff and managers to face fears and improve their own style. Daniela is thriving when coaching, respecting and adapting to her clients' preferences; she keeps an eye on research to improve her understanding of people’s needs, reveal insights, and inspire innovative solutions in future management and leadership research.

She is professor at POLI.design, a branch of Politecnico in Milan. Her program is about empowerment to enhance leadership and creative skills of students of Master Strategic design. Daniela Terrile | Master in Strategic Design

People inspire Daniela; she strongly believes that people have insights and internal resources to be effective and resilient. Coaching is not about the form or fixing a person; coaching is enhancing the potential, to gain the place in society, and become what people deserve and dream to be.

Since 2015, she created a concept “Coaching4all” to support colleagues and human beings in their personal and professional development. Her motto is “my SUCCESS is YOUR SUCCESS”.

“Since 2017 I have been working in DG Energy. Currently I coordinate the finance team in the Chief Economist unit. Our team is looking at financing for energy, with a focus on EU funding for energy priorities, and on developing measures that facilitate private financing for the clean energy transition and the decarbonisation of our economies.

Over the last months our work has been very much focussed on REPowerEU, exploring possible solutions and measures to mitigate the impact of the current energy crisis, and reduce our energy dependence on Russia. The work has increased in complexity, has accelerated, and it is often on the top of the political agenda.

One of the best aspects of my work is the chance to work together with amazing colleagues, people that I truly admire, for their knowledge, competence, but also for the way they are, and the way they interact with other people.”

“I am currently leading a team of economists providing scientific support for digital policy initiatives. Working for the European Commission has been so far an incredible experience, both personally and professionally. From a professional perspective, it has been a real challenging intellectual journey, facing difficult requests that require a combination of analytical and problem-solving skills. However, even if these are relevant, it is necessary to complement them with soft skills such as collaboration, teamwork, communication and resilience. Personally, I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of the most interesting people I have ever met: intelligent, responsible, caring, amusing… All that in a multicultural environment where you can learn and enjoy every day, while you contribute to the greater good. Can you imagine a better place to work?”

“My name is Joséphine, and I work in the Secretariat-General of the European Commission, focusing on combating racism and discrimination. As a young racialised woman, joining the EU institutions has been both a personal and professional journey towards inclusion and representation. I started as a Blue Book trainee back in 2023, unsure of how my identity as a racialised LGBTIQ person would fit into the institutions. What I found was a diverse and dynamic environment where different perspectives are valued, and where I could actively contribute to shaping policies that promote equality.

Today, I have the privilege of working on crucial issues to ensure that the voices of marginalised communities are heard at the highest levels. The EU’s commitment to promote a Union of Equality is not just a principle, it’s something I experience every day through the support of my colleagues and the real impact of our work. As a young professional, I feel empowered to grow, and help build a more inclusive Europe. If you’re looking for a career where you can be yourself and drive meaningful change, this is the place to be.”

“I’m a Policy Officer in the governance unit of the European Commission’s climate department (DG CLIMA), where I have worked with both EU Member States and international partners to accelerate the climate transition. One thing I particularly enjoy about working for the Commission is that you can get a lot of responsibility at an early stage of your career. For example, I have been directly involved in negotiating ambitious climate targets for the Energy Community Contracting Parties. I have also been working with other Commission services and EU Member States to better integrate climate action across some of the largest EU funds. The negative effects of climate change become ever more acute - think of the droughts, heatwaves and storms that have hit Europe this year. Many people are also experiencing hardships because of our dependence on fossil fuels. I therefore very much look forward to seeing the programmes and policies I have been working on being implemented on the ground. It doesn’t happen overnight, but I’m confident there will be more and more tangible results in our day to day lives.”

“I have been working in the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in Seville for almost eight years. Currently I coordinate the maintenance and update of EUROMOD, a model that allows estimating the impact on households of reforms of taxes and benefits in EU Member States. Although I started as a contract agent, two years ago I managed to pass an AD6 competition and, very luckily, continue working on my previous project.

Before coming to the Commission, I was an associate professor in the University of Vigo (Galicia, Spain). Although I liked my work, I always felt the need of working closer to the policy world, and the JRC represented a unique opportunity to work at the crossroads of research and policy-making.”

"I am Diogo and I work as a programme manager at European Social Fund Plus(ESF).
I was 21 years old when I had my first office job. Then, still at the private sector, I was not out at work and for a few months I made a point of it. With time, I gained more confidence in myself and since then I am proudly out to my colleagues. Why? Because it is not possible or admissible for me to live a double life. I started working for the European Commission in 2020 and my attitude was no different: I am open about myself and my family since the first day, and always felt welcomed. My work in the LGBTQI+ staff association Égalité made me realize that my experience is not true to everyone, and many colleagues still don’t feel comfortable in being their whole selves at work. Since I started I’ve seen direct policies to combat queerphobia and to make LGBTQI colleagues feel safe. There’s still work to be done, but I am happy to work for an European institution where the internal efforts match the external public policies put forward. And because I want all new comers to feel as safe as I did here, I will continue to push for more LGBTQI awareness and inclusivity.”