“Since 2017, I have been working in the Directorate General for Competition, with the last 2,5 years focused on State aid and taxation. I particularly enjoy the wide variety of topics that my current job covers. In the end, there are many forms of taxation and tax is not limited to specific sectors or companies. From energy to retail and from VAT to corporate taxation, it is all part of my job. What I enjoy most in my current role is offering a helping hand on tax-related questions to other parts of the Commission.

The Directorate General for Competition is a dynamic, well organised service and a great place to work for both new and established colleagues. I really feel that my work/private life balance is respected here.”

“I have been working in taxation files in both indirect and direct taxation for 21 years, first in the public sector in Greece, then in the Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) Council and for the last 4 years in the European Commission after succeeding in the EPSO AD taxation competition. For me, working in the Commission means that ‘every day counts’. It counts because I am contributing, with my own policy reflections, analytical work and experience, collectively with other colleagues, to shaping EU taxation policy. Every contribution is a little step further in making the Single Market work in practice for citizens and business.”

“I am Aleks (she/her), and I work as a Financial Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Budget (DG BUDG). My main responsibilities are in the areas of EU Green Bond financing and Asset Management Coordination. I’m also a member of the Commission’s Task Force on Equality.

Colleagues in my unit, including the Head of Unit, who were the first to be aware of my gender identity, were very supportive and understanding of my transition. Eventually, when the whole directorate became aware of my identity, I can confidently say that I have not had a single bad experience but rather found support and ‘kind curiosity’. I also prepared some materials on transgender issues with senior management, an initiative that was very well accepted by all. Transgender people can find a safe working environment in DG BUDG. Challenges remain, of course, especially when it comes to recognition and digital administrative systems, but positive changes are coming and I am happy to see and be part of various internal task forces and groups working on how to further improve current systems.

There’s a long path ahead but we are on the right course. I believe transgender people will be warmly welcomed in any team in the Commission.”

“The research we do with our team is rewarding because it is contributing to more sustainable food systems across the European Union: our science is contributing to better policies for a better multi-lateral global community where facts matter. The amount and detail of the data available allow us to do bottom-up analysis for the whole of the European Union!

Working at the JRC is extremely rewarding as you experience the impact our research can have in the EU citizen's life. Our Team comes from across the EU – so you always work with multiple perspectives on topics of societal relevance.”

“Working for the European Commission is a transformative experience. Since joining, I have participated in high-level policy discussions, both internally and with other EU institutions. Engaging in interinstitutional relations opens a world of opportunities within the EU framework. In my current position I’m able to positively influence EU policies by shaping and coordinating briefings and speeches for my Director-General and EU Commissioners. The work environment is highly collaborative, allowing me to interact with colleagues from diverse cultural and professional backgrounds. Joining the European Commission is an enriching experience which has broadened my horizon and enhanced my professional and intellectual growth.”

“I started my Commission career in DG ECFIN and have been working for DG Competition in the last ten years as a member of the Chief Economist Team. This group of roughly 30 economists is involved in those competition investigations that require in-depth knowledge of economic theory or complex empirical contributions. Working at the Chief Economist Team gave me the opportunity to work on mergers and acquisitions in several industries, from petrochemicals to stock exchanges, and to contribute to some of the most interesting antitrust investigations concerning Google’s and Amazon’s digital services. Besides the case-specific work we are also involved in policy projects, for example I co-authored a study on how industrial concentration changed in Europe in the last 20 years. As an economist trained in empirical industrial organisation and interested in competition policy, this is indeed a great place to work.”

“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."

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.

“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”.