Call for expression of interest: The EU Junior Professionals in Delegation (JPD) Programme 2026/28 Round

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Closing Date: 30 April 2025

Call for expression of interest: The EU Junior Professionals in Delegation (JPD) Programme 2026/28 Round

Overview

The European External Action Service (EEAS) and the European Commission (EC) have established a high-level traineeship programme which gives an opportunity to highly qualified junior professionals from the EU Member States to work in the EU Delegations worldwide.

Objectives of the Junior Professionals in Delegation (JPD) Programme

The aim of the programme is to enable junior European professionals to gain a first-hand experience in the work of EU Delegations and an in-depth understanding of their role in the implementation of EU external policies.

Every two years, the EEAS and the EC open a call for expression of interest for the Junior Professionals in Delegation (JPD) Programme. For the round 2023 – 2025, there were 67 JPD positions available in different EU Delegations.

The JPD programme is based on the:

Joint Decision JOIN(2017)22 of 19.06.2017 of the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy amending the Joint Decision JOIN(2012)17 of 12.06.2012 establishing a High Level Traineeship Programme in the Delegations in Partnership with the Member States;
The Decision ADMIN(2017)8of 21.06.2017 of the Director-General of Budget and Administration of the European External Action Service in agreement with the Directors-General of DG INTPA (former DEVCO) and DG HR of the European Commission on the implementing rules of the high level traineeship programme in the delegations of the European Union in Partnership with the Member States of the European Union amending the Decision EEAS DEC(2014)002 of 22.01.2014 of the Chief Operating Officer of the EEAS in agreement with the Directors-General of DG INTPA (former DEVCO) and DG HR of the European Commission.
The Decision ADMIN(2021)14 REV 1 of 29.11.2021 of the Director-General for Resource Management of the European External Action Service in agreement with the Directors-General of DG INTPA and DG HR of the European Commission amending the Decision ADMIN(2017)8 of 21.06.2017; the Decision ADMIN(2022)57 of 03.10.2022 of the Director-General for Resource Management of the European External Action Service in agreement with the Directors-General of DG INTPA and DG HR of the European Commission amending the Decision ADMIN(2017)8 of 21.06.2017 and the Decision ADMIN(2022)74 of 14.12.2022 of the Director-General for Resource Management of the European External Action Service in agreement with the Directors-General of DG INTPA and DG HR of the European Commission amending the Decision ADMIN(2017)8 of 21.06.2017
The Decision ADMIN(2024)27 of 27.08.2024 of the Director-General for Resource Management of the European External Action Service in agreement with the Directors-General of DG INTPA and DG HR of the European Commission amending the annex to the Decision EEAS DEC(2014)002 on the Implementing Rules of the High Level Traineeship Programme in the Delegations of the European Union in Partnership with the Member States of the European Union

Who can Apply?

Candidates applying for this high-level traineeship programme should:

be a national from an EU Member State;
hold, by the closing date for applications, at least a university degree equivalent to the Master’s degree (see Diplomas Annex) in a domain relevant to the activities of the EU Delegations;
have excellent command of English and/or French; knowledge of other languages is an asset;
have, by the closing date for applications, not more than 1 year of professional experience with the EEAS, the Commission or another EU institution or body;
show a great interest and motivation to work in an EU Delegation;
professional experience, extra-curriculum activities such as volunteering or publications, is an important asset.

No professional experience is required to apply for this high-level traineeship programme. However, preference shall be given to candidates with, by the closing date for applications, up to four years of professional experience with relevance to the programme (of which maximum one year with the EEAS, the EC or another EU institution or body as indicated above).

Where are the Candidates posted?

Junior Professionals can work in one of the 145 EU Delegations and can be posted, depending on the nature of their tasks, in:

the EEAS sections – for political, press and information functions (see the standard description of training assignments for EEAS functions)
the EC sections – for international partnerships, programme/project management, humanitarian affairs, etc. (see the standard description of training assignments for Commission functions).

Number of Traineeship Positions in the 2026 – 2028 Round

The EEAS and the EC will finance minimum 54 JPDs positions (2 per Member State) for the Round 2026-2028: 27 JPD positions in the political, press and information sections (EEAS) and 27 positions in EC sections. Additional posts might be financed through voluntary contributions of EU Member States.