Contents
Article 1 General provisions
Article 2 Aims of Traineeships
Article 3 Eligibility conditions
Article 4 Duration
Article 5 Admission procedure
Article 6 Financial arrangements
Article 7 Insurance
Article 8 General obligations for the trainees
Article 9 Leave and sickness
Article 10 Suspension and termination of traineeship
Article 11 Status vis-à-vis the Communities
Article 12 Coming into force and transition period
Article 1 General provisions
The Ombudsman offers traineeships, twice a year, primarily to university law graduates. The traineeships take place either in Strasbourg or in Brussels according to the needs of the Office. They start on 1 September and 1 January each year.
Article 2 Aims of Traineeships
Traineeships are intended to enable the trainees to gain, in addition to the knowledge and skills they have acquired during their studies, a practical experience of the work of the European Ombudsman.
Trainees normally undertake either the investigation of complaints, or carry out research relevant to the work of the Ombudsman. They work under the direct supervision of a Legal Officer.
Article 3 Eligibility conditions
The applicant should normally:
Be a national from an EU Member State;
Have a university degree in law and be at an advanced stage of professional training, or research, in Community law;
Have a thorough knowledge of one of the official languages of the European Union and a good knowledge of a second. The main working languages of the European Ombudsman's office are English and French. Knowledge of both languages is therefore required.
The Ombudsman can derogate from these conditions if exceptional circumstances so determine.
Article 4 Duration
The traineeship has a minimum duration of four months. It can be extended for a period left to the Ombudsman's discretion normally up to a maximum of 12 months.
Article 5 Admission procedure
Using the form provided for that purpose, applications should be sent to the Office of the European Ombudsman, together with the following supporting documents:
A copy of the applicant's curriculum vitae;
A cover letter (preferably typed) explaining in English the reasons for applying for the traineeship;
Copy of diplomas, degrees, or certificates (publications could be requested at a later stage if required;
Copy of ID card/passport;
A financial declaration(1).
Candidates should apply either for the traineeship period starting on 1 September or the 1 January. Applications must be sent before 30 April for the traineeship period starting on 1 September and before 31 August for the traineeship period starting on 1 January of the following year.
An acknowledgement of receipt, which will have been filled in by the applicant at the time of applying, shall be sent to the applicant within a month.
Applicants shall be selected according to their merits, taking into account the interests of the service and the financial and logistical capacity of the Office to receive and accommodate trainees.
Applicants will be informed of the decision taken on their application before the end of July for the period starting on 1 September or before the end of November for the period starting on 1 January. Applicants who were not successful on their initial application may apply for another training period by submitting a new application.
The processing of personal data by the European Ombudsman is governed by Regulation (EC) N° 45/2001(2). By submitting an application for a traineeship, the applicant is understood, in the sense of Article 5 (d) of the Regulation, to have given his/her consent to the processing of the personal data contained in the application form and the supporting documents enclosed therewith. The provision of information requested in the application form and the supporting documents is obligatory. Incomplete applications will be excluded from the selection. The personal data in question is collected by the European Ombudsman's office for the sole purpose of the selection of trainees by its services. Applicants have a right to access and to rectify their own personal data kept by the Office of the European Ombudsman.
Personal data concerning unsuccessful applicants shall be destroyed six months after the beginning of the traineeship period for which it was collected. Applications handed in for a given traineeship period shall not be taken into consideration for future selections of trainees or for recruitment purposes.
Personal data concerning successful applicants shall be kept by the Ombudsman's office and might be transferred to other Community Institutions for administrative purposes.
The list of the names of trainees serving and having served in the Ombudsman's office is a public document.
Article 6 Financial arrangements
Scholarships
Trainees who do not receive a salary or other form of financial support receive a scholarship during the traineeship period.
The amount of a scholarship is 25% of the basic salary of staff on grade AD 6 (A*6 until 30 April 2006) step 1, plus the household allowance, where appropriate. This amount may be altered by decision of the European Ombudsman.
The level of financial support for trainees receiving external support will be determined on an individual basis. It will not normally exceed the difference, if any, between the amount of external support and the value of a scholarship.
Travel expenses incurred at the beginning and end of the traineeship
Trainees who are not entitled to claim travel expenses from any other source may claim reimbursement of the cost of travel within the territory of the European Union between their place of residence and Strasbourg/Brussels at the beginning and end of the traineeship, as follows:
second class rail fare by the most direct route, with couchette or T2 sleeping car if necessary;
economy class air fare if that is less expensive, or if the rail journey exceeds 500 km, or if the journey involves a sea crossing. The cost of air tickets shall be reimbursed only on presentation of supporting documents.
Possible reservations of transport tickets at the start and/or the end of the traineeship are made by the European Ombudsman's office. All other forms of reservations must be submitted to the Ombudsman's services for prior approval.
Travel expenses incurred during the traineeship
Trainees whom the Ombudsman requires to undertake a mission shall be entitled to reimbursement of their travel expenses (Article 12 of Annex VII of the Staff Regulations). They shall receive daily mission allowances which correspond to those laid down for group III in Article 13 (1) (a) of Annex VII to the Staff Regulations.
Article 7 Insurance
Trainees must be insured against sickness and accident by an insurance policy taken out for that purpose by the European Parliament with a private insurance company. The European Ombudsman pays the full costs of insurance.
At the request of the trainee, the European Parliament shall also insure his or her spouse and children against the risk of sickness and accident. In such cases, the trainee shall pay the insurance premiums in full.
Article 8 General obligations for the trainees
Trainees must undertake to observe:
the instructions of their superiors and of the Legal Officer under whose guidance they are placed;
established office hours;
the rules and procedures of the European Ombudsman, including those relating to public access to, and confidentiality of, documents.
Trainees must not have any professional connections with third parties that might be incompatible with their traineeship. They shall be required to respect the obligations of confidentiality imposed on the Ombudsman and his staff by the Statute of the European Ombudsman. They shall observe the utmost discretion with regard to facts and information that come to their knowledge during the traineeship. They shall remain bound by that obligation after the completion of their traineeship.
Trainees must contribute to the work of the service to which they are assigned. The European Ombudsman shall retain all rights to the research carried out during the traineeship.
Article 9 Leave and sickness
Trainees are entitled to two working days' leave for each month of the traineeship.
If absent as a result of sickness, the trainees must notify the Ombudsman's office immediately. Absences must be justified by a medical certificate.
In exceptional circumstances, trainees may address to the Head of the Administration and Finance Department applications for authorisation to be absent from work. Such applications may in particular be examined in the light of the special leave provisions applicable to the Ombudsman's officials. If an authorisation is granted, the procedures applicable to officials shall be applied by analogy.
Article 10 Suspension and termination of traineeship
Requests for suspension of a traineeship or for leave of absence will be granted in exceptional circumstances only, and in accordance with the interests of the service. The Ombudsman's decision is discretionary. During a period of suspension of a traineeship, scholarship payments will be suspended. Neither leave of absence nor suspension shall entitle the trainee to reimbursement of travel expenses under Article 6 above.
The Ombudsman may terminate the traineeship at any stage at the request of the trainee, or in cases in which performance is deemed to be unsatisfactory or in which the trainee has failed to observe the terms of the traineeship.
Article 11 Status vis-à-vis the Communities
The awarding of a traineeship shall under no circumstances confer on recipients the status of official or other servant of the European Union, nor shall it entitle them in any way to subsequent recruitment to any EU institution.
Article 12 Coming into force and transition period
This decision shall enter into force on 1 January 2007. It replaces the decision governing traineeships dated 16 June 2005.
Strasbourg, 20 November 2006
P. Nikiforos DIAMANDOUROS
(1) A financial declaration can be hand-written and signed by candidates declaring, on their honour, "that they will not receive any external financial support during the period of an eventual traineeship" or the amount of the external financial support that they would receive, should that be the case.
(2) Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 December 2000 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data by the Community institutions and bodies and on the free movement of such data (Official Journal L 8/1, 12/01/2001).
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