The Council of Europe places trainees inside its own Secretariat, mainly at its headquarters in Strasbourg. The 2026-2027 session offered around 80 places for six months, from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, with Parliamentary Assembly trainees running from 1 September 2026 to 28 February 2027. Each trainee joins one team and works on European affairs: research, drafting reports and studies, summarising the outcomes of meetings, producing communication material, and helping organise committee meetings and events.
Support functions — human resources, IT, communications, security and catering — take trainees too. Applicants must be citizens of a Council of Europe member state and already hold a first-cycle university degree.
Benefits & funding
- Gross remuneration of approximately €1,320 per month for trainees based in Strasbourg.
- Six months of placement: 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, or 1 September 2026 to 28 February 2027 at the Parliamentary Assembly.
- A named host team, with mentor support while on assignment.
- Duty stations across Europe: Strasbourg for most roles, plus Brussels, Budapest, Geneva, Graz, Lisbon, Luxembourg and The Hague.
- The vacancy notice sets out the monthly remuneration only; it does not mention travel or accommodation support.
Eligibility
- Citizenship of one of the 46 Council of Europe member states.
- Aged 18 or over.
- A minimum of three years of completed university study and a first-cycle degree under the Bologna framework; traineeships with judges of the European Court of Human Rights require completion of at least the first year of a master’s degree by the traineeship start date.
- Very good knowledge of one of the two official languages of the organisation, English or French.
- No family relationship with a serving Council of Europe staff member.
- No previous Council of Europe traineeship, study visit or employment.
- General eligibility conditions must be met by the application deadline; the additional ECHR degree milestone applies by the traineeship start date.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Eligible nationalities
Albania · Andorra · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Belgium · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Bulgaria · Croatia · Cyprus · Czechia · Denmark
+ 34 more
Estonia · Finland · France · Georgia · Germany · Greece · Hungary · Iceland · Ireland · Italy · Latvia · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Malta · Moldova · Monaco · Montenegro · Netherlands · North Macedonia · Norway · Poland · Portugal · Romania · San Marino · Serbia · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain · Sweden · Switzerland · Türkiye · Ukraine · UK
Education required
Bachelor · Master
Age requirement
≥ 18 yrs
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Application process
- 1Watch the Council of Europe careers portal for the session call — the 2026-2027 call was published on 4 June 2026 and closed on 17 June 2026.
- 2Create a portal account and submit the online application, naming two teams as first and second choice.
- 3The teams review the applications; shortlisted candidates may be invited to an online interview.
- 4Results are communicated approximately two months before the session begins.
- 5Applicants who need an adjustment during the process write to traineeship@coe.int.
Program timeline
Call for the 2026-2027 session published
Jun 4, 2026
Application deadline (23:59:59 CET/CEST)
Jun 17, 2026
Parliamentary Assembly traineeships begin
Sep 1, 2026
Main session begins
Oct 1, 2026
Parliamentary Assembly traineeships end
Feb 28, 2027
Main session ends
Mar 31, 2027