Civil servants sent back to school in order to compete for top EU jobs

Danish civil servants employed by the EU are lining up for retirement and there aren’t enough suitable replacements available

Stephen Gadd

If you want to get a top job within the EU system, to get through the eye of the needle you need to go through a recruitment process that involves passing a competitive examination: the EU concours.

Since 2011, only nine Danish people have managed to pass and soon Denmark will be facing a situation when a number of the Danes currently employed by the EU will be going on pension. Figures show that over the next 10 years, four out of ten Danes employed by the EU Commission and Parliament will be leaving.

The brightest and best
To ensure that Denmark is still able to make its mark in a European context, 20 of the brightest civil servants in the country have been chosen to be given special training in how to pass the demanding exam, the finance minister, Kristian Jensen, told Djøfbladet.

“We’re facing a situation in which a lot of Danes employed by the EU will be leaving shortly, so we need to set up a food chain, and for that we need more people to pass the entrance exam,” said Jensen.

The minister wants to double the number of people sent to the EU, so up until 2025 it intends to send 100 experts on postings of between two and four years with the hope they will develop an interest in a longer-term EU career.

“I don’t think that there’s a single ministry that doesn’t have contact with the EU, so it’s in our own interest to send able people to Brussels to gain precisely that access and promote the understanding of Danish conditions that we need,” added Jensen.

What about my better half?
One of the reasons that people don’t apply for EU jobs is perhaps because their spouse may not be able to get a job, and Jensen’s plan does not specifically address that.

However, he points out that many Danish organisations are active within the EU, so it ought to be possible to find jobs for spouses.

TOP STORIES

  • Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    Bestselling author of ‘The Year of Living Danishly’ Helen Russell on why she moved back to the UK after 12 years

    After more than a decade living in Denmark, Russell shares why she made the move, how she’s coping, what she already misses, and the exciting new projects she’s working on. “It’s been a very tough decision. I love Denmark, and it will always hold a special place in my heart,” she says.

  • Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    Denmark launches first AI supercomputer

    The new Gefion AI supercomputer is one of the world’s fastest and will accelerate research and provide new opportunities in Danish academia and industry.

  • Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Navigating big love, big moves and big feelings

    Experts believe it takes seven years to move into a new culture, according to leading Danish psychologist Jette Simon and therapist Vibeke Hartkorn. For expat couples, the challenges of starting a new life together in Denmark can put pressure on relationships, but emotions-focused therapy can help.

  • More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    More and more Danes are working after retirement age

    Politicians debate a lot these days about when you can retire. The reality shows that an increasing number of Danes like to work, even if they can withdraw from the labor market. Financial incentives help.

  • Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Environmental activist fears death in prison if extradited to Japan

    Canadian-born environmental activist Paul Watson has been in prison in Greenland for almost 100 days awaiting an extradition decision for a 14-year-old offence against a Japanese whaling vessel that he calls a “minor misdemeanor”. The 73-year-old had previously passed through Ireland, Switzerland, Monaco, France and the USA without trouble, before Greenlandic police arrested him in July.

  • Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    Denmark too slow to ease recruitment rules for non-EU service workers, say industry associations

    When the Danish government in January presented the first of its schemes to make it easier to recruit foreign labour from outside the EU, it was hailed by the healthcare and service sectors as a timely and important policy shift. But while healthcare changes have been forthcoming, the service sector is still struggling, say the directors of the industry association Dansk Industri and one of the country’s largest private employers ISS.

Connect club

Connect Club is your gateway to a vibrant programme of events and an international community in Denmark.

Sign up here

Career

  • Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    Come and join us at Citizens Days!

    On Friday 27 and Saturday 28 of September, The Copenhagen Post will be at International Citizen Days in Øksnehallen on Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Admission is free and thousands of internationals are expected to attend

  • Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Diversifying the Nordics: How a Nigerian economist became a beacon for inclusivity in Scandinavia

    Chisom Udeze, the founder of Diversify – a global organization that works at the intersection of inclusion, democracy, freedom, climate sustainability, justice, and belonging – shares how struggling to find a community in Norway motivated her to build a Nordic-wide professional network. We also hear from Dr. Poornima Luthra, Associate Professor at CBS, about how to address bias in the workplace.

  • Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality launches support package for accompanying spouses

    Lolland Municipality, home to Denmark’s largest infrastructure project – the Fehmarnbelt tunnel connection to Germany – has launched a new jobseeker support package for the accompanying partners of international employees in the area. The job-to-partner package offers free tailored sessions on finding a job and starting a personal business.

Want to advertise your job with CPH Post?

Contact us

Jobs