Dear colleagues,
Welcome back from holidays and to the seventh edition of our Newsletter!
In this edition, we would like to draw your attention to a number of important developments affecting staff across the European Commission and beyond. These articles cover a broad range of issues, from career prospects for contract and temporary agents, to teleworking, legal protections, retirement-related rights, and the management of institutional knowledge.
From 17 to 25 October 2026, Brussels will once again host the BNP Paribas Fortis European Open, Belgium’s largest tennis tournament.
Get ready for a week of top-level tennis, with international stars, rising talents and Belgian players such as Zizou Bergs and Raphaël Collignon competing in an exciting atmosphere.
Generation 2004 members can benefit from an exclusive 10% discount on tickets in all categories, valid throughout the tournament, from Saturday 17 to Sunday 25 October 2026.
Want to benefit from the discount?
Please contact Generation 2004 to receive the discount code.
Buy your tickets: European Open 2026 – Ticketing
Don’t miss the opportunity to experience world-class tennis live in Brussels at a reduced price!
*Update 30.10.2026: after the exam took place and after a waiting period in case anyone needed to retake the exam, the training is closed for enrollment. Register links and the corresponding discount codes are no longer available*
The date of the exam for the EPSO/AD/428/26 – Administrators (AD7) in the field of audit competition is out: Wednesday 30 September 2026. Generation 2004, in collaboration with Yasemos Europeos, is happy to offer you a pre-exam session of 1 hour on Saturday 19 September 2026 at 10:00 am (CEST).
Continue reading Training offer: EPSO competition AD7 audit – pre-exam session
At Generation 2004, we consider that protection against arbitrary termination is a fundamental element of fair employment conditions. The recent judgment from 10 June 2026 (Case T-13/25, HC v Court of Justice of the European Union) of the General Court of the European Union is particularly important in this respect. It clarifies the conditions under which an indefinite contract of a Temporary Agent may be terminated on the grounds of a breakdown of the relationship of trust.
For colleagues approaching retirement, questions concerning the relocation allowance and the applicable correction coefficient can have a significant financial impact. The recent judgment from 3 June 2026 (Case T-662/24, GW v Commission) of the General Court of the European Union is therefore relevant. It clarifies how the concept of “residence” is assessed under the staff regulations and what evidence staff may need to demonstrate that their main or habitual residence has genuinely been transferred to another Member State.
Since last July, the Staff Representation has reinforced its attention to the specific situation of colleagues working in the European Commission Representations through a 25% secondment dedicated to these issues. The colleague working on this, an elected member of Generation 2004, is Nicolette Camilleri.
This reflects a clear priority: to gain a better understanding of the realities of working in the Representations and to ensure that the concerns of colleagues are more systematically considered in staff representation work.
In July, the administration launched a discussion on the 7-year rule, an issue we had already been advocating for a while. It is an important opportunity to revise a rule that has significant consequences for the careers of contract and temporary agents.
The next meeting is currently foreseen for the end of September. As the discussion moves forward, we want to clarify what is at stake, explain our position and outline why we believe that a meaningful extension of the 7-year rule deserves serious consideration.
Continue reading The 7-Year Rule Is Back on the Agenda: Why This Discussion Matters
Following the all-staff event of 13 July in which the workstreams presented an overview of their recommendations, we have had a closer look at the report with suggested recommendations concerning contract staff.
This article sets out our reflections on the report from the perspective of Contract Agents (CAs). It highlights areas where the proposals could strengthen the role and career prospects of CAs, as well as aspects that require further clarification, stronger safeguards, or additional guarantees to ensure that the reform delivers fair and sustainable outcomes for all.
The recent judgment from 13 May 2026 (Case C-155/25, Commission v Italy) of the Court of Justice of the European Union deserves particular attention from an EU staff perspective. It shows a striking contradiction in the Commission’s approach to fixed-term employment.
Continue reading The Commission fights against precarious contracts – but what about its own staff?
***Update – 9 October***
According to recent announcements on MyIntracomm, the European Commission will introduce an automatic deletion rule on 1 January 2027. Under this policy, a huge number of working files older than 10 years stored on shared network drives and in M365 collaborative spaces (Teams, SharePoint Online) face permanent automatic deletion on a rolling basis, unless staff manually intervene to identify and save them.
***Your opinion matters, please fill out our survey on this topic.***
