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EEAS: Redefining the Head of Administration role in EU Delegations: A call for clear responsibilities and support

Administrators, Assistants, Contract Agents, EEAS, Institutions, Newsletter-2025-01-28, Promotions, Staff Categories, Training, Working conditions Print This Post

*Update 17.01.2025 the rumoured  delegation closures are now also in the press.*

Original article: Generation 2004 EEAS section advocates for fair and realistic work conditions for colleagues in over 144 Delegations around the world. Those conditions must take account of the evolving responsibilities of all staff and roles. Among these, the Head of Administration (HoA) post in EU Delegations stands out as a unique role. Continue reading EEAS: Redefining the Head of Administration role in EU Delegations: A call for clear responsibilities and support →

Conference: How to increase your chances to get a promotion/reclassification in 2025?

Events, Newsletter-2025-01-28, Promotions, reclassification Print This Post

The whole appraisal and  promotion/reclassification processes can be a bit of a mystery. It’s not always clear how DGs choose who to reward, nor why some years appear to be better than others. There are situations suggesting that  some staff are less favoured, while some staff are evaluated as ‘not applicable’, regardless of how well they work. What can you do if your work is judged to be ‘unsatisfactory‘?

Continue reading Conference: How to increase your chances to get a promotion/reclassification in 2025? →

Navigating the JSIS: conference

disability and special needs, Events, Health, Newsletter-2025-01-28, Newsletter-2025-02-28 Print This Post

*Update 05.02.2025: here is the recording of the  conference. *Update 04.02.2025 we’ve added to the list of JSIS questions below and uploaded the presentation. Thanks to the colleague who pointed out that there is now a PMO optician form which is more recent than our draft optician letter and easier to do, since you’re not having to ask the optician to print anything. *

Original article: The Joint Sickness Insurance Scheme (JSIS) of the European Union (also RCAM [Régime Commun d’Assurance Maladie]) is not the most user-friendly of systems and yet it’s all we have, for everything health-related whether it’s routine, an accident or an illness. It’s easy to miss out on something you’re entitled to simply because you didn’t know about it and now the deadline has passed. Generation 2004 is here to present the JSIS and the common pitfalls. Continue reading Navigating the JSIS: conference →

Housing allowance in Luxembourg – finally!

allowances, Cost of living Luxembourg, Newsletter-2025-02-28 Print This Post

*Update 04.06.2025: Watch out for your notification of entitlement to the new housing allowance via sysper. If you have received nothing by 13.06.2025, check that your place of employment, grade, civil status and place of residence as recorded in Sysper are correct. The contact for all questions is the Staff Center. There are also 2 EU Learn – Information session on housing allowance available

  • Tuesday 10 June at 10:00 in French
  • Wednesday 11 June at 10:00 in English*

Continue reading Housing allowance in Luxembourg – finally! →

Certification: beware deadlines!

Assistants, Certification, Newsletter-2025-01-28 Print This Post

*Update 04.03.2025: we’re disappointed but not surprised at the poor results of the 2023/2024 certification exercise: 22 out of 78 colleagues passed all exams first time. Only 1 out of 7 in the French class.*

*Update 19.02.2025: ‘By default, all [internal] competitions will be cross-category.’ (Stay tuned: A new approach for internal competitions) Continue reading Certification: beware deadlines! →

Working for free: it’s worse than we thought

Leave, Newsletter-2025-01-28, Standby duty, well-being, Working conditions Print This Post

*Update 24.01.2025: You have until Friday 31 January to request the transfer of >12 days of annual leave from 2024 to 2025. Even if your circumstances make this a right, please still request it: don’t miss out!*

Original article: Please use your time for yourself and your own wellbeing! Look below at just how much time colleagues already donate (voluntarily or otherwise) to the Commission and yet it’s still not enough, it’s never enough: there is always more work to be done. Please don’t give your valuable time away for free: there are no rewards and it will become expected of you.

Continue reading Working for free: it’s worse than we thought →

Newsletter editorial – 13-12-2024

Editorial, Newsletter - 2024-12-13 Print This Post

Welcome to the twelfth edition of the Generation 2004 Newsletter for 2024. In this edition, we cover key topics including addressing staff concerns and mobility in the EEAS. We congratulate those involved in the Contract Agents Reclassification Exercise 2024 and discuss reducing budgetary losses while granting fairer contracts.

Continue reading Newsletter editorial – 13-12-2024 →

EEAS: Addressing Staff Concerns in the EEAS – Actions, Recommendations, and the Road Ahead

EEAS, Newsletter - 2024-12-13, Working conditions Print This Post

Generation 2004 as a staff association (OSP) has as its mission to ensure that the voices of all staff are heard and translated into meaningful action. Recent general staff surveys together with the EEAS staff surveys have provided valuable insights into areas where the administration has made strides and where further improvements are strongly needed.

Continue reading EEAS: Addressing Staff Concerns in the EEAS – Actions, Recommendations, and the Road Ahead →

EEAS: Mobility within the EEAS: Time for Transparency and Adherence to Guidelines

EEAS, Newsletter - 2024-12-13, Working conditions Print This Post

Mobility within the European External Action Service (EEAS) is governed by two administrative decisions on the organisation of an annual internal mobility exercise (ADMIN(2015)14, Ref. Ares(2015)1451726) and implementing
guidelines Ref. (ARES(2024)2219672) that outline the legal framework and set clear guidelines for the mobility process.

Continue reading EEAS: Mobility within the EEAS: Time for Transparency and Adherence to Guidelines →

Reclassification and promotion exercises 2024 : Congratulations

Contract Agents, Newsletter - 2024-12-13, reclassification, Staff Categories Print This Post

Generation 2004 wishes to congratulate all Contract Agents 3a for their well-deserved advancement (‘reclassification‘), together with the officials and local agents in representations who were promoted. We trust our webinar on drafting self-appraisals, our support to individual requests from colleagues to review their self-assessments and our advice on how to draft an appeal helped in the reclassification exercise. 

Continue reading Reclassification and promotion exercises 2024 : Congratulations →