We publish this early enough for you to make a start on listing your achievements, training and highlights throughout 2025 to avoid you having to hit the ground running in January. This conference explains the evaluation process and offers tips. Join us Thursday, 8 January 2026, 12:30. We cover how to prepare your self-assessment and your one-on-one interview with your line manager (‘reporting officer’) [1] this is applicable both to the promotion (officials) and reclassification (Contract Agents, except 3b)[2]. Continue reading Conference: 2026 appraisal and promotion/reclassification exercises
z Newsletter article
HR listens and acts accordingly: Discriminations in Repayment of Exceptional Education Costs to be Removed
When we informed you about the possibility to request financial support for your children education costs (primary and secondary levels), we noticed a weird restriction in eligibility conditions: this financial support was not open to children of colleagues in EU Delegations or in Agencies. However, it was available to colleagues in all institutions and to a large and varied pool of current and former staff.
We asked informally HR for what seemed to be an unjustified discrimination, particularly considering that many colleagues in agencies are contractual agents in the lower salary scales.
Large-Scale Review – A Reality Check from Generation 2004
The Commission recently held its first information session for staff on the Large-Scale Review (LSR), the major reform exercise that is supposed to reshape how the institution works. According to the official narrative, this reform will modernise structures, simplify processes, update our working culture and redesign staffing models so that the Commission becomes more agile, more efficient and “fit for the future”.
That’s the official promise. What we witnessed on 21 November told a different story.
Continue reading Large-Scale Review – A Reality Check from Generation 2004
Evere: Temporary School, Permanent Uncertainty
When the European School in Evere opened in 2021, it was meant to be a quick fix for the chronic overcrowding in Brussels’ European Schools. Four years later, that “temporary” solution has become home to more than 1 500 pupils of the European School II. Parents, teachers and children have built a real community there.
The problem?
Legally and politically, the site was never meant to last.
Continue reading Evere: Temporary School, Permanent Uncertainty
JSIS in 2025: Modernisation, They Said. Reality, We Live.
If you have visited a doctor, dentist, paediatrician, physiotherapist or specialist in Luxembourg lately, you already know the story: prices climb, invoices rise, and the implementing provisions (GIPs)… remain the same since 2008.
Continue reading JSIS in 2025: Modernisation, They Said. Reality, We Live.
Lunchtime conference with inspiring guest speaker: Breaking the Menopause Taboo: What You, Your Partner, and Your Colleagues Need to Know.
***You can find the presentation and the recording here*** Do you have a partner whose reactions seem unusual to you? Do you have a colleague who has recently been more often ill or absent, when it was rarely the case before? Have you ever felt that your memory is failing, your emotions fluctuate, your body goes from hot to cold and vice versa without warning, you have joint and muscle pain, you can’t sleep at night, etc.?
Continue reading Lunchtime conference with inspiring guest speaker: Breaking the Menopause Taboo: What You, Your Partner, and Your Colleagues Need to Know.
Free conference: EPSO AD7 Data management & data knowledge (Luxembourg)
*Update 26.11.2025, here are the slides and the recording *Update 19.11.2025: Due to unexpected technical bugs, the conference is posponed to Wednesday 26/11. Our apologies for inconvenience. Generation 2004, in collaboration with Yasemos Europeos, is happy to invite you to a free conference for the competition for AD7 Data management & data knowledge (Luxembourg). You will get tips and trick on how to fill in the application and you will be able to ask your questions.
Continue reading Free conference: EPSO AD7 Data management & data knowledge (Luxembourg)
Newsletter editorial – 30-10-2025
Welcome to the tenth edition of our Newsletter! In this edition, we emphasise the importance of prevention and respect at work through a meeting between Generation 2004 and the Chief Confidential Counsellor. For those who missed our recent lunchtime conferences, recordings are now available for sessions on burnout prevention, EPSO competitions, and the current state of Contract Agents. A non-exhaustive FAQ is also included for reference. Continue reading Newsletter editorial – 30-10-2025
Teleworking for Local Agents: Time for Fairness, Flexibility, and Trust
Teleworking is no longer a privilege – it is a modern and effective way of working that supports productivity, motivation, and work-life balance across the European External Action Service (EEAS). Yet for Local Agents (LAs) working in EU Delegations around the world, the rules on teleworking remain inconsistent, restrictive, and overly-dependent on local interpretations. Only 1 day of working from home is currently available for local agent colleagues. Continue reading Teleworking for Local Agents: Time for Fairness, Flexibility, and Trust
Supporting Prevention and Respect at Work: Generation 2004 Met the Chief Confidential Counsellor
Generation 2004 recently met with the Chief Confidential Counsellor (CCC), the authority on the topic of workplace bullying and harassment, to explore how we can strengthen cooperation, increase visibility of the network of confidential counsellors, and further promote a genuine culture of bullying prevention and of mutual respect across the European Commission. Appointed in September 2024, the Chief Confidential Counsellor leads a dedicated team of around twenty trained counsellors. Continue reading Supporting Prevention and Respect at Work: Generation 2004 Met the Chief Confidential Counsellor
