On 28 April 2026, our 3rd conference on Transactional Analysis and psychological harassment in the workplace about The Curse and the Spell in our life scenario: Injunctions, Drivers & Workplace Pressure (HYBRID) will take place from 12.30 to 14.00.
Please see below the two previous conferences held as part of the same series:
Generation 2004, together with U4U, will formally request the opening of a social dialogue with the administration to assess the growing financial pressures faced by EU staff and to explore possible support measures.
Continue reading Rising Costs, Real Impact: Time for a Serious Dialogue on Staff Working Conditions
Are you not getting all the necessary educational allowance information from the other parent? Do you feel that you are being treated unfairly? Generation 2004 would prefer to share more positive stories about the PMO, but sometimes there are shortcomings that need to be pointed out and acted on! We have come across a case where a parent-official was seconded out of the Commission for four years to discover that the other parent-official was collecting monthly PMO educational allowances during that time without disclosing them.
Continue reading Share Your Sad PMO Allowance Story! – Member’s opinion
You can find the presentation of the conference here. The conference took place in EEAS and we had almost 300 participants.
In this session, we explored the concept of psychological games in organisations, based on the work of Eric Berne, founder of Transactional Analysis. Building on the Dramatic Triangle introduced in our previous conference, we analysed how recurring relational patterns can evolve into structured “games” that impact communication, trust, and professional relationships.
Together, we discussed about:
This session aimed to provide both insight and practical tools to better navigate complex interpersonal dynamics and foster a healthier professional environment.
The conference was delivered by our colleagues:
After reading the article on in vitro fertilization (IVF) reimbursement, I feel compelled to share my own experience – one that profoundly altered the course of my life and remains painful even years later.
In 2016, after several years of unsuccessful attempts to conceive, my partner and I decided to pursue IVF treatment. At that time, reimbursement required the existence of a formally recognised “pathology.” My request for prior authorisation was refused because no such pathology had been established. Continue reading When Administrative Rules Shape and Damage a Life: Testimony of a Member
Parents in European School pay overpriced disorganised trips for their kids.
It works as follows: the school organises a trip (for instance, a visit to a museum or to a farm) with pedagogical goals. Most often, the teachers are those arranging all the practical details, choosing the place, the best choices for tickets, the activities and hours…
The file is sent to a travel agency that holds the monopoly so that they buy the tickets and arrange transport and, when needed, accommodation. More often than not, the agency acts slowly so that by the time they buy the whole trip is more expensive than at the time the teachers planned it.
You can find the recording and the presentation of the conference here. The conference took place in EEAS and we had 225 participants.
On 19 February 2026 in Brussels, the first session of a series on Transactional Analysis and psychological harassment in the workplace, From Drama to Awareness, focused on harassment and its dynamics. Harassment was defined as repeated, intentional behaviour (verbal or physical) that intimidates or harms a person, in psychological or sexual forms.
The session also introduced support mechanisms such as mediation services and their role in providing confidential guidance.
Finally, it explored the Drama Triangle (Victim, Rescuer, Persecutor) and its impact on workplace dynamics, and presented the Empowerment Triangle as a more constructive framework promoting responsibility, coaching, and accountability.
As explained in our previous article, the Commission is drafting a Decision that requires all staff to provide their private mobile to be contacted during their rest time.
Our article, published in September 2025 triggered comments from the administration, claiming that they would prove us wrong by providing updated information. No information was provided, but we still acknowledged what could seem like an intention to correct course by the administration, by informing you in October 2025 of a possible update on the situation. Continue reading Surrender your mobile phone, it’s an order!
Have you ever been on sick leave?
Most of you probably have at some point been ill during your time in the Commission. For some of you, the unpleasant experience of being ill, has been made worse by the related administrative process.
Everything relating to sick leave stems from art. 59 of the Staff Regulations, and its interpretation or creative development in the form of GIPs (General implementing provisions) by the administration.
The current version of the GIPs dates from 2004 and after over 20 years the time has come to update this document. For this reason, DG HR, Generation 2004 representatives and other trade unions have been meeting since last November to discuss the proposed changes.
Continue reading Commission is reviewing its decision on sick-leave
On 6 November 2025 the Commission adopted a decision aimed at enhancing the geographical diversity among its staff. Stephen QUEST, Director-General of DG HR, hailed it as an introduction of measures designed to attract individuals from underrepresented countries to join the Commission.
Continue reading Is The New Decision on Geographical balance going to work?
