High Expectations, Little Progress – What the October Meeting Revealed about the Future of Executive Agencies

On 6 October 2025 DG HR met colleagues from executive agencies. The meeting was intended as an opportunity for the administration to listen to employees’ concerns and clarify the future of executive agencies. However, the overall tone of the discussion including its outcome, was marked by frustration and disappointment among participants, who felt that few concrete commitments were presented. Uncertainty within executive agencies is not a new phenomenon, and it should not come as a surprise that the administration has offered no concrete answers. 

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Conference: 2026 appraisal and promotion/reclassification exercises

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

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.

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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. 

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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. 

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Generation 2004 Brussels is urgently looking for a Trainee in Communication & Social Media

Generation 2004 Brussels is urgently looking for a Trainee in Communication & Social Media.  For our daily work, Generation 2004 employs a team of committed and dedicated colleagues. We are looking for a trainee who is : A Student in Communication, Public Relations, Digital Media, Marketing, or related fields.
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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.?
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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.

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Training offer : EPSO competitions AD5 Generalists/Graduates

*Update 09.01.2026: the study groups in English and Spanish are now full. Registration is therefore closed, and the registration links and corresponding discount codes are no longer available.
If you are interested, please refer to
Study groups 2.*

Generation 2004, in collaboration with Yasemos Europeos, is happy to invite  you to online training for the competition for AD5 Generalists/Graduates, with a special discount rate for our members. The offer contains modules in English as well as in Spanish and sessions will be recorded.
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