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.
Generation 2004 has raised this issue several times during the meetings with the administration, calling for more flexibility, fairness, and equal treatment among staff – no matter their category or place of work.
Key Issues Discussed with the Administration
The latest discussions with EEAS Administration highlighted several concerns and concrete proposals from the Local Agent community:
1. Teleworking from within the country[*], not just the place of work: Local Agents should be allowed to telework from their home town or elsewhere within the same country. For many colleagues, especially those originating from locations far from Delegations, particularly in big countries like India, this flexibility is both reasonable and necessary.
2. Realistic commuting thresholds. The current rule limiting telework eligibility to those living more than two hours from the office is outdated. In many countries, traffic, transport availability, and security conditions make commuting far more challenging. Generation 2004 supports extending the threshold to reflect specificity of country’s conditions, to be agreed upon internally in each Delegation.
3. Trust and accountability. Teleworking should be based on trust – not suspicion. Local Agents already work under the supervision of their line managers, and performance should be assessed on results, not physical presence.
4. Consistency across Delegations. Apart from point 2 above, rules must be clear and uniformly applied within and across Delegations, without leaving room for Ambassadors or Heads of Delegation to interpret teleworking provisions according to personal preferences. Such discretion risks creating unfair disparities between Delegations and undermines staff confidence in the system.
The Legal Argument: Respecting Local Laws but Upholding EU Principles
The Administration maintains that it cannot change the teleworking provisions for Local Agents because these are bound by local employment laws. Generation 2004 recognises these legal constraints, but also stresses that EU values and staff policies must remain coherent and non-discriminatory.
When Local Agents work side by side with expatriate staff, carrying out similar tasks and with the same reporting lines, it is only fair that they enjoy comparable flexibility and respect for work–life balance. Moreover, as the EEAS moves towards establishing regional hubs and shared services among Delegations, the question arises: How will local law limitations be applied consistently in these new structures? This inconsistency shows the urgent need for harmonisation and modernisation of teleworking arrangements across staff categories.
A Call for Equal Treatment and Transparency
Generation 2004 believes that Local Agents deserve working conditions that reflect trust, fairness, and modern employment standards.
We call on the EEAS Administration to:
• Revisit the teleworking rules for Local Agents, ensuring more flexibility and alignment with reality on the ground;
• Publish transparent statistics on teleworking uptake and requests across Delegations;
• Provide a clear timeline for revising the Memorandum of Understanding with other institutions (e.g. EEAS–Commission cooperation) to ensure coherent staff treatment across the EU family.
Having observed that Modernisation is already happening at a faster and speed than expected (regional hubs, digitalisation, and hybrid work), Generation 2004’s considers it is time for teleworking rules for Local Agents to evolve too. Get in touch to see what we’re doing about this!
Fairness, flexibility, and trust are not optional. They are the foundation of a respectful and modern European administration – and Local Agents deserve nothing less.
If you are interested in becoming more involved or if you are thinking of standing in the November 2025 Luxembourg Local Staff Committee elections
Please get in touch with us by 3rd November 2025 at midday.
If you appreciate our work, please consider becoming a member of Generation 2004.
[*] But not yet allowed from anywhere, in part due to concerns regarding health insurance. Local agents are not statutory staff, they are not covered by the Joint Sickness insurance scheme (JSIS).
