Policy Assistant

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

– JOIN THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Do you want to help shape the future of the European Union? Make the planet greener,
promote a fairer society, or support businesses and innovation across the EU? Then come and
work for the European Commission where you can really make a difference!

Commission staff are a diverse group of people, who are motivated to help make Europe – and
the world – a better place. They come from the 27 Member States of the European Union.
Different nationalities, backgrounds, languages and cultures make the Commission a vibrant and
inclusive place to work.

WE OFFER GREAT JOBS AND GREAT WORKING CONDITIONS:

•

Interesting and challenging positions with plenty of opportunities for training and
acquiring new skills and competencies throughout your whole career

• Opportunities to move between different policy areas throughout your career
• A package of flexible working conditions including the possibility of teleworking – we

care about your work-life balance

• A competitive financial package, including comprehensive healthcare, accident and

pension schemes

• A multilingual, multicultural workplace where personal and career development are

strongly promoted

• Multilingual schools for your children

We recruit from a wide range of backgrounds and actively promote diversity and
inclusion:

We do not only recruit political scientists and lawyers but are also looking for all kinds of
profiles, including scientists, linguists, IT experts, data analysts and economists, as well as drivers
and engineers.

We are committed to equal opportunities and to fostering a rich, diverse and inclusive working
environment. We aim for our workforce to be representative of European society and strongly
welcome applications from all qualified candidates. We actively seek to create a workplace where
each staff member feels valued and respected, can give their best and can develop to their full
potential.

To promote diversity and establish a geographically balanced pool of candidates, we strongly
encourage applicants from Member States which are currently underrepresented in the European
Commission workforce to apply. These Member States are currently Austria, the Czech
Republic, Denmark, the Netherlands, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Luxembourg,
Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden1. Recruitment will however remain strictly based on the
merits of all applicants and no positions will be reserved for nationals of any specific Member
State.

For more information ec.europa.eu/work-with-us

STAFF RECRUITED ON CONTRACTS

In addition to permanent officials, the European Commission offers non-permanent positions.
There are two categories of non-permanent staff:

•

temporary agents are recruited to fill vacant positions for a set amount of time or
to perform highly specialised tasks.

• contract agents may provide additional capacity in specialised fields where an

insufficient number of officials is available or carry out a number of administrative or
manual tasks. They are generally recruited for fixed-term contracts (maximum 6 years in
any EU Institution), but in some cases they can be offered contracts for an indefinite
duration (in offices, agencies, delegations or representations).

For more information on different staff categories

(Reference: Call for interest EC/2026/TAXUD/522123)

Policy Assistant

in DG TAXUD of the European Commission

Job title *: Policy Assistant
Doma in**: European Policy
Where : Unit TAXUD.C.2 – CBAM, Energy and Green Taxation, Brussels
Function Group: FG III
Contract Type : 3b
Express your interest

until : 08/08/2026 – 12.00 (noon, Brussels time )

WE ARE

The Directorate General Customs and Taxation (DG TAXUD) mission is to promote fair and
sustainable policies that generate revenue for the EU and its Member States and ensure that EU
citizens and businesses benefit from global trade and a safe and secure Single Market protected at
its borders.

Within DG TAXUD, Directorate C is developing an overall policy in the area of indirect taxation,
including financial sector taxation as well as environmental, transport and energy taxation, VAT,
excise duties and tax administration. It is also responsible for developing and implementing the
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and tax initiatives included in the European Green Deal. The
Directorate includes 85 staff with a good mix of officials, temporary and contract agents and
national experts.

Unit C2 is responsible for developing and implementing two important EU legislations in the
European Green Deal and part of the Fit for 55: the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)
and the review of the Energy Taxation Directive.

The unit is also responsible for developing and
initiatives at EU level on indirect green taxation, which provide a genuine single market framework
and contribution to environmental goals. This includes notably environmental and transport
taxation. Finally, the unit is also responsible of the infringements related to those taxes.

following up both legislative and non -legislative

The team involved in CBAM is relatively recent and fast growing. The team is made up of motivated
colleagues with very different backgrounds in the area of
climate, environmental, trade and
international relation policies

WE PROPOSE

TAXUD.C.2 is seeking to hire one policy assistant with
relation to industrial processes.

knowledge in science or engineering in

(Reference: Call for interest EC/2026/TAXUD/522123)

design and
the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The

The overall purpose is to provide operational and technical support for the
implementation of industrial aspects of
candidate is expected to assist in the preparation, analysis and implementation of the files,
including the provision of background research, technical input, and administrative support. The
files include the CBAM Regulation as well as implementing acts such as on the default values, the
free allocation adjustment and the methodology for determining emissions in CBAM goods. The job
entails continuous interactions and cooperation with other units in TAXUD and other Commission
services, as well as with industry stakeholders.

Tasks include:

• Analysis of technical issues
• Drafting of notes, briefings, summaries and policy papers
• Contribution to the drafting of technical aspects of legislation
• Contribution to guidance and Q&A documents
• Replies to stakeholder requests
• Organisation of meetings

WE LOOK FOR

TAXUD.C.2 is seeking to hire one policy assistant with
relation to industrial processes.

knowledge in science or engineering in

• Good knowledge of and experience in EU environmental, climate and energy policies is an

asset.

• Good knowledge of and experience in the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) or of the

CBAM is a strong asset.

• Good knowledge of and experience in industrial processes in one of the CBAM sectors is a

strong asset (e.g. understanding of the production steps, origin of emissions and techniques
to reduce emissions)

• Good knowledge of and experience in technical implementation issues related to the EU

ETS or the CBAM (e.g. monitoring, reporting and verification of greenhouse gas emissions,
free allocation) is a very strong asset.

Good analytical and drafting skills, strong organisational and communication skills, as well as the
ability to work with minimum supervision and meeting deadlines are necessary. Given the political
sensitivity and the complexity of the tasks, excellent written and oral communication in English is
required. Experience and a good knowledge of informatics tools would be considered an advantage.

DG TAXUD promotes a spirit of entrepreneurship and initiative, needed for this post. We are a very
active team, and we look for a colleague enjoying
working in a team with other experienced
colleagues from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Candidates should be ready to join a
fast growing and versatile team and to work closely with new colleagues in other units in TAXUD
and in the Commission.

(Reference: Call for interest EC/2026/TAXUD/522123)

HOW TO EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST?

With a view to guaranteeing equal access to all, the Commission recruits from an open database of
spontaneous applications. The present call for interests aims at helping the recruiters to identify
potentially interested candidates within this database.

In practice, to express your interest, please follow the subsequent two steps:

1.

If you are not registered yet in the open
address: CAST Permanent. Please select under selection procedures for contract agent the
CAST permanent profile that best suits your education and experience.

EPSO database, please do so at the following

2. You should send your documents in a single pdf in the following order:

2. completed application form.

1. your CV
Please send these documents by the publication deadline to [email protected]
indicating the call for interest reference EC/2026/TAXUD/522123 in the subject.

No applications will be accepted after the publication deadline.

(Reference: Call for interest EC/2026/TAXUD/522123)

ANNEX

1. Selection

➢ Am I eligible to apply?

You must meet the following eligibility criteria when you validate your application

:

Our rules provide that you can only be recruited as a contract agent at the European Commission if
you:

General criteria:

• Are a citizen of a Member State of the EU and enjoy full rights as a citizen ;
• Have fulfilled any obligations imposed by applicable laws concerning military service;
• Are physically fit to perform the duties linked to the position;
• Produce the appropriate character references as to suitability for the performance of the

duties.

• Have passed a n EPSO CAST in the relevant Function Group for this position. At the stage of

the application, it is sufficient to be registered in the EPSO CAST data base.

Qualifications:

(a) Have a level of post -secondary education attested by a diploma OR
(b) a level of secondary education attested by a diploma giving access to post

-secondary

education, and appropriate professional experience of at least three years .

Only qualifications issued or recognised as equivalent by EU Member State authorities (e.g. by
the Ministry of Education) will be accepted.

Languages:

• have a thorough knowledge (minimum level C1) of one of the 24 official languages of the

EU1

• AND have a satisfactory knowledge (minimum level

B2)2 of a second official language of

the EU, to the extent necessary for the performance of the duties.

➢ What about the selection steps?

The selecting unit chooses from the EPSO database 3 candidates with the appropriate profile and
invites them to an interview. For the interview a selection panel is set

-up to assess the best

1 The official languages of the European Union are: BG (Bulgarian), CS (Czech), DA (Danish), DE (German), EL
(Greek), EN (English), ES (Spanish), ET (Estonian), FI (Finnish), FR (French), GA (Irish), HR (Croatian), HU
(Hungarian), IT (Italian), LT (Lithuanian), LV (Latvian), MT (Maltese), NL (Dutch), PL (Polish), PT (Portuguese),
RO (Romanian), SK (Slovak), SL (Slovenian), SV (Swedish).
2 For details on language levels, please see the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages
(https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/resources/european-language -levels-cefr).

(Reference: Call for interest EC/2026/TAXUD/522123)

candidates. Due to the large volume of applications that we may receive only candidates selected
for the interview will be notified.

For operational reasons and in order to complete the selection procedure as quickly as possible in
the interest of the candidates and of the institution, the selection procedure will be carried out in
English and possibly in a second official language.

3 Therefore, candidates who did not pass already a CAST on the level Function Group III, should register their
profile at this address https://eu-careers.europa.eu/en/Cast-Permanent

(Reference: Call for interest EC/2026/TAXUD/522123)

2. Recruitment

The candidate selected for recruitment will be requested to
support of the statements made in the database and, where relevant, the call for interest.

provide documentary evidence in

The successful candidate will be required to undergo a mandatory pre -recruitment medical check-
up carried out by the Commission

➢ Type of contract and working conditions

The place of employment will be in Brussels

The successful candidate will be engaged as a
3(b) of the
Conditions of Employment of Other Servants , in function group FG I II. General information on
Contract Agents can be found at this link.

contract agent under Article

The grade or proposed grade range, as well as the step in that grade , will be defined on the basis
of the candidates’ previous professional experience, in accordance with
Commission Decision
C(201 7)6760 laying down the criteria applicable to classification in step on engagement .

The duration of the first contract will be 1 year . Subject to the interest of the service, the
contract may be renewed one or more times up to a maximum duration of 6 years.

The duration of the renewal(s) will be defined according to the General Implementing Rules in force
at that moment (currently, Commission Decision C(2017)6760 on policies for the engagement and
use of contract agents ).

Contract agents recruited in Function Group III
probationary period.

have to successfully complete a

9-month

The pay of staff members consists of a basic salary supplemented with specific allowances,
including, where applicable, expatriation and family allowances. The provisions guiding the
calculation of these allowances can be consulted in the Conditions of Employment of Other
Servants. As a member of staff of the European institutions, your pay is subject to a tax raised by
those institutions.

The European Commission applies a policy of equal opportunities and non
accordance with Article 1d of the Staff Regulations.

-discrimination in

Should you need further information on working conditions, please refer to Working conditions and
benefits of EU Careers .

(Reference: Call for interest EC/2026/TAXUD/522123)

For information related to Data Protection, please see the Specific
Information to data subjects on their rights”, to find your rights and how to exercise them in
addition to the privacy statement, which summarises the processing of your data.

Privacy Statement under “7.

(Reference: Call for interest EC/2026/TAXUD/522123)