Seconded National Experts (SNEs) are national or international civil servants who are working temporarily for the Commission under the rules applicable to such experts. SNEs have a dual role: to bring to the Commission their experience of the issues they are used to dealing with where they normally work and to take back to their home administration the knowledge of Community issues which they acquire during their secondment.
Who can participate?
SNEs must come from a national, regional or local public administration or an IGO. The secondment of an SNE by an employer other than a national, regional or local public administration or an IGO should be authorised only on a case-by-case basis, once it has been ascertained that the SNE's employer is part of the public sector or is an independent university or research organisation that does not seek to make profits for redistribution.
How to participate?
If you are interested in working as an SNE, our vacancies are published on the websites of the Permanent Representations of the Member States to the EU.
Nationality requirement
An SNE must be a national of an EU or EFTA Member State or a country with which the Council has decided to open accession negotiations and which has concluded a specific agreement with the Commission on staff secondments.
Contractual requirement
The persons covered by these Rules must have worked for their employer on a permanent or contract basis for at least 12 months before their secondment and shall remain in the service of that employer throughout the period of secondment. The SNE's employer shall thus undertake to continue to pay his salary and to maintain his administrative status (permanent official or contract staff member) throughout the period of secondment.
Duration
The initial period of secondment may not be fewer than six months or more than two years. It may be renewed once or more, up to a total period not exceeding four years. Exceptionally, at the request of the DG concerned and where the interests of the service warrant it, the Director-General of HR and Security may authorise one or more extensions of the secondment for a maximum of two more years at the end of the four-year period.
More information
European Commission civil service portal - Seconded National Experts