Views International

The European Parliament promotes equality of opportunity and encourages applications from women and men with disabilities for its traineeship programmes. In 2006 the European Parliament launched a specific traineeship programme for people with disabilities. This programme is a positive action measure, as described in Article 4 of the Code of Good Practice for the Employment of People with Disabilities.

Objectives
The main purpose of the programme is to offer a number of persons with disabilities a meaningful work experience as a trainee in the European Parliament, giving them an opportunity to familiarise themselves with its activities.

Additional objectives are:

to put the European Parliament’s equal opportunities principles into practice by supporting people with disabilities in gaining professional experience, and thereby enhancing their opportunities for future employment;
to provide the European Parliament with the contribution and positive experience that disabled trainees will bring to its work and culture;
to contribute to raising the general awareness of disability among Parliament staff, helping to remove barriers to the integration of people with disabilities.
Programme outline
The programme offers five-month paid traineeships to disabled candidates, and is run in addition to the other options for traineeships and study visits in the Secretariat of the European Parliament. Being exempted from Article 18 of the Internal Rules Governing Traineeships and Study Visits in the Secretariat of the European Parliament, it offers candidates without a university degree the same conditions as other paid trainees.

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