Intern in the European and External Relations Department

Our team and mission

The European and External Relations Department is responsible for proposing, coordinating and supporting ESA’s policy vis-à-vis the European Union, non-Member States, their institutions and International Organisations, in accordance with the overall corporate strategy of the Agency, and supervising the action plan to be followed, in close cooperation with Directors.

The Office of EU Relations prepares, coordinates and support ESA’s policy vis-à-vis the European Union. The Office of EU Relations acts as the main Agency institutional point of contact towards EU institutions. Thus, it is advising on suitable policy towards ESA engagements in EC activities and to the strengthening of relations with the Commissioners and the Directorates General of the Commission, the Cabinets, the European Parliament and its Committees, the EU Council and the European Council, and relevant EU agencies. The activities of the Office are carried out under the authority of the Director of European, Legal and International matters, and in close cooperation with all ESA Directorates. These activities encompass the following responsibilities:

• interfacing with the Commission services addressing space issues in order to help ensure consistency of interactions and to identify issues of concern to the whole Agency;
• supporting the Director of European, Legal and International matters in his mandate to deliver an efficient implementation of the FFPA. In this context, the Office of the EU Relations will provide the secretariat service of the ESA-EU Matters Committee of the Directors managing EU-funding programmes and will support the Director of European, Legal and International matters in the task of Chair of this Committee and vis-à-vis all relevant Agency Directorates to facilitate an integrated Agency course of action with the EU;
• promoting ESA’s policies and programmes to the EU institutions in order to ensure in particular that they are appropriately and consistently taken into account in the decision making process of the EU and, in coordination with concerned Directorates, monitoring EU policy developments to assess their implications for ESA and the space sector;
• liaising with national Permanent Representations to the EU, the EU Council Working Parties, COREPERs, and the rotating presidencies of the EU Council;
• building up and maintaining a space network in Brussels, liaising with entities and other organisations active in the space sector in Brussels such as space industry associations (ASD-Eurospace, ESOA), NEREUS, etc. to find common positions and promote them towards the EU institutions;
• supporting the Director General and the Director of European, Legal and International matters in the preparation and implementation of further evolutions of the institutional relations between ESA and the EU and in the preparation of meetings related to relations with EU;
• ensuring ESA representation and managing contracts between ESA and Brussels-based European think tanks (e.g. EPPA, Friends of Europe, ...);
• managing relevant ad-hoc studies. 

For further information visit our web site: http://www.esa.int

Field(s) of activity for the internship

Topic: ESA-EU relationship and monitoring of EU policy and programme 

As an intern, your tasks will include:

• monitoring the activities within European Commission’s Directorates-General responsible for implementing the EU Space Programme, involved in the support of space R&I, and using space assets and data to meet EU policy objectives ;
• preparing exchanges with Permanent Representations of the Member States to the EU, the working parties and rotating presidencies of the Council of the EU, as well as with the relevant committees in the European Parliament ;
• preparing exchanges with professional space associations (e.g., Eurospace, EARSC, NEREUS) and space industry representatives in Brussels with the goal to define and promote common positions with respect to EU institutions and their initiatives;
• preparing space policy debate in Brussels in cooperation with think tanks and through involvement in the development and organization of conferences and dedicated events.

Behavioural competencies

Result Orientation
Operational Efficiency
Fostering Cooperation
Relationship Management
Continuous Improvement
Forward Thinking

Education

You must have student status and be enrolled at university for the entire duration of the internship. You should preferably be in your final or second to last year of a university course at master’s level in a technical or scientific discipline.

Additional requirements

The working languages of the Agency are English and French. A good knowledge of one of these is required. Knowledge of another Member State language would be an asset.

Other requirements: Master Degree with a proven interest for programme and processes management and ESA and EU institutions and their functioning would be an asset