EuropeAid salary scales: A primer

EuropeAid and other EU institutions may offer lower pay than other international organizations, but they remain popular nonetheless: Competitions for civil servant vacancies attract 10,000 job seekers on average.

The remuneration of EuropeAid employees depends on their job type and seniority. Permanent staff are divided into 16 grades, all but the highest of them comprising five steps, or salary levels. Contract staff fall into 16 grades with seven steps each.

Pay “was practically frozen” in 2010 after increasing by a meager 0.1 percent, not much if you consider inflation in Brussels, where the majority of EU staff are based, was at 2.4 percent, according to the European Commission.

Performance determines promotion from one grade to another; advancement to the next step is automatic every two years. Officials tend to stay within one grade for three to six years, according to the European Personnel Selection Office.