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"Other Contracts" is a catch-all category on EU Jobs Alert for staff categories that do not fit cleanly under officials, Temporary Agents, Contract Agents, Seconded National Experts, or traineeships. In practice this group includes Accredited Parliamentary Assistants (APAs) under Articles 5a and 125-139 CEOS, Special Advisers under Article 5 and Title V CEOS, Auxiliary Contract Agents engaged for short-term replacement work under CEOS Article 3b, Local Agents recruited under Title III CEOS to staff EU Delegations and representation offices outside the EU, and a small number of bespoke arrangements used by the European Investment Bank and the European Central Bank under their own staff rules. Each of these has its own legal regime, its own salary base, and its own career logic. If you are looking at a vacancy that does not say "Official", "Temporary Agent", "Contract Agent", "SNE", or "Traineeship", you are almost certainly looking at one of the categories described below. See [/guide/](/guide/) for how the broader categories compare.
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About Other Contracts contracts at EU institutions
What does 'Other Contracts' cover?
Five sub-categories make up the "Other Contracts" group. Accredited Parliamentary Assistants (APAs) — covered by Title VII of the CEOS (Articles 5a and 125-139) — are personal staff of individual Members of the European Parliament, employed under the MEP's parliamentary allowance and contracted directly through the European Parliament's APA framework. Special Advisers — Title V CEOS, Articles 123-124 — are external experts engaged by the institutions on personal contracts to advise on specific files, often for a few days a month, capped at 130 days a year. Auxiliary Contract Agents under CEOS Article 3b are short-term Contract Agents recruited to replace an absent official or to cover a peak workload, capped at six years cumulative. Local Agents under Title III CEOS (Articles 79-81) are staff recruited locally by EU Delegations and representation offices outside the EU under the host country's labour law, paid in local currency, and outside the EU pension and JSIS systems. Finally, the EIB and the ECB use their own staff regulations, distinct from the EU Staff Regulations and CEOS, with separate contract types — those vacancies usually appear under "Other Contracts" on EU Jobs Alert if no closer category fits.
How recruitment works
Recruitment differs sharply by sub-category. APA recruitment is essentially political: each MEP picks their own assistants, often through personal contacts, political-group networks, or short open calls posted on their constituency or group website; the European Parliament's APA Unit checks eligibility (EU member-state nationality, university degree or equivalent experience, no conflict of interest) but does not run a substantive competition. Special Advisers are appointed by an authority within the institution (a Commissioner, the Secretary-General, a Director-General) without a formal vacancy notice; the legal framework requires only that the choice be motivated and that the engagement be compatible with the person's main occupation. Auxiliary 3b Contract Agents are recruited like regular Contract Agents — most often from the CAST permanent database — but on a much shorter contract. Local Agents are recruited under local labour law procedures by the EU Delegation in the host country, often via direct CV submission to the Delegation's HR officer. EIB and ECB staff recruitment runs through those institutions' own competitive selection processes (online application, online tests, multiple interview rounds), looking and feeling much like a Temporary Agent procedure but governed by separate rules.
Salary and benefits
Salary frameworks are equally diverse. APAs are paid on the European Parliament's APA grid (also Annex I-style, in nine grades from APA-1 to APA-9), funded from the MEP's parliamentary assistance allowance. Starting basic salaries for an APA-1 are in the €2,000-€2,200/month range, scaling up to around €8,000/month at APA-9; expatriation and family allowances apply, on the same logic as Temporary Agents. Special Advisers are paid a daily fee proportional to AD12 official remuneration, capped at 130 working days per year, with no household allowances or pension accrual. Auxiliary 3b Contract Agents are paid on the standard CEOS Annex I.B grid for their function group, same as ordinary Contract Agents. Local Agents are paid according to local market rates as established by the EU Delegation's salary scale for the host country, with the host country's social security and tax regime applying — there is no EU pension, no JSIS, no expatriation allowance. EIB and ECB staff are paid on their own substantially higher grids — an entry analyst at the EIB or ECB typically earns more than the equivalent AD5 official — with comparable but separately administered health and pension schemes.
Career path and renewal
Career trajectories are tied to the contract type. APAs are contracted for the duration of the MEP's mandate (in practice up to five years, renewable for each new mandate); if the MEP loses re-election, the APA contract terminates. Many APAs move between MEPs at the end of a mandate, build a long career in Parliament across multiple political affiliations, or convert to EU official status via EPSO competitions where APA experience counts. Special Adviser contracts are typically one-year arrangements, renewable; they do not lead anywhere on the EU career ladder by themselves. Auxiliary 3b Contract Agents have a hard six-year cumulative ceiling in any one institution under that legal basis and cannot become indefinite under 3b — those who want to stay must move to an Article 3a contract via a new CAST procedure. Local Agents have careers within their host-country Delegation governed by local employment law; conversion to EU staff status is uncommon and would require winning a separate selection procedure under CEOS or Staff Regulations. EIB and ECB staff have parallel internal career paths, often more meritocratic and faster-moving than the EU institutions proper.
Best fits and limitations
Each sub-category fits a very specific candidate profile. APA roles suit politically engaged graduates and mid-career professionals who want to work directly on parliamentary files, accept that their employment depends on a single MEP's mandate, and value access to the legislative process over long-term contractual security. Special Adviser appointments fit experienced external experts (typically academics, former senior officials, industry leaders) who want a structured advisory engagement with an EU institution without committing to a full-time post. Auxiliary 3b Contract Agent posts work for candidates who want to test the EU institutions for a few months and accept a hard time limit. Local Agent posts suit professionals already living in the host country who want to work with the EU Delegation but stay in their local labour-market regime. EIB and ECB posts attract experienced finance, economics, and risk professionals who want EU-level work with a private-sector-adjacent compensation package. The common thread is that "Other Contracts" categories are specialised tools — each one is the best route for a particular situation, none of them is a general-purpose entry point. See [/guide/](/guide/) to compare with mainstream categories.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between 'Other Contracts' staff and EU officials?
Officials are tenured EU civil servants on the Staff Regulations career stream, recruited through EPSO open competitions, paid on the AD/AST grid, and entitled to expatriation/household/dependent-child allowances, JSIS health cover, and EU pension rights. "Other Contracts" is a catch-all group covering APAs, Special Advisers, Auxiliary 3b Contract Agents, Local Agents, and certain EIB/ECB staff categories — each governed by a distinct legal regime. APAs and Auxiliary 3b CAs use CEOS but on restrictive terms; Local Agents use host-country labour law; EIB/ECB staff use their institution's own staff rules. None of these are tenured officials; most do not accrue EU pension rights and have fundamentally different contract durations and career ceilings.
Can an 'Other Contracts' role be made permanent?
Generally no. APA contracts terminate with the MEP's mandate (renewable for a new mandate if the MEP is re-elected and rehires the assistant). Special Adviser contracts are short fixed-term arrangements without conversion rights. Auxiliary 3b Contract Agents face a hard six-year cumulative ceiling at any single institution. Local Agents work under local labour law and do not convert to EU staff status by tenure. EIB and ECB staff can hold indefinite-duration contracts within their own institutions but those are not EU "official" status under the Staff Regulations. To become a permanent EU official, a person in any of these categories must sit and pass an EPSO open competition.
Do 'Other Contracts' staff get the expatriation allowance?
It depends on the sub-category. APAs receive the expatriation, household, and dependent-child allowances on essentially the same terms as Temporary Agents and officials. Auxiliary 3b Contract Agents also receive these allowances on the standard CEOS terms. Special Advisers, paid on a daily-fee basis, do not receive expatriation or family allowances. Local Agents do not receive EU expatriation or family allowances — they work under host-country labour law. EIB and ECB staff receive expatriation-style allowances under their institution's own rules, structured differently from the Staff Regulations regime.
What is the typical salary for 'Other Contracts' staff?
APAs are paid on the European Parliament's APA grid from roughly €2,000/month (APA-1) to about €8,000/month (APA-9), with allowances on top. Special Advisers receive a daily fee proportional to AD12 remuneration, capped at 130 days/year. Auxiliary 3b Contract Agents are paid on the standard CEOS Annex I.B grid for their function group — FG II around €2,135-€3,419/month, FG III €2,818-€4,520, FG IV €4,065-€7,475. Local Agents are paid according to the EU Delegation's salary scale for the host country in local currency. EIB and ECB staff are paid on the institution's own grids, with entry-level analyst salaries typically higher than equivalent EU official AD5 pay.
How do I find 'Other Contracts' vacancies?
APA vacancies are advertised on individual MEPs' websites, on political-group recruitment portals, and via the European Parliament's central APA database. Special Adviser appointments are not openly advertised — they are made directly by Commissioners or senior managers. Auxiliary 3b Contract Agent vacancies are published like ordinary CA vacancies, on the recruiting service's portal and via CAST. Local Agent vacancies are published by individual EU Delegations on the External Action Service's careers portal and the relevant local job channels. EIB and ECB vacancies are published on their dedicated career portals. EU Jobs Alert aggregates open positions across these sub-categories into the [/jobs/](/jobs/) feed under contract type "Other Contracts" — filter to see what is currently open.