EU institutions and agencies are spread across 20 member states. Brussels and Luxembourg concentrate the core institutions; the decentralised agencies are deliberately distributed so that EU presence, jobs, and visibility don't sit in one capital. This table lists every institution and agency on EU Jobs Alert by host country, with the current live-vacancy count.
How many EU agencies are there?
Around 45 decentralised agencies, six executive agencies, and a handful of joint undertakings and special bodies, plus the seven core institutions. This page indexes the 51 institutions and agencies we currently track, distributed across 20 EU member states.
Why are EU agencies spread across so many countries?
Decentralised agencies are deliberately placed in member states other than Belgium and Luxembourg to spread EU presence, jobs, and visibility. The location of each agency is decided by the Council of the EU, sometimes by competitive bid (notably for AMLA in Frankfurt, EMA when it relocated from London to Amsterdam, and EUAA in Malta).
Which country has the most EU agencies?
Belgium has the largest concentration because Brussels hosts the core institutions. Among the agency-only set, Spain (EUIPO Alicante, EU-OSHA Bilbao, EFCA Vigo, SatCen Torrejón), Italy (EFSA Parma, ETF Turin, JRC Ispra, eu-LISA Italy site), and Germany (AMLA Frankfurt, EASA Cologne, JRC Karlsruhe) lead. Greece, Sweden, Finland, France, the Netherlands and Poland also host major agencies.
Do all EU agencies hire EU citizens only?
Generally yes for Temporary Agents, Contract Agents and permanent officials. Some specialised technical and research roles open to non-EU nationals, notably at the JRC. SNE roles require national civil-servant status in an EU or EFTA member state.
What's the difference between a decentralised agency, an executive agency, a joint undertaking, and an institution?
Institutions are the seven core bodies established by the Treaties (Commission, Parliament, Council, European Council, Court of Justice, Court of Auditors, ECB). Decentralised agencies are EU bodies established under EU law to perform specific technical, scientific or managerial tasks (Europol, EMA, ENISA, …). Executive agencies are temporary bodies set up by the Commission to manage EU programmes (HADEA, EACEA, CINEA, ERCEA, REA, EISMEA). Joint undertakings are PPPs implementing EU research priorities (EuroHPC, Fusion for Energy, IHI, CleanH2). All hire under the same EU staff regulations.