European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation Jobs

Mission and mandate

Eurojust was established by Council Decision 2002/187/JHA of 28 February 2002, one of the EU's earliest justice-and-home-affairs agencies, created in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the need for closer judicial cooperation in terrorism cases. The agency was substantially reformed by Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 of 14 November 2018, which entered into force on 12 December 2019. The Regulation modernised Eurojust's governance, clarified the role of national members, and strengthened the agency's operational support functions.

Eurojust's core mandate is to support and coordinate national judicial authorities (prosecutors and investigating judges) in cross-border criminal investigations and prosecutions involving two or more member states or a member state and a non-EU country. The agency's competence covers a defined list of serious crimes including terrorism, organised crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, corruption, fraud against the EU budget, cybercrime, human trafficking, environmental crime, and core international crimes (war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, added through Regulation (EU) 2022/838 in response to the war in Ukraine).

Eurojust's operational outputs are: (1) coordination meetings, bringing prosecutors and investigating judges from different member states together to coordinate parallel investigations, divide jurisdiction, plan simultaneous arrests, and resolve conflicts of jurisdiction; (2) joint investigation teams (JITs), Eurojust supports the establishment and running of JITs under the EU JIT framework, including providing legal advice, funding, and operational coordination; (3) case management, supporting national members in handling individual cross-border cases through the agency's secure case management system; (4) European Arrest Warrant and European Investigation Order coordination (supporting national authorities in the execution of these instruments; (5) the on-call coordination network) a 24/7 contact point for urgent cross-border judicial cooperation needs; (6) judicial cooperation with non-EU countries, through liaison prosecutors at the agency (Norway, Switzerland, the US, Ukraine, the UK after Brexit, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Georgia, Moldova have all maintained liaison arrangements at various periods).

The agency was also given a new mandate by Regulation (EU) 2022/838 to collect, preserve, and analyse evidence relating to core international crimes, a substantial expansion triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Structure and operational divisions

Eurojust is led by a President (Ladislav Hamran from 2017, with subsequent elections by the College) and an Executive Director (the head of the General Secretariat, Nicola Vettori from 2024). The institutional structure has two pillars: the College of national members (one per EU member state, prosecutors or judges of equivalent rank) which is the agency's main operational decision-making body for cases; and the General Secretariat, which provides legal, IT, and administrative support to the College.

The General Secretariat is structured into the Operations Department (case analysis, JIT support, coordination meetings, the on-call coordination network), the Legal Service (advice on EU criminal law, mutual legal assistance, European Arrest Warrant, European Investigation Order, and the new core international crimes mandate), the IT Department (case management system, secure communication channels, data protection), and the Resources Department (HR, finance, procurement, infrastructure, communications). The Data Protection Officer reports directly to the Executive Director and the College; data protection oversight at Eurojust is structured under both Regulation (EU) 2018/1727 and Regulation (EU) 2018/1725.

Geographically Eurojust is concentrated in The Hague at the Schenkkade building near the Museumkwartier, adjacent to Europol and other Hague-based international justice institutions (the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration). The Hague's positioning as the EU's centre for international justice means substantial day-to-day operational interaction with the ICC and other institutions, particularly on core international crimes.

Hiring landscape over the last 12 months

Eurojust hiring concentrates on three streams. First, case analysts and operational support, AD5 to AD7 posts in the Operations Department covering case analysis, JIT support, and coordination meeting preparation. These posts typically require a national law degree, master's in EU criminal law or international criminal law, and either prior prosecutorial experience or experience at a national justice ministry. Second, legal officers in the Legal Service, AD7 to AD9 specialist posts covering EU criminal law, mutual legal assistance, European Arrest Warrant interpretation, and the new core international crimes mandate. The 2022 expansion to core international crimes triggered a substantial 2022 to 2024 hiring wave around international criminal law and evidence preservation. Third, IT and data protection specialists, supporting the case management system, the secure communications channels (including SIENA jointly with Europol), and the strengthened data protection framework under Regulation (EU) 2018/1727.

A substantial stream of contract agent posts at FG III to FG IV covers project officer, finance, communications, IT support, and administrative support functions via CAST Permanent. The agency operates an active SNE programme drawing serving prosecutors, magistrates, and senior justice-ministry officials from EU member states. The national members' offices (each comprising the national member plus a small team of deputy and assistant national members and seconded national experts) are funded by member states and follow national recruitment arrangements, these are not standard EU staff posts.

Salary realism by grade and the Hague coefficient

The Hague has a correction coefficient of 109.9 under Article 64 of the Staff Regulations, among the higher coefficients in the EU duty-station network. An AD7 step 1 grosses €7,876 monthly basic at the 2024/2025 grid; with the Hague coefficient that becomes €8,656 monthly basic before allowances. Add the 16% expatriation allowance (€1,260, not modified by the coefficient), a household allowance for a married hire (~€220 plus 2% of basic), and a dependent-child allowance per child (~€510), and an AD7 expatriate with one child lands around €10,800 to €11,500 gross monthly before tax. EU tax is progressive; net take-home is roughly 76 to 80% of gross at AD7.

The Hague is an expensive duty station, particularly for housing. A two-bedroom apartment in Statenkwartier, Benoordenhout, Belgisch Park, Archipel, or the Centrum runs €1,500 to €2,500 monthly. Many Eurojust staff live in surrounding municipalities (Wassenaar, Voorburg, Rijswijk) for value, or in Leiden or Delft for the broader Randstad commute. The international school infrastructure is among Europe's strongest (the European School of The Hague, the British School in the Netherlands, the American School of The Hague, and others) and the education allowance covers most international-school fees. For staff with school-age children the package is competitive; for single AD5 hires the squeeze on housing is real. The non-financial benefit consistently cited by Eurojust staff is The Hague's clustering of international justice institutions, which creates a substantial international professional community. Use the salary calculator to model an AD7 take-home for The Hague against Brussels.

Languages, security clearance, and competition profile

English is the working language across Eurojust. Dutch is socially useful but not required. Knowledge of a second EU language is the regulatory minimum for AD and FG posts. For operational case work, additional EU languages corresponding to the member states most actively involved in cross-border casework (French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Romanian, Bulgarian) are highly valued. The agency's operational reality is multilingual; case files arrive in many EU languages and operational meetings often switch between English and the language of the case-state pair.

Many Eurojust posts require an EU security clearance, particularly in Operations, the Legal Service handling sensitive cases (terrorism, organised crime, core international crimes), and IT supporting the case management system. Clearance levels range from EU CONFIDENTIAL to EU SECRET depending on the function. Clearance is granted by the home member state and takes 6 to 12 months; recruitment is typically conducted on a conditional basis pending clearance.

Competition profiles favour candidates with a national law degree plus a master's in EU criminal law, international criminal law, or a related discipline. Prior experience at a national prosecutor's office, an investigating magistrate's office, a national justice ministry, a national specialised judicial cooperation unit, or an international criminal tribunal (the ICC, residual mechanisms for international criminal tribunals) is the typical AD7+ profile. For the post-2022 core international crimes mandate, experience at the ICC, at national war-crimes units, or with the Conflict Observatory and similar evidence-collection initiatives is particularly valued.

Application paths

Eurojust recruits via three routes. Direct temporary agent recruitment, the main channel for AD posts. Vacancy notices are published on eurojust.europa.eu/about-us/jobs/vacancies and circulated via the EU Careers portal. Applications are submitted through the agency's online system with CV (Europass or equivalent), motivation letter, language self-assessment, and supporting documents. Shortlisted candidates undergo a written test (typically a criminal law or judicial cooperation case study tailored to the post) and a structured interview. Where applicable, security clearance is initiated conditionally after selection.

Contract agent via CAST Permanent, candidates register on the EU Careers portal in the relevant FG profile (Project/Programme Management, Legal Support where applicable, ICT, Finance, Communications, Administrative Support) and respond to specific Eurojust notices. CA posts are typically 3 to 5 year contracts, renewable. The agency makes substantial use of CAST for support functions.

Seconded national experts, serving officials from national prosecutors' offices, justice ministries, and specialised judicial cooperation units apply through their national point of contact for 2 to 4 year deployments. The SNE route is a major channel for operational case-handling posts and for the Legal Service. National members' office staff (deputy and assistant national members, national member's staff) are recruited under national arrangements by the respective member state, not by Eurojust itself. Inter-institutional mobility from the Commission's DG JUST, the Council's DG D (Justice and Home Affairs), Europol, or the EPPO is common at AD9+ posts.