Legal experts needed

Recruitment of Legal Experts for Sweden, Malta, France/French speaking Belgium, the United Kingdom, Spain, Netherlands/Dutch speaking Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Finland and Austria.

ECAS is a European association based in Brussels which aims: i) To strengthen civil society in the member and applicant countries of the EU; ii) Develop a more inclusive European citizenship; and iii) Campaign for transparency and reform of the EU institutions.

ECAS is running a major European citizens advice service for the European Commission. This consists of a small management team and a team of currently around 60 legal experts answering questions in 24 languages.

Answers provided by the service relate primarily to citizens’ free movement rights: defence of right to stay, access to social rights, recognition of professional qualifications etc. The team provides advice about how to overcome barriers to the recognition of EU citizens’ rights and the nearest available specialised service (signposting). We are currently looking for:

Legal Experts for Sweden, Malta, France/French speaking Belgium, U.K., Spain, Netherlands/Dutch speaking Belgium, Italy, Denmark, Finland and Austria.

With the following qualifications:

- Degree in law, with knowledge of European Community law particularly in the area of the internal market and free movement of people
- Mother tongue speakers of one of the languages of the countries mentioned above
- Good English language skills (or French with at least the ability to communicate in English)
- Knowledge about the legal system and institutions in the respective country
- Ability to communicate in clear and concise way and under tight deadlines
- (If possible) familiarity and experience with NGOs and citizens advice services, or other services in contact with the public.

Legal experts will be recruited as contractors and will not have employee status. Work will be performed on a flexible basis, depending on the number of incoming enquiries. Experts can be based in Brussels or in the Member States.

If interested, please send your Curriculum Vitae and supporting documentation to ECAS, Ms. Claire Damilano, Avenue de la Toison d’Or 77, B-1060 Bruxelles email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   

European Voluntary Service (EVS) at ECAS

Since October 2007 ECAS has been accredited as the EVS host, sending and coordinating organization. For now we have just one 12-month placement and we are hosting our first volunteer, but we would like to expand our EVS activities.

For more information about EVS, please check the website of: Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency. Please consult the Youth in Action programme, in particular Action 2 - European Voluntary Service.

What we can offer as a sending organization:

As a sending organization ECAS can help in the preparation phase of the EVS project (help in contacting potential host organization, processing the application documents, drafting the learning plan, contact with the National Agency for the pre-departure training, assistance in the follow-up activities).

EVS candidates are welcome to send us their CV, cover letter and the short-list of the chosen host organisation.

The database of the host organisations is available:

http://ec.europa.eu/youth/evs/aod/hei_en.cfm

The organisations interested in receiving our volunteers are welcome to contact as too!

What we can offer as a host organization:

If you are a young European interested in the EU affairs, becoming an EVS volunteer and working for ECAS could be an excellent opportunity for you to learn more about functioning of the EU Institutions and European NGOs.

ECAS is looking for young people with a keen interest in the EU and the organised civil society. Moreover, we wish to recruit young people who can later use the experience and knowledge of EU operations gained with ECAS in their local communities.

ECAS as a host organization gives its volunteers the opportunity to gain professional experience on communication, project management and research in a multicultural environment. Our volunteer gets introduced to European Union activities by research, assistance in the EU projects, participating in the conferences in Brussels and various ECAS events. We also train the volunteer in the communication activities by work on publications, articles and press releases designing information brochures, editing website. Finally, we familiarise the volunteer with the project management. The volunteer is also offered an opportunity to propose their own creative ideas. Volunteers receive personal, task-related life-in-Brussels-related, linguistic and administrative support from ECAS.

We have recently recruited two volunteers who will stay with us till autumn 2009. We will be offering two, 12-month placements starting in Autumn 2009. In order to apply please send your CV and motivation letter (both in English) to a following email address: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . The deadline for applications is 1 April 2009. The selection process will take place in May 2009 and we will have then telephone conversations with the short-listed candidates.

EVS at ECAS contact details:

Kenan Hadzimusic
Project Manager
Tel: +32 2 548 04 93
Fax: + 32 2 548 04 99
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it