Traineeships at the European Central Bank's Legal Services

You will be part of the Directorate General Legal Services. We provide advice on the legal aspects of the regulatory, institutional and contractual framework of the ECB, the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM). We prepare ECB legal instruments including ECB opinions on draft European Union and national legislation. We address questions relating to the interpretation of the Treaty on the European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, as well as relating to the ECB’s legal position vis-à-vis other EU institutions and in international fora. We also provide legal advice to the ECB’s management on administrative matters and represent the ECB in court.

European Central Bank is currently working on a number of important legal issues relating to monetary policy, financial market infrastructure, banking supervision and institutional matters, and are participating in ongoing discussions with other European and international stakeholders relating to a wide range of regulatory issues.

European Central Bank is looking for trainees to join the Institutional Law Division, the Financial Law Division and the Supervisory Law Division.

The ECB is an inclusive employer and we strive to reflect the diversity of the population we serve. We encourage you to apply, irrespective of your gender, gender identity, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, disability or other characteristics.

Your Role
You will be assigned to one of the three divisions, where you will carry out research and prepare legal advice in close collaboration with experienced legal counsels.

As a trainee in the Institutional Law Division you will:

contribute to the provision of legal advice on questions related to central bank law, the ECB’s privileges and immunities, and all aspects of ESCB and Eurosystem governance, covering EU civil service law, contracts (including non-financial contracts) and procurement law;
deal with legal issues concerning accounting, auditing, taxation, euro banknotes and intellectual property.
As a trainee in the Financial Law Division you will:
support the analysis of legal questions and the preparation of legal acts related to monetary policy, market operations, financial market infrastructures (including ESCB projects such as TARGET2 and TARGET2-Securities), the oversight of payment and settlement systems, statistics, financial services legislation and financial stability.
As a trainee in the Supervisory Law Division you will:
contribute to the interpretation of the rules which the ECB applies in its supervision of credit institutions, such as those concerning authorisations, fit and proper assessments, capital and liquidity requirements, supervisory reporting, crisis management, enforcement and sanctions;
assist in the preparation of advice relating to the SSM Regulation.