traineeship sholarship

Hi there,

I applied to the February 2014 EP traineeship, and I have a question regarding article 24 - 5 of the "Internal rules governing traineeships".

It stated: "If, during his/her traineeship, the trainee in receipt of a
scholarship receives earnings or a scholarship from another source, an
amount equivalent to this external income shall be deducted from the
amount to which he/she is entitled under paragraphs 1 and 4 of this Article."

I am currently unemployed and I receive an unemployment benefit. Is unemployment benefit considered as an income, that should be deducted from the scholarship ?

many thanks for your reply!

Mielkro

Depending on the legislation of your country, the unemployment office should stop paying you unemployement benefints when you will start your internship, if you are selected, since that would constitute for a paying activity.

I wouldn't overthink it - just take the scholarship + the unemployment benefit without telling anybody. If you start asking around you will only get in trouble, nobody at the parliament will ever know about the unemployment benefits, just as nobody at the unemployed office will know about the scholarship.

For me this rule should apply for somebody who gets a scholarship for his internship from another source (for example from the university), or is getting paid for the internship (by an MEP etc.) - the rule makes sure the person doesn't get the money for the internship twice. Of course you can contact the EP and ask, but my experience tells me that asking a difficult question to the institutions often opens Pandora's box