Intramuros

Intramuros (abbr. IM) are the most normal people you can meet in the corridors, as they have never been institutionalized (both meanings apply). They are usually unaware of anything concerning the European Union or the hierarchies but you can still meet them in PluxPluxPlux, short form of Place du Luxembourg/Luxemburgplein, is the institutional afterwork meeting place just outside the European Parliament. On a summer Thursday evening, it is customary to meet there with colleagues.

They do not properly belong to the family of eurocratsEurocratThe term Eurocrat (from the combination of ”European” and ”bureaucrat”) broadly indicates any official working for the European Union; it may have both a negative and a positive connotation, depending on who is speaking, as their contract is not with the European Union but with some greedy service provider that hires them. They don’t get any of the institution’s perks but they have more stable contracts than interimairesInterimaireInterimaires are trainees who failed to become Contract Agents and ended up in the institutions' purgatory: they work hard, pay taxes on their salary (the ultimate Eurocrat's shame), and have a weekly renewable contract.