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Acquis

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Acquis (short acquis communautaire) is French for “that which has been acquired”; in EU context it refers to the entire body of European Union law, principles, and obligations that all member states must accept and… Acquis

Brexit

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Brexit, a portmanteau of “British” and “exit”, is the withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union. Following a UK-wide referendum in June 2016, in which 48% voted to remain in the EU and… Brexit

Brussels

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Brussels (abbr. BRU, French: Bruxelles; Dutch: Brussel), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (French: Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; Dutch: Brussels Hoofdstedelijk Gewest), is a region of Belgium comprising 19 municipalities, including the City of Brussels, which is the… Brussels

Committee of the Regions

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The Committee of the Regions (CoR), established in 1994, was set up to address two main issues: showcasing European regional food by organizing buffets cultural events in Brussels and ensuring a political future to many… Committee of the Regions

Contract Agent

Becoming a Contract Agent (abbr. CA) is the first step to become a eurocrat. You just need to perform the following tasks: Be invited to a CAST Competition (hint: networking is required). There are several… Contract Agent

Councils

The Council of the European Union and The European Council have two things in common: the name and the fact that they represent the position of their member state’s executive. To avoid confusion, we thought… Councils

Directorate-General

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A Directorate-General (abbr. DG) is an administrative branch dedicated to a specific field of expertise (e. g. agriculture). It is very similar to a ministry, but we can’t call them like that or member states… Directorate-General

Enlargement

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Outside the EU Bubble, the term is used by anyone who wishes to undergo surgery in order to increase their attractiveness visavi potential sexual partners. Within said bubble, enlargement means adding more countries to the… Enlargement

EPSO Test

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The EPSO test is a popular lottery of the European Institutions, with incredible prizes such as permanent jobs, pompous titles, generous salaries and unspeakable benefits. Many people try their luck every year, moving around the… EPSO Test

EU Bubble

The EU Bubble is a term used to indicate a reality distortion generated by the peculiar set of people that inhabit the Brussels’ European District. A Bubble resident typically uses sentences like: “We should burst… EU Bubble

Eurocrat

The 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. In… Eurocrat

Eurogroup

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The Eurogroup is an informal meeting of Eurozone finance ministers, currently counting 19 members. Its main aim is keeping alive the old European stereotypes about the productive northerners and the lazy southerners. The president of… Eurogroup

Europe Elects

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Europe Elects is a poll aggregator that publishes election-related data using the Black Speech of Mordor. Posts like Hlas-S&D: 21% OĽaNO-EPP: 11% SaS-ECR: 10% PS-RE: 9% Smer-S&D: 9% are not uncommon on this unholy account.… Europe Elects

European Central Bank

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The European Central Bank (ECB) administers monetary policy within the Eurozone. The bank’s capital stock (€10,825,007,069.61) is owned by all 27 central banks of each EU member states. That’s why it’s very hard for a… European Central Bank

Flexabilise

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Flexibalise, present tense of flexibalised, means to make something flexible. The etymology is unknown, though it sounds like a French-speaking speech-writer using the word flexibilisé. This word was added to the English Dictionary (Bubble Version)… Flexabilise

Infringement Procedure

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An Infringement Procedure is like a letter written by an ex-lover: it is awkward and hard to understand, it contains accusations and you take months to reply to it. It represents a legal action taken… Infringement Procedure

Interimaire

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Interimaire 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 with… Interimaire

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… Intramuros

Luxembourg

Luxembourg (abbr. LUX) is one of the funding members of the European Union, with a curious inverse relationship between its size and the cost of housing. Its considerable community of eurocrats is haunted by the… Luxembourg

Member State

Member State (abbr. MS) is how eurocrats call a country which is part of the European Union. Clear writing guidelines recommend using EU country or EU countries instead, but some habits are hard to die.

Multilingualism

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When used by someone in the EU Bubble this term refers to the 24 official languages of the European Union. Except if the speaker/writer is French, then it just means: “more French”. A language can… Multilingualism

Parachuting

Parachuting is the act of appointing people who had prestigious political roles to administrative positions they don’t have the requirements or the competences for (e. g. an ex-commissioner with little academic experience who is nominated… Parachuting

Plux

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Plux, 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, enjoying a good Belgian… Plux

Qualified Majority

A qualified majority (abbr. QM) is the number of votes required in the Council for a decision to be adopted (don’t forget that this is only one step of the EU legislative process). You might… Qualified Majority

Seconded National Expert

Seconded National Experts (abbr. SNE) are like the Erasmus students of the institutions: they already work in the administration of a member state and are lent to the European Union for a short period of… Seconded National Expert

Spitzenkandidat

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Spitzenkandidat (German for lead candidate) indicates a person chosen by a certain political group of the European Parliament for the post of President of the European Commission. By extension, the plural of the word (spitzenkandidaten)… Spitzenkandidat

Strasbourg

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Strasbourg (abbr. STR) is the place you don’t want to go to. It is also one of the seats of the European Parliament (together with BRU and LUX). Conveniently located between the Vosges mountains and… Strasbourg

Temporary Agent

Temporary Agents (abbr. TA) are the unicorn of the institutions, as they are very rare (they make up around 2% of the institution staff) and only a few people had the privilege of meeting one.… Temporary Agent

Third country

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A third country (/θɜː(r)d kʌntɹi/) is a country that has not (yet) joined the European Union; or a country which, through some inexplicable act of self-harm, has left that same Union. In this latter case… Third country

Tour de table

A topical moment of any institutional meeting, it’s the process of asking all the participants to briefly introduce themselves, usually answering the following questions: What’s your name? In which Directorate/Unit do you work? Why are… Tour de table

Trainee

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While everybody else was thinking of becoming an astronaut or a princess, a trainee, as a child, had only one dream: “Working in the European Institutions”. And they never gave it up! They sent their… Trainee

Whatever it takes

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Whatever it takes, often stylized as Whatever it tak€s, is a recurrent phrase from the European Central Bank film franchise, used to express determination to achieve a certain objective. Its origins are probably Indo-European, as… Whatever it takes

White Paper

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A White Paper generally indicates a government report giving information or proposals on a certain issue. In the EU Bubble the term refers to the one and only Juncker’s initiative in which citizens were invited… White Paper