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How to become an EU election observer

All candidates (core team and observers) interested in participating in an EOM have to register their candidature in the Election Roster. The minimum requirements to become an observer are defined in the EU Guidelines on Common Criteria for the Selection of Electoral Observers [76 KB] .

Qualified candidates are invited to enter their CVs into the electronic form provided. After screening the CVs of their own nationals, Member States will propose the most qualified candidates for the position of long or short-term observer (LTO/STO) in one of the EU’s Election Observation Missions. Here is a list of EU Member State contact points or ‘focal points’.

Core Team experts are recruited by the Commission directly. Candidates interested in applying as a Core Team member should regularly consult the calls for candidatures page.

Candidates should be aware that Member States may apply additional criteria when proposing their nationals for LTO or STO positions. Commission services may also add criteria in relation to specific countries. The Commission makes the final selection of LTOs and STOs.

For candidates with Belgian nationality:

• Please note that registration with the European Union's roster does not per se result in your selection for an election observation mission. You still have to be nominated by your Government through the Belgian Federal Public Service 'Foreign Affairs' Ministry. As a Belgian citizen you have to apply explicitly for a particular mission in order to be nominated for it. Please contact waarnemers.eu@diplobel.fed.be (Dutch) or observateurs.ue@diplobel.fed.be (French) for further information and applications.

For Estonian candidates:

• The Estonian Focal Point welcomes the registration of Estonian citizens with the European Union's Roster, especially those with strong French, Spanish and Portuguese language skills. The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs International Staff Policy Division is the Estonian Focal Point and is responsible for proposing Estonian election observers to the European Commission.

For candidates with French nationality:

• Please note that the registration with the European Union's roster does not per se result in your selection for an election observation mission. You still have to be nominated by your government through the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Mission des fonctionnaires internationaux). As a French citizen, you have to apply explicitly for a particular mission in order to be nominated for it. Please consult the Mission des fonctionnaires internationaux website (FR) for selection and registration procedures.

For German nationals:

• Please note that registration with the European Union's roster does not per se result in your selection for an election observation mission. You still have to be nominated by your government via the Centre for International Peace Operations (ZIF). As a German citizen, you have to be a member of the ZIF personnel pool in order to be nominated for a mission. Please consult the Centre's website for selection criteria and registration procedures.

For candidates with Spanish nationality:

• Please note that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain, responsible for the recruitment of Spanish election observers, requires all Spanish candidates nominated for a mission to have a university degree equivalent to the Spanish five years licenciatura.
• Spanish candidates can be asked at any moment to produce their university degree certificates.

For candidates of Swedish nationality:

• Please note that registration with the European Union’s roster does not per se result in your selection for an election observation mission. You still have to be nominated by your government through the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) (SV). As a Swedish citizen, you have to be registered with the Swedish roster maintained by SIDA in order to be nominated for a mission.

For candidates with Italian nationality:

• Please note that registration with the European Union's roster does not per se result in your selection for an election observation mission. You still have to be nominated by your Government through the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As an Italian citizen you have to apply explicitly for a particular mission in order to be nominated for it. Please consult the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs for further information and applications.

For candidates with Romanian and Bulgarian nationality:

• The European Commission is pleased to announce that, given the accession of Romania and Bulgaria to the EU in January 2007, it is now welcoming the registration of (potential) election observers from these countries.