FAQ

You can obtain a card by contacting your local health insurance institution as each individual country is responsible for producing and distributing the card on its own territory. 

More information can be found on the European Health Insurance Card page.

European rules on social security do not replace existing national social security schemes by a single European system. Rather than harmonising the social security schemes, the EU provisions on social security provide for simple coordination of these national systems.

For more information, please consult "Your social security rights" page.

Please consult the EUlisses website.

Our publications on social security could also be useful for you. You can order 1 free printed copy via the EU-Bookshop. If you need more than 1 copy (for events, public distribution, etc.) please contact our documentation service.

Member States are responsible for the organisation and funding of their social protection systems, including pensions.  

The EU supports cooperation between national governments and other stakeholders in order to address common challenges, such as Europe's ageing population. The EU also helps people who choose to work or retire in another Member State through coordination of national social security schemes.  

Information concerning pension rights for people who move to live or work in another European country can be found on the EUlisses website. Further information about national social protection schemes is available through the EU's MISSOC database, as well as the Moving in Europe website.

Although Employment and Social Policies are among the activities of this Directorate General, we cannot provide direct assistance to jobseekers.

Please visit the European Job Mobility Portal EURES, where you will find information on jobs and learning opportunities throughout Europe.

You can also get in contact with the EURES advisors in your country. EURES advisors are trained specialists who provide information, guidance and placement, to both jobseekers and employers interested in the European job market. They have developed specialised expertise in the practical, legal and administrative matters relating to mobility at national and cross-border levels.

In case you are interested  in the rights and obligations that apply for European citizens working in another Member State, we invite you to visit our website on EU law on free movement of workers.

If you are interested in the policies of the EU and its rules for students, we invite you to visit the website of the Directorate General for Education and Culture.

Although Employment and Social Policies are among the activities of this Directorate General, we cannot provide direct assistance to jobseekers.

If you are interested in getting a job within the European Union, please visit the EURES website.   

For policies of the EU and rules for non-EU nationals wishing to work in the European Union, please visit the site of the Directorate General for Freedom, Security and Justice.

Non-EU nationals who are family members of EU migrant workers are covered by the rules concerning free movement of workers. To read more about their rights, please consult our website on EU law on free movement of workers.

Please consult the web pages on Gender Equality.

Our publications on gender equality could also be very useful for you. You can order 1 free printed copy via the EU-Bookshop. If you need more than 1 copy (for events, public distribution, etc.) please contact our documentation service.

Victims of discrimination must take their cases under the national law before the national courts. You can contact the National equality body in your country to get assistance in court or dealing with other administrative procedures foreseen by the national law. We also recommend you to read Guidance for victims.

Discrimination on the base of race needs to be distinguished from discrimination based on nationality which under EC law is a different matter government by different legislation.

Publications on Fundamental rights and antidiscrimination are available online. You can order 1 free printed copy from the EU-Bookshop. If you need more than 1 copy (for events, public diffusion, etc.) please contact our documentation service.

Please consult the "Tackling Discrimination" page and the website "For Diversity. Against discrimination".

Publications on fundamental rights and anti-discrimination are available online. You can order 1 free printed copy via the EU-Bookshop. If you need more than 1 copy (for events, public distribution, etc.) please contact our documentation service.

The European Commission does not finance projects on request or on a case-by-case basis. The Commission awards money in the form of grants to private or public organisations, and exceptionally to individuals on the base of an annual programme that fixes the broad outlines of the grants that are envisaged over the year.

A general overview on funding in the area of employment, social affairs and equal opportunities is available on our portal.

More information on general funding procedures and on all types of grants and funding opportunities is available on the Commission's website Grants of the European Union.

The European Commission does not provide grants directly to students.

Our Directorate-General collaborates with national and regional authorities for setting the general funding priorities and objectives of the European Social Fund (ESF), but does not directly administer funds and projects.

All contact details are available via the ESF in Member States menu on the ESF website, or via the ESF interactive map of the European Union. 

A brochure explains more about Education and training in the European Social Fund 2007-2013.

Information on all European funding programmes on education and training (e.g. Erasmus) can be found on the website of the Directorate General for Education and Culture.

More information on general funding procedures and on all types of grants and funding opportunities is available on the Commission's website Grants of the European Union.

A wide range of funding opportunities is available to European businesses under the various Community policies and programmes.

To find out about the opportunities available to you, contact the local authorities or the Enterprise Europe Network portal , which can help you to find the most appropriate type of funding.

Further information is available on the Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry's grants page and on its website on Access to Finance for European Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Your Europe for business, instead, provides you with practical information that helps you to carry out your business in another country, including funding opportunities.

The Call for Tenders and Calls for Expression of Interests are published on our website, under the section "Funding".

Information on new calls for tenders is included in our electronic newsletter ESmail, although ESmail is not an alert service for calls for tenders.

Invitations to tenders are also published on TED (Tenders Electronic Daily).

For more information on public procurement, including links to public contracts in the Member States, we suggest you to visit the Europa Public procurement website.

New releases and recent publications can be found in our publications catalogue and  in the EU-Bookshop. You can order online one free copy of any of our recent publications via EU-Bookshop.

For events (like conferences, seminars, etc.), it is also possible to request a number of copies (stocks permitting). For this kind of request, please contact us at least two weeks before the date of the event, specifying the title of the publication, the catalogue number, the language version and the number of copies required together with the full delivery address.

Brochures and new issues of our Social Agenda magazine can be received regularly and free of charge by filling in the online subscription form. Subscriptions are limited to maximum nine copies.

Please visit our Job opportunities website, where you will find all necessary information.

You can also find further information on the European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) website. EPSO deals with personnel selection not only for the commission but also for the other European Institutions. Open competitions are published in the Official Journal and announced on the EPSO website.