EU official salary: the complete guide for those dreaming of Bruxelles

"How much does an EU official earn?"

This is the most searched question on Google by Italians who have registered for the EPSO 2026 competition. The short answer: an AD5 at grade 1 earns €6,153 gross per month (official table in force from 1 July 2025). For a single Italian in Bruxelles, this is approximately €5,500 net take-home pay. After a well-managed 20-year career, the same official can earn over €14,000 gross per month as a Head of Unit.

But the number alone doesn't tell the whole story. There are allowances, EU taxes (which are very low), the pension system, free European schools, high-level health insurance, and a career stability that is almost impossible to find in Italy today.

This guide covers everything, with figures verified against the official EU staff regulations and the salary table in force from 1 July 2025.

The AD5 salary in concrete numbers

The AD5 grade is the entry point for recent graduates who pass the EPSO competition. The salary is structured into five steps of 24 months each, after which you become eligible for promotion to grade AD6.

These figures represent the basic salary (official table Art. 66 of the Staff Regulations, in force from 1 July 2025) before allowances and deductions. The structure is the same for all EU officials: no personal negotiation, no discretionary bonuses. Transparency is one of the pillars of the European remuneration system.

And here comes the first surprise: the basic salary increases automatically every two years (the seniority step is provided for by Article 44 of the Staff Regulations). You don't have to ask for a raise. You don't have to negotiate. You work, perform well, and every 24 months you move up one step.

Career structure: where you get and when

The path of a brilliant AD5 typically leads to these grades:

Grades AD14-AD16 are political appointment positions or senior management: entry is via internal competition or targeted selection, after an entire career. We are talking about approximately 100-150 people across the entire European Commission.

The realistic path for someone entering at AD5 at age 27: AD7 by age 35, AD10 (Head of Unit) around 50, and a possible promotion to Director (AD14) between 55 and 60. A comfortable retirement at 66 with a solid pension fund.

Allowances: the other half of your salary

The basic salary is only half the picture. Allowances can add up to 35% to your monthly gross pay.

Expatriation allowance (16%)

The most important allowance for Italians is the expatriation allowance: 16% of the basic salary (plus family allowance), granted to those living in a country other than their country of citizenship for service reasons. For an AD5 step 1, this is approximately €984 extra per month. For an AD10, it exceeds €1,800.

This allowance is maintained throughout your career, unless you voluntarily transfer back to your country of origin.

Distance allowance (4%)

For those who are expatriates but have recently entered service in the destination country, an additional 4% is added for the first 5 years. An Italian who has just arrived in Bruxelles therefore receives 20% more on their basic salary for the first 60 months.

Family allowances

Family allowances are one of the most generous aspects of the EU remuneration system. They are cumulative and are added to the basic salary.

An AD5 family with a non-working spouse and two children aged 8 and 12 would therefore receive approximately: 364 + (527.06 × 2) + (357.62 × 2) ≈ €2,150 per month in family allowances, in addition to salary and expatriation allowance. (Amounts effective from 1 July 2025, indexed annually.)

A typical meeting in EU institutions: Italians, French, Germans, Spaniards, and Irish in the same room. A European career is multinational by definition — and the salary is identical for everyone, given the same grade.

Installation and relocation allowances

When entering service for the first time, the EU reimburses relocation expenses from the country of origin. You also receive an installation allowance equal to two months' gross basic salary (approximately €12,300 for an AD5).

Net salary: what remains after taxes

Deductions from the gross salary are significantly lower than those in Italy. For an AD5 step 1 in Bruxelles:

For comparison, an Italian manager with an equivalent gross salary (80,000 € per year = ~6,700 €/month gross) in Italy pays:

• IRPEF + surtaxes: ~30%
• INPS contributions: ~10%
• Total deductions: ~40%
• Net take-home pay: ~4,000 €/month

The EU tax advantage compared to Italy is approximately 18%: for the same gross amount, you receive an additional 1,200 € per month in your paycheck.

The cities where everything changes: correction coefficients

Is the EU salary the same all over the world? Almost. The system applies a correction coefficient to officials stationed outside of Bruxelles and Luxembourg (the two historical centers), based on the local cost of living.

(Coefficients per place of employment in force from July 1, 2025, source Eurostat. Bruxelles and Lussemburgo are the reference = 100.)

The coefficients are updated annually by Eurostat based on consumer price indices and are linked to the place of employment (not the country in general). The idea is that real purchasing power remains similar everywhere.

The 16% expatriation allowance remains unchanged: it is applied to the basic salary before the coefficient. Therefore, an Italian stationed in Rome still receives a 16% allowance on the base of 6,153 €.

AD vs AST vs CAST: what are the real differences?

The European Union has three main professional categories:

AD (Administrator) — Permanent officials with responsibilities for design, analysis, and management. Requires a bachelor's degree (AD5) or a degree + 6 years of experience (AD7+). AD5 step 1 salary: 6,153 € gross.

AST (Assistant) — Permanent officials with application and specialist support tasks. Requires a diploma + experience (AST1) or a degree + experience. AST1 step 1 salary: 3,754 € gross, AST6 step 1: 6,961 € gross.

CAST (Contract Agent) — Fixed-term contracts of 3-6 years, renewable. Four Function Groups (FG I-IV), with remuneration from the lowest to the highest grade/step:

CAST FG IV receive all allowances (expatriation, family, health). The difference compared to permanent AD is job stability, not the salary.

What happens upon retirement

The EU pension system is robust. For those entering service from 1 January 2014 (i.e., all new winners of the 2026 competition), each year of service guarantees 1.8% of the final salary — the rate was 1.9% for those who joined before the 2014 reform. The maximum of 70% is reached after approximately 39 years of career.

Concrete example:

• Official ending their career at AD12 (~14,600 € gross monthly)
• After 30 years of service
• Pension: 14,604 × 1.8% × 30 = 7,886 € gross monthly (at 54% of the final salary)

The retirement age is 66, with a minimum seniority of 10 years of service. The pension is taxed by the EU in the same way as salaries (rates 8-12%).

Is it worth leaving a job in Italy for this?

Pure numbers:

• Average Italian manager (10 years experience, multinational in Milan): €50,000-70,000 gross per year, ~€3,000-3,800 net per month
• Entering AD5 in Bruxelles, single Italian: ~€5,500 net per month from day one
• AD5 with family (spouse + 2 children): €7,200-7,800 net per month from day one
• AD7 specialist (6 years experience): ~€7,100 net per month single, €8,800+ with family

Beyond the numbers:

• Job stability: the AD contract is permanent, effectively irrevocable except in cases of serious misconduct
• Free European schools for children: 5 campuses in Belgium, high-quality multilingual programs
• EU health insurance: high-level coverage across Europe
• Solid and predictable EU pension
• International career: rotations, secondments, experiences in delegations

Real sacrifices:

• Living abroad: means rebuilding your social and professional network
• Partner's compromise: often the spouse must change their job or studies
• Distance from the family of origin in Italy
• Cultural pressure: high-intensity intellectual multinational environment

For those who are young, single, or have a mobile partner, it is one of the best careers available in Europe. For those with deep roots and pre-existing family responsibilities, it is worth evaluating the timing.

Every year, hundreds of Italians move to Bruxelles to start an EU career. Free European schools for children and high-level health insurance make the move sustainable even for families.

How to reach this salary: the first concrete step

All of this applies to those who pass the EPSO competition. Without passing the competition, there is no access to a permanent official role.

The AD5 2026 competition (EPSO/AD/427/26) had 174,922 candidates for 1,490 positions. The pre-selection tests will take place in autumn 2026.

If you are among the candidates or are thinking of applying for the next competition, you can find a complete guide to the EPSO process on our blog Concorso EPSO 2026: la guida completa per candidati italiani.

To train for the pre-selection tests, we look forward to seeing you in the EU·Now practice section: 44,000+ verified questions on the five types of tests, timed simulations, and AI tutors for your questions.

Official resources

The data in this guide is based on the following public European Union sources:

• EU Careers — Working conditions and benefits — official page with salaries and benefits
• EUR-Lex — Staff Regulations — full text of the Staff Regulations
• European Commission — Salary tables — salary tables updated annually
• EPSO Annual Activity Report 2024 — official data and statistics on selections

The figures are updated as of 1 July 2025 (table in force until 30 June 2026). The annual adjustment provided for by Article 65 of the Staff Regulations typically results in increases of 3-4% per year: always check the most recent table before making important decisions.