Life in the Bubble or Hungarians in the Institutions of the European Union

Abstract

After Hungary’s accession to the European Union, a group of Hungarians following a very particular path of integration appeared in Brussels, namely Hungarians working in the institutions of the European Union for a shorter or longer period of time. In our paper, based on an online survey, we seek to answer the questions of the basic socio-demographic composition of the Hungarian workforce in the EU institutions, the extent to which they are integrated into their new host societies, the motivations for taking up employment in the EU, and the motivations for planning to stay or return. Our results can provide important input for researchers, decisionmakers
and future Hungarian employees of the EU institutions, to understand the situation and composition of Hungarians working in the EU institutions, as well as their motivations and plans.