Guide for EU Concours

Working in European institutions or agencies

Are you looking to work in a multicultural environment? Do you want to be more involved as a European citizen?

Then working in European institutions or agencies could be a dream come true!

ORSEU Concours guides you behind the scenes of European institutions recruitment.

To work for Europe, you must be an EU citizen and speak at least two official EU languages. A good level of French or English would also be useful, as these two languages are commonly used in European institutions in Brussels, Luxembourg, and Strasbourg.

EPSO stands for European Personnel Selection Office. It organises competitions to select candidates for work in European institutions and agencies. The EPSO website is the primary reference for anyone considering this path.

European institutions and agencies offer opportunities for everyone: students seeking internships, recent graduates, or professionals already with work experience.

Discover the various EU staff categories.

Discover the opportunities in our video series "Working in European institutions".

Different competitions and selection procedures

You can work in European institutions and agencies under different statuses: civil servant, contract agent, or temporary agent.

Civil servants are recruited through competitions for each job category: Secretary (SC), Assistant (AST), or Administrator (AD). The notice of competition published on the EPSO website is the reference document containing all key information, including the eligibility conditions and the selection procedure. If you pass the competition, you will be placed on a reserve list.

Contract agents are mostly recruited through the CAST-P selection. CAST stands for Contract Agent Selection Tool. The "P" means that this selection has been open permanently since 2017. Various fields and different levels are open to contract agents. Unlike civil servants, their contract is for a fixed term.

Temporary staff are recruited as needed. You can find the list of opportunities on the EPSO website.

Read our blog article: "Everything you need to know to become a European civil servant"

Read our blog article: "Working as contract agent (CAST) in EU institutions"

Check the EPSO page on CAST selection

Open and upcoming competitions

EPSO communicates open and upcoming job offers on its EU Careers website.

In the "EU vacancies and Traineeships" section, you will discover all available opportunities for specific positions: internships, temporary contracts, permanent positions, or others.

In the "Competitions and CAST" section, you will find open and upcoming competitions and CAST selections. We have summarised them in the table below:

Job title

Grade

Registration period

Link to the notice

Assistants in the fields of financial management, accounting & treasury, and public procurement

AST3

25/07/24 - 03/09/2024 (midday)

Link to more information

CAST-P registrations

FGI, FGII, FGIII, FGIV

Anytime

Link to CAST opportunities

Preparing for the selection tests

Selection tests vary depending on the competition or selection. The reference document is the notice of competition.

Some tests are common to all selections:

Verbal reasoning test, numerical reasoning test, and abstract reasoning test. For these tests, you must achieve the minimum required pass scores. Therefore, it is essential to understand how the tests work and to practice. For this purpose, we offer a selection of books, online courses, and online tests.
EU knowledge test. It can be present in AD5 competitions and some internal competitions. To succeed, we offer a pack of 150 questions on the functioning of the EU, its policies, and procedures.
An oral interview. The book "How to succeed in a job interview" prepares you for the various types of questions and tests you may encounter on the day of the interview.

Read our blog article "7 tips to prepare successfully for European competitions"