EU competitons in 2023

• The reform for EU competitions was planned for 2023. Early February, EPSO announced the main changes that will happen in 2023. 

The objective is to ‘introduce a faster, leaner and more accessible competition model‘. 

The tests in the EU institution competitions

• Verbal Reasoning, Numerical Reasoning & Abstract Reasoning tests are still part of the selection process. To be successful to these tests, minimum score will be required. As opposed to previous competitions, including the one for Generalist Administrator, the scores to these tests are no longer ranked. 
• A new MCQ test is introduced:
  
  • for generalist competitions, the test will be on EU knowledge;
  • - for specialist competitions, the test will be field-related.
   
• A written test will also be present in the competitions, that can be a case study. This test will assess candidates’ drafting skills.
• A digital skills test could also be part of the selection for some competitions.

Taking European competitions

With Covid-19 pandemic, EPSO has introduced online testing. This will now be generalised: all tests will now be remotely proctored and will no longer be taken in a Prometrics centre. 

The end of the Assessment Centre 

Assessment Centre, which used to be an important step in the selection process will no longer exist. Interviews will be run directly by the recruiting services of the EU institutions that are hiring and candidates will be selected from the reserve list. 

How can ORSEU Concours help you?

Our material for the 3 reasoning tests with our book, courses and online tests are available here.

Please watch this video for advice on how to optimise your preparation

To prepare for the case study, we recommend our book (available in EN & FR)

This book was written in 2015 when its duration was 90 minutes and it was taken in test centres. In 2023, it lasts for 45 minutes and you have access to the documents a few weeks before the actual test. This is why the methodology in our book cannot be applied 100%. However it could help with:

• Being familiar with the different document types present in a case study;

• Improving your competency in written communication by learning how to write a clear, concise and structured note (3 example questions provided with detailed answers).

You can also refer to our blog article on the case study

For the EU knowledge test, we have created an online pack with 150 questions. With these online tests, you can assess your EU knowledge and improve with the detailed correction.

Once you will have suceeeded in these tests, you will be added to the reserve list. 

You will then have to take an interview with one of the recruiting services to become an EU civil servant. We wrote this book « How to succeed in a job interview » specifically to prepare for the EU oral tests and interviews.

Good luck in your preparation!