EU Careers: EPSO Competition and Application Basics

EU institution competitions are run by EPSO/the EU Careers portal on eu-careers.europa.eu. A permanent/contract-agent post in a Commission DG, Parliament, Council or agency is typically filled from a reserve list built by a competition — not by a direct hiring email.

How the route works

Open the competition you target (e.g., AD generalist, AST, CAST) and read the notice of competition. That document controls eligibility, languages, application window, reserve-list size and validity. EU competitions are nationality-tied to member states; the condition is checked on the notice.

What to check before applying

• Education and professional experience window as at the closing date.
• Languages: which languages are allowed at application and at assessment.
• Reserve list vs immediate post — being on the list is not an offer.
• Talent pool/CAST vs open competition — the workflow differs.

Preparation

Selection typically combines online reasoning/verbal/numerical testing and competency/interview stages per notice. Practice timed reasoning and the competency framework. Save the EU Login credentials and competition reference.

Official source

EU Careers. Verify notice, languages, tests and dates live. This guide is educational.