What EPSO’s annual report means for your next competition

EU Training

EPSO’s 2024 Annual Activity Report offers rare, practical insight into how the staff selection procedure has evolved - what went well, what stalled, and what’s changing.

We’ve pulled out the most relevant takeaways for candidates: from test delivery shifts and the phase-out of Assessment Centres, to pilots on AI-assisted item creation, pass/fail scoring, and the growing emphasis on accessibility and outreach.

If you’re preparing for an upcoming competition, these points help you understand what to expect on exam day, where EPSO is tightening standards, and how to adapt your study strategy accordingly.

Competition process and testing

  1. EPSO terminated its contract with Prometric in February 2024 due to technical issues, shifting to TestWe as a temporary “gap solution” until a new tender in 2025.
  2. No competitions under the New Model were completed in 2024 because of the delivery issues.
  3. EPSO finalised all open competitions under the Old Model by mid-2024.
  4. For CAST, 8,755 applications were shortlisted in 2024, with 6,976 tests delivered (dropouts remained an issue).
  5. EPSO piloted field-related essay tests as an alternative to the EUFTE.
  6. EPSO introduced a pass/fail scoring system in some competitions.
  7. Assessment Centres were discontinued for the New Model, with the last AC taking place in early 2024 (Green Deal competition).
  8. The open-book approach continued, where the written test document is published before the exam.

Innovation and AI

  1. EPSO piloted AI-based test item generation in 2024, with results expected in 2025.
  2. A pilot of AI-based automated marking was launched but then put on hold.
  3. Video-recorded interviews were tested by two institutions in 2024.
  4. EPSO created about 1,200 new specialist test items in 2024, expanding its reusable database.

Candidate satisfaction and experience

  1. Candidate satisfaction with remote proctored tests fell to 65%, far below the ≥90% target.
  2. Oral test satisfaction was higher, though the Assessment Centre format is being phased out.
  3. EPSO surveys now show low response rates, making satisfaction data less reliable.
  4. EPSO handled 91% of candidate queries within the set deadlines.
  5. Special accommodation requests rose to 419 in 2024, up from 331 in 2019.
  6. EPSO published a revised Guide for Reasonable Accommodation in 2024.

Outreach and branding

  1. Visits to the EU Careers website rose to 5.5 million sessions, with 3.1 million unique visitors.
  2. EPSO organised 1,046 outreach events in 2024, reaching 122,000 people.
  3. Social media followers in 2024: LinkedIn 296k (+23%), Instagram 99k (+34%), Facebook 447k (slight decline), X 40k (decline).
  4. EPSO YouTube now has 24 playlists with testimonials from EU officials.
  5. The EU Careers Student Ambassadors programme grew to 278 ambassadors across 197 universities in 2024/25.
  6. The EU Careers Staff Ambassadors network reached 360 by 2024, surpassing the target.

Diversity and inclusion

  1. EPSO’s diversity organisations database grew to 233 contacts, up from 180 in 2023.
  2. EPSO participated in the Global Careers Fair for persons with disabilities.
  3. EPSO enhanced cooperation with ENAR, ERGO, and Diversité Europe.
  4. A second diversity survey was launched in May 2024, with results expected in 2025.

Linguistic testing

  1. EPSO delivered 100% of third-language tests and evaluations on time, with 95% satisfaction.

Finance and operations

  1. EPSO’s budget execution rate was around 90% for commitments and about 46% for payments.
  2. Total 2024 expenditure was roughly €6.7m in commitments and €4.9m in payments.
  3. Two non-compliance events were detected in 2024, costing €15,542, linked to ordering services before order forms were issued.
  4. Ex-post checks showed 25.7% of transactions had minor issues such as missing documents.
  5. EPSO launched 22 cross-cutting projects under “EPSOlution” to improve processes.
  6. A new tender for future online testing platforms was issued in October 2024.

Reputation and risks

  1. EPSO maintained a reputational reservation in its 2024 report due to ongoing risks with online proctoring.
  2. Candidate experience is recognised as a critical reputational risk with structural issues flagged.

Strategic planning and governance

  1. EPSO introduced a mid- to long-term planning system to avoid future delivery crises.
  2. Future tenders must integrate risk mitigation and contingency planning.
  3. EPSO is investing in better data collection and statistical analysis of competition participation.

Bottom line: the selection system is moving, sometimes unevenly, towards faster delivery, simpler scoring, and broader inclusion, while still ironing out the kinks of remote testing and new suppliers.

For you, that means doubling down on core reasoning skills, written communication skills, and profile-specific knowledge, and staying alert to official notices and test instructions.

We’ll keep tracking every update and translate it into concrete prep steps, simulations, and workshops. If you want tailored guidance, join our next Ask Me Anything webcast, follow our EPSO news updates, and check the latest training offers on EU Training - so when your competition opens, you’re ready to perform under the conditions EPSO now prioritises.