EPSO in June: The calm before the...?
June has arrived, and things have gone rather quiet over at EPSO headquarters since Olivier Salles officially stepped into the Director’s seat in mid-May. That said, there have been a few small ripples of movement, including some fresh details added to the Upcoming Competitions page, which we’ll cover further down. EPSO has also uploaded updated instructions for the online TestWe platform – including what to do if technical problems arise and how to file a complaint.
Speaking of technical issues… the retesting for the AD5 Translators competition didn’t exactly go smoothly. Many candidates faced the same problems as before, though it appears that if you submitted a proper complaint via the right channels, you may get another shot at the exam later in June.
As for the much-anticipated Generalist AD5 competition...? Yes, we're still waiting. But the wait may soon be over. EPSO is expected to announce whether the competition will open (and when) during the EU Careers Online Event hosted by Global Careers on 18 June. You can register for the event here.
On the internal front, the European Commission is planning to run its own generalist competition, albeit for different grades. There’s also talk of specialist competitions coming soon – though for now, that’s still firmly in the rumour mill category.
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EPSO Lawyer-Linguists AD7 | COM-EP-Council
The countdown is on for candidates in the EPSO Lawyer-Linguists AD7 | COM-EP-Council competition, with the first round of testing fast approaching. There are two exam dates to keep in mind:
12 June | 10:00 – Reasoning Skills Test / 15:00 – Language Comprehension Test
17 June | 10:00 – EU Law Test / 13:00 – Revision Test
Even with the clock ticking, there’s still time to prepare and head in with a fighting chance. Our step-by-step guide How to prepare | EPSO Lawyer-Linguists/Legal Revisers Exams covers everything you need to know. Or, if you'd rather go straight into practice mode, check out our Revision Test Workshops and customised prep packages. Plus: join one of the last available Reasoning Skills Workshops available before the first test date.
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EPSO Lawyer-Linguists AD7 | CJEU
Applications for this competition closed on 28 May, covering eight language profiles: Czech (CS), Danish (DA), Estonian (ET), Finnish (FI), French (FR), Italian (IT), Latvian (LV) and Swedish (SV). In an unusual move, EPSO announced the test dates before the application deadline, and they’re quite far apart:
Test Day 1 – 8 July, most likely the Reasoning Skills Test
Test Day 2 – 17 September, expected to be the Translation Tests
With the first test just over a month away, candidates can already start practising with EU Training’s Reasoning Skills practice questions.
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CAST (Contract agent selection tool)
If you're planning to take your exam on 16 July, there's still time to prepare. We’ve got plenty of Reasoning Skills Workshops lined up to help you get ready.
Here’s a quick reminder of the test format (pass/fail):
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Verbal Reasoning: 20 questions | 35 minutes | Pass mark: 10/20
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Numerical Reasoning: 10 questions | 20 minutes
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Abstract Reasoning: 10 questions | 10 minutes
Combined pass mark for Numerical + Abstract Reasoning: 10/20
Stay sharp, and good luck!
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COM Internal Competitions
As mentioned earlier, there’s talk of new internal competitions on the way, including a possible generalist-style competition and several specialist profiles. While nothing is confirmed yet, many have already seen the indicative planning for 2025–26, which points to upcoming opportunities across various grades and fields.
For those already in ongoing competitions, Oral Test invitations are expected soon, with the timeline suggesting May–July. We don’t have any training sessions scheduled at the moment, but as soon as invitations and dates are confirmed, we’ll launch Interview and Oral Presentation simulations here. Watch this space!
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UPCOMING EPSO COMPETITIONS
These are pretty much the same as last month, just with a few more details for building specialists.
June 2025: Assistants in the field of communication (AST3)
July 2025: Generalist administrators | AD5
October 2025: Secretaries | AST/SC1
Date and further info to be specified:
Building specialists AD7 with 4 profiles:
1. Project management in the building sector
2. Architecture and project management
3. Electrical engineering and project management
4. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) engineering and project management
And a mysterious Luxembourg-specific competition, slated to open at the end of 2025.
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