Glossary
EPSO glossary: the terms of EU competitions, explained
The words that appear in every notice of competition, each explained in one or two sentences. Where a guide goes further, the term links to it.
A
- AD (administrators)
- The function group of administrators in the EU civil service: policy, legal, financial, analytical and management work. Graduates usually enter at AD5 through a generalist competition; specialists at higher grades such as AD7 or AD8. How EPSO scores →
- AST (assistants)
- The function group of assistants: executive, technical and administrative support work carried out under supervision. AST competitions, such as AST3, do not require a university degree. AST3 specialists →
- AST/SC (secretaries and clerks)
- The function group of secretaries and clerks in the EU civil service, separate from the AST assistants.
C
- CAST Permanent
- EPSO’s always-open selection procedure for contract staff. Shortlisted candidates sit the reasoning tests; the result is pass or fail and valid for ten years. CAST Permanent →
- Contract staff (contract agents)
- Staff employed on contracts rather than as officials, generally for up to six years. They are selected mainly through CAST Permanent, in function groups I to IV. CAST Permanent →
D
- DigComp
- The European Digital Competence Framework for citizens. Version 2.2 organises digital skills in five areas and is the reference of EPSO’s digital skills test. Digital skills test →
- Digital skills test
- A 40-question, 30-minute test of practical digital literacy based on the DigComp 2.2 framework, used in the AD5 generalist competition. Pass mark 20/40. Digital skills test →
E
- Eligibility check
- The verification of a candidate’s declarations against their supporting documents. In the 2026 notices it is done only for the best-ranked candidates, after the tests.
- EPSO
- The European Personnel Selection Office, which organises the selection procedures for the EU institutions, bodies and agencies: open competitions for officials and CAST for contract staff.
- EPSO account
- The candidate account on the EPSO website, used to apply, upload documents and receive invitations and results.
- EU knowledge test
- A 30-question, 40-minute test on the Treaties, institutions, decision-making, policies and agencies of the EU, used in the AD5 generalist competition. Pass mark 15/30. EU knowledge test →
- EUFTE
- Free-Text Essay on EU Matters: a 40-minute written assignment in language 2, based on EU documentation that EPSO publishes in advance, marked from 0 to 10 on written communication. Pass mark 5/10. The EUFTE essay →
F
- Field test (field-related MCQ)
- The 30-question, 40-minute multiple-choice test on the field of a specialist competition, in language 2. Pass mark 15/30; it is the test that ranks candidates. How EPSO scores →
- Function group (FG I to IV)
- The four categories of contract staff by type of work: FG I manual or basic support, FG II clerical, FG III executive and technical, FG IV administrative, advisory or linguistic. CAST Permanent →
G
- G+
- The adaptive, interactive general-ability test that opens the Commission’s 2026 internal competitions: 24 questions in 36 minutes, with a pass mark at the 60th percentile of a reference group. The G+ test →
I
- Internal competition
- A competition reserved for the staff of an institution, such as those the European Commission runs for its own staff in 2025 to 2027. Commission internal competitions →
L
- Language 1 and language 2
- The two EU languages a candidate declares: language 1 at C1 level or above, language 2 at B2 or above and different from language 1. The reasoning tests are in language 1; the knowledge and field tests and the essay in language 2.
- Laureate
- EPSO’s term for a candidate who has made it onto a reserve list.
N
- Notice of competition
- The legal document that governs a competition: eligibility, tests, pass marks and how scores are used. EPSO notices are published in the C series of the Official Journal of the EU. EPSO pass marks →
O
- Official
- A permanent member of the EU civil service. Officials are recruited from the reserve lists of competitions, open or internal.
- Open competition
- A selection procedure open to all EU citizens who meet the conditions of its notice. It ends in a reserve list from which the institutions recruit.
P
- Pass mark
- The minimum score a notice sets for a test. Below it, the candidate leaves the competition and the remaining tests are not marked. EPSO pass marks →
- Preliminary and final score
- In the AD5 competition, the weighted scores that rank candidates. The preliminary score weighs verbal reasoning 40%, EU knowledge 30% and digital skills 30%; the final score adds the essay at 15%. How EPSO scores →
R
- Reasoning tests
- Verbal (20 questions in 35 minutes), numerical (10 in 20) and abstract reasoning (10 in 10). The pass marks are 10/20 in verbal and 10/20 in numerical and abstract combined. Reasoning tests →
- Remote proctoring
- Supervision of a test sat at home through the webcam, the microphone and screen monitoring. EPSO uses the Proctorio browser extension alongside TAO. TAO, EPSO's test platform →
- Reserve list
- The list of successful candidates of a competition, from which the institutions recruit. Being on it makes you eligible for recruitment; it is not a job offer.
S
- Selection board
- The board appointed for each competition. It decides on candidates’ eligibility and draws up the reserve list.
- Sysper
- The European Commission’s human-resources information system. In the internal competitions, the second language of the tests must differ from the main language recorded in it. Commission internal competitions →
T
- TAO
- The open-source testing platform by Open Assessment Technologies on which EPSO has run its computer-based tests since January 2026. TAO, EPSO's test platform →
- Temporary staff (temporary agents)
- Staff employed on a temporary contract in an AD or AST grade. In the Commission they can take part in its internal competitions. Commission internal competitions →