Final ranking: Verbal Reasoning (Language 1)
35%of exam
Competition Structure & ThresholdsVerbal Reasoning Deduction RulesClosed-World Hermetic BoxQuantifiers & Modal Verbs
Final ranking: EU Knowledge (Language 2)
25%of exam
Founding & Reform TreatiesEU Competences & Legal ActsSeven EU InstitutionsQMV, Council & Legislative RulesEU Budget, MFF & Policies
Final ranking: Digital Skills (DigComp 2.2)
25%of exam
DigComp 2.2 Five AreasCybersecurity & 3-2-1 BackupsRegulation 2018/1725 & EDPSEU AI Act Risk Tiers
Final ranking: Written Test — EUFTE (Language 2)
15%of exam
Five Official EUFTE Anchors40-Minute Pacing ProtocolBLUF Briefing StructurePreliminary 1.5x Marking Cutoff
Numerical & Abstract: Mandatory, Unranked
0%of exam
Combined 10/20 Pass HurdleNumerical Reasoning Core FormulasAbstract Reasoning SCOPO ScanBoolean Overlap & Chirality
Quick Facts
- Competition
- EPSO/AD/427/26 (AD5)
- Administrator
- EPSO via TAO platform
- MCQ Total
- 110 MCQs across 5 tests
- Part 1 (L1)
- Verbal, Numerical, Abstract (65m)
- Part 2 (L2)
- EU, Digital, EUFTE (110m)
- Language Rule
- Different languages: C1 and B2
- Ranking Ribbon
- Final-score weights, not content shares
- Reserve List
- 1,490 places sought (2026)
Preliminary vs Final Ranking Weights
Preliminary Ranking
- Verbal Reasoning weighted 40%
- EU Knowledge weighted 30%
- Digital Skills weighted 30%
Final Ranking
- Verbal 35%, EU 25%
- Digital Skills weighted 25%
- EUFTE essay weighted 15%
Numerical/abstract: mandatory combined qualifying threshold
Verbal Reasoning Option Triage
- Conclusion requires unsupported outside evidence→Reject as unproved by passage(Hermetic box)
- Only premise says most, option all→Reject unjustified universal conclusion
- Option reverses 'If P then Q'→Check contrapositive (~Q then ~P)
- Passage says 'associated with'→Reject direct causation claims
- Passage has 'save where' clause→Verify exception is respected
Competition Structure & Thresholds
- Verbal Reasoning
- 20 Q, 35m, pass 1035% final
- Numerical + Abstract
- 10+10 Q, 30m, pass 10Pass-fail
- EU Knowledge
- 30 Q, 40m, pass 1525% final
- Digital Skills
- 40 Q, 30m, pass 2025% final
- Written Test (EUFTE)
- 40m essay, pass 5 of 1015% final
- Preliminary Ranking
- 40% Verbal, 30% EU, 30% DigitalMarking limit; increase possible for ties
Verbal Reasoning Deduction Rules
- Hermetic Box Rule
- Use passage evidence and valid inferences105 seconds average, not cutoff
- Contrapositive Equivalence
- If P then Q = ~Q->~P
- Affirming the Consequent
- Q occurred, so P: invalid
- Denying the Antecedent
- Not P, so not Q: invalid
- Degree Inflation Trap
- Turning 'most/may' into 'all/must'
- Causal Inversion Trap
- Reversing X->Y into Y->X
Council QMV Double Majority
All 27: 55% states, 65% population; proposal-dependent
Commission/HR proposal: 15/27 statesPopulation threshold: 65%Population block: ≥4 states, >35%No Commission/HR proposal: 20/27
Regulation vs Directive (Art. 288 TFEU)
Regulation
- Binding in its entirety
- General application across EU
- Directly applicable without transposition
Directive
- Binding as to result
- Addressed to Member States
- Requires national transposition law
Direct law vs transposed result
EU Legal Instrument & Procedure Picker
- Directly applicable uniform law needed→Adopt Regulation (Art. 288 TFEU)(No transposition)
- Binding result, national form choice→Adopt Directive (Art. 288 TFEU)(Needs transposition)
- Supplement non-essential legislative elements→Delegated Act (Art. 290 TFEU)(EP/Council objection)
- Uniform execution conditions required→Implementing Act (Art. 291 TFEU)(Commission usually; Council exceptions)
- Standard co-decision lawmaking triggered→Ordinary Legislative Procedure (Art. 294)(EP + Council)
Founding & Reform Treaties
- Paris (1951 / 1952)
- Created ECSC; expired July 200250-yr sunset
- Rome (1957 / 1958)
- Created EEC and EuratomUnlimited
- Single European Act (1986)
- 1992 Single Market; QMV expansion
- Maastricht (1992 / 1993)
- Three pillars, EMU, EU citizenship
- Amsterdam (1997) & Nice (2001)
- Schengen integration; enlargement voting prep
- Lisbon (2007 / 2009)
- Abolished pillars; binding Rights CharterTEU & TFEU
Five Exclusive Competences (Art. 3 TFEU)
Customs, Competition, Euro Monetary, Marine Fish, Common Trade
Customs unionInternal market competitionEuro monetary; marine biological conservationCommon commercial policy
Delegated vs Implementing Acts
Delegated (Art. 290)
- Supplements non-essential legislative elements
- No Comitology committee vote
- Ex-post EP or Council objection
Implementing (Art. 291)
- Uniform implementation conditions
- Commission usually; Council exceptionally
- Commission powers: Member State committee controls
Supplement law vs uniform execution
EU Competences & Legal Acts
- Exclusive Competence (Art. 3)
- Customs, competition, euro, marine-conservation, tradeArticle 3 scope conditions apply
- Shared Competence (Art. 4)
- Internal market, environment, cohesion, AFSJ
- Supporting Competence (Art. 6)
- Health, industry, culture, education, civil-protection, administrationAlso tourism, youth and sport
- Subsidiarity Yellow Card
- 8 weeks; at least one-third votesArticle 76 proposals: one-quarter
- Regulation (Art. 288 TFEU)
- General, binding, directly applicable throughout EU
- Directive (Art. 288 TFEU)
- Binds result; requires national transposition
European Council vs Council of the EU
European Council
- 27 Heads of State/Government
- 2.5-year elected President
- Zero legislative power (Art. 15)
Council of the EU
- 27 national portfolio ministers
- Rotating presidency; Foreign Affairs exception
- Co-legislator with EP (Art. 16)
Political strategy vs co-legislation
Seven EU Institutions (Art. 13 TEU)
- European Parliament (Art. 14)
- 720 MEPs; 6-96 seats per state
- European Council (Art. 15)
- Heads of state/government; no lawmaking
- Council of the EU (Art. 16)
- 10 configurations; six-month presidency; 18-month trios
- European Commission (Art. 17)
- 27 Commissioners; main legislative initiatorTreaty exceptions exist
- CJEU in Luxembourg (Art. 19)
- 27 ECJ judges + 54 GC judges
- ECB in Frankfurt
- 2% inflation target; 8-yr Board
- Court of Auditors (ECA)
- 27 members; annual DAS assurance
QMV, Council & Legislative Rules
- Standard QMV Double Majority
- 55% states (15); 65% populationAll 27; Commission/HR proposal
- Blocking Population Threshold
- At least four states; >35% populationState-count threshold also matters
- Reinforced QMV
- 72% states (20); 65% populationAll 27; no Commission/HR proposal
- Foreign Affairs Council
- High Representative; trade: rotating presidency
- Motion of Censure (Art. 234)
- Two-thirds cast + majority of MEPs
- EP Political Group Minimum
- 23 MEPs across 7+ Member States
EU Budget, MFF & Core Policies
- MFF Adoption (Art. 312)
- Council unanimity + EP majority consent
- Own Resources (Art. 311)
- Customs, VAT, plastic-waste, and GNI
- RRF Green & Digital Targets
- Climate ≥37%; digital ≥20%Digital excludes REPowerEU chapter
- Climate Law (Reg. 2021/1119)
- 2030: net −55% versus 19902050: climate neutrality
- Delegated Acts (Art. 290)
- Amend/supplement non-essential elements; legislative controls
- Implementing Acts (Art. 291)
- Uniform implementation; usually Commission, exceptionally Council
DigComp Security & Tech Picker
- IP works; hostname resolution returns error→Investigate DNS response and queried name(Not proof all routing works)
- Need legally handwritten-equivalent signature→Use eIDAS Qualified Signature (QES)
- EU institution processes personal data→Check 2018/1725 scope and bases(No legitimate-interests basis listed)
- LLM cites CJEU case law→Verify citation on EUR-Lex(Hallucination risk)
- Redistributing copyleft-covered modified software→Check source, notice and compatibility duties
DigComp 2.2, Security & EU AI Act
- Five DigComp 2.2 Areas
- Info, Comm, Content, Safety, Problem-solving45s / item
- Phishing-Resistant MFA
- FIDO2 hardware key beats SMS
- 3-2-1 Backup Rule
- 3 copies, 2 media, 1 off-site
- Reg. (EU) 2018/1725
- EU institution data protection (EDPS)
- Creative Commons BY-NC-ND
- Attribution; noncommercial; no sharing adaptations
- EU AI Act (2024/1689)
- Prohibitions, high-risk and transparency obligationsCheck scope and application dates
Five EUFTE Grading Anchors
Flow, Concise, Clear, Audience-Tailored, Use Provided Dossier
Flow: logical structureConcise & Clear proseTailored to target audienceUse supplied dossier facts
EUFTE: Editorial 40-Minute Pacing Example
- Pre-exam background dossier published→Study facts and structure ahead(Save test time)
- Minutes 0-8 of EUFTE start→Fix role, audience, section headings
- Minutes 8-35 active drafting→Write BLUF + balanced options(Own words only)
- Minutes 35-40 final check→Verify all tasks and conciseness
SCOPO Abstract Scan Order
Shape, Count, Orientation, Position, Overlap in 60 seconds
Shape: polygon contoursCount: sides and pipsOrientation: rotation vs flipPosition & Overlap: grid/XOR
Relative Percentage vs Percentage Points
Relative % Change
- Divide change by old base
- 20% to 25% is +25%
- Proportional growth rate
Percentage Points
- Simple arithmetic difference
- 20% to 25% is +5 pp
- Absolute rate gap
Ratio to base vs subtraction
Numerical Reasoning Core Formulas
- Relative Percentage Change
- (New − Old) / Old×100%; nonzero reference base
- Reverse Percentage Base
- Final / nonzero change multiplier
- Compound +x% then -x%
- Net change = −x²/100 percentPositive base; 0<x<100
- Weighted Average
- Σ(weight × value) / ΣweightsPositive total weight
- Non-Base Index Change
- (I2 − I1) / I1×100%; I1 nonzero
- Decimal Time Conversion
- 0.4 hours equals 24 minutes
Rigid Rotation vs Axial Reflection
Rigid Rotation
- Turns around a center point
- Preserves clockwise feature chirality
- 180-deg equals two perpendicular flips
Axial Reflection
- Flips across mirror axis
- Reverses clockwise feature chirality
- Creates mirror-image orientation
Same handedness vs mirror flip
Abstract Reasoning SCOPO & Boolean
- SCOPO Scan Hierarchy
- Shape, Count, Orientation, Position, OverlapEditorial mnemonic; 60s average
- Rigid Rotation
- Preserves clockwise perimeter feature order
- Axial Reflection
- Flips chirality to mirror image
- Boolean XOR Superposition
- Shared overlapping elements cancel out
- Conservation Sum Rule
- Test candidate invariant across every frame
- Option Comparison
- Options suggest hypotheses; verify against sequence
Common Traps
Language Choice vs Same Language
L2: another official EU language ≠ L2 identical to L1
Qualifying Scores vs Ranking Contributions
Numerical/abstract: mandatory combined pass threshold ≠ Verbal: pass threshold plus ranking contribution
External Truth vs Passage Entailment
Real-world plausibility alone ≠ Conclusion supported by passage premises
Different Council Institutions
Council of Europe: separate international organization ≠ European Council: EU political-direction institution
Different Data-Protection Lawful Bases
2018/1725 Article5: no legitimate-interests basis ≠ GDPR Article6(f): conditional legitimate-interests basis
Passing vs Reserve-List Selection
Meeting each qualifying threshold ≠ Reaching final-ranked places and passing eligibility
Last Minute
- 1.L1 (C1): Verbal, Numerical, Abstract
- 2.L2 (B2): EU, Digital, EUFTE
- 3.MCQ pass marks: 50% per hurdle
- 4.Final weights: verbal 35%; EU 25%
- 5.Final weights: digital 25%; EUFTE 15%
- 6.EUFTE: 15% weight, pass 5/10
- 7.QMV (27 states): 15; 65% population
- 8.Population blocking: ≥4 states and >35%
- 9.Regulations apply directly; Directives transpose
- 10.Verbal: contrapositive valid; outside facts fail
- 11.Numerical: identify reference base and units
- 12.SCOPO: Shape, Count, Orientation, Position, Overlap
- 13.SCOPO is an editorial mnemonic
- 14.Rotation preserves handedness; reflection reverses it
- 15.Follow marking instructions; manage remaining time
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