EPSO Preparation with EU Testing: Every Feature, Explained

EU Testing is an online preparation platform for the EPSO competitions that recruit the European Union’s civil servants. It covers every multiple-choice test in the AD5 competition — verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning, EU knowledge and digital skills — and adds the tools you need around the exam: an EU jobs board, an EU salary calculator, a map of the EU institutions and agencies, and a weekly EU news report. This article walks through every feature, says what is free and what is Premium, and suggests how to use them together.

Every feature at a glance

EPSO practice sets: the whole AD5 test in one place

The core of the site is eight practice sets of 110 questions each, built on the structure of the EPSO AD5 competition: verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, abstract reasoning, EU knowledge and digital skills. Every question has a worked explanation, so a wrong answer teaches you something instead of just costing a point.

• Timed practice. Work against the clock, the way the real EPSO tests run.
• Progress on every card. Each set shows how many questions you have answered and your percentage, and a free account keeps that progress across devices.
• How others answered. After you answer, a chart shows how other candidates answered the same question, so you can see whether a mistake was yours alone or a trap that catches most people.

Set 1 is free: the first 25 questions without an account, all 110 with a free one. Sets 2 to 8 are Premium.

Verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning: the Focus cards

The three reasoning tests decide whether you go further in an EPSO competition. In AD5, verbal reasoning counts towards your ranking, while numerical and abstract reasoning share a pass mark of 10 out of 20. For each test there are three Reasoning Focus cards of 60 questions, from medium to very hard:

• Verbal reasoning Focus. Texts on EU law and policy followed by four statements, only one of which the text supports; the explanation shows why each of the others fails.
• Numerical reasoning Focus. Every question is built on a data table of real EU figures — population, GDP, the EU budget — and every answer is exact, with the calculation shown step by step.
• Abstract reasoning Focus. Figure series with rules that combine: rotation, counting, position, shading. The explanation takes the series apart element by element.

The cards are Premium; each reasoning test has a free 5-question sample. To learn the formats first, read the test pages for verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning and abstract reasoning, and try the worked practice questions for verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning.

EU knowledge and digital skills

The EU knowledge test is the one you can improve most by studying, and in AD5 it counts towards your rank. Three resources cover it:

• EU Policies bible — 145 questions and a 182-page PDF on the seven policy areas (the EU policies test page explains them).
• EU Knowledge chapters — each chapter as an audio episode, a slide deck, an infographic and a written report, on the institutions, the treaties, the policies and the history of the Union. Chapter 1 is free.
• ICT project management bible — 150 questions and a 70-page PDF for candidates in IT profiles.

The digital skills test draws on the EU’s DigComp 2.2 framework. Every practice set includes 40 digital skills questions, and the digital skills page explains the five competence areas. To try both tests now, work through ten EU knowledge practice questions and ten digital skills practice questions, each fully worked.

EU jobs board: vacancies across the institutions

The EU jobs board lists open vacancies at the EU institutions and agencies in one place, sorted by deadline, so you do not have to visit dozens of career pages. Rows added by the latest update carry a New badge, EPSO’s permanently open CAST calls for contract agents have their own tab, and Premium members can save a vacancy with a star and find it again even after it closes. The five vacancies closing soonest are free for everyone; Premium shows every vacancy and the archive.

Not sure which kind of post to look for? Read EU career paths: AD, AST and CAST and EU jobs without an EPSO competition.

EU salary calculator

How much does an EU official earn? The free EU salary calculator estimates the monthly pay of an official by grade (AD5, AD7, AST and the others), step, duty station and family situation. It uses the official basic salary grid of 1 July 2025, adds the allowances and applies the correction coefficient of the place of work, then gives an estimated net. Pair it with EU grades AD5 and AD7 explained and EU official benefits.

EU institutions map

The interactive EU institutions map shows where the Union’s 70 institutions, bodies and agencies sit — 36 cities in 24 countries — and what each one does. It is a quick way to see where you could work, and a good revision aid for the EU knowledge test. Luxembourg is free; the other countries are Premium.

Weekly EU news report

The weekly news report comes out every Friday, with curated headlines and short summaries grouped by region, including sections on the EU and on EPSO. Following EU current affairs helps in the EU knowledge test and in the essay. One item per section is free; Premium shows the full report.

Exam checklist and curated links

Two smaller tools keep the practical side under control. The exam checklist has 71 items in 10 categories, from reading the notice of competition to the equipment for a remote-proctored test. The curated links collect 29 official EU pages in six categories, so the documents you need are one click away.

Guides and blog

More than 40 free articles explain the EPSO competitions and the tests. Start with What is EPSO?, the EPSO AD5 overview and how to apply for an EPSO competition. For test day, read the TAO test platform and the remote-proctored test day, and for a timetable the 8-week reasoning plan.

14 languages

The questions, the interface, the guides and the tools work in 14 languages: English, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Romanian, Polish, Finnish, Greek and Croatian. EPSO lets you sit the reasoning tests in your first language, so practising in the same language is worth it. Switch at any time from the menu at the top of the page.

How to use EU Testing for the AD5 competition

1. Learn the formats for free. Read the test pages and the worked practice questions, and try the free 5-question samples.
2. Find your weak test. Create a free account and take all of Set 1 under time. Your score in each test tells you where the next weeks should go.
3. Build volume where it counts. Use Sets 2 to 8 for timed practice and the Focus cards for your weakest reasoning test. Clear the numerical and abstract pass mark safely, then put the extra hours into verbal reasoning, EU knowledge and digital skills, the tests that rank you.
4. Keep the career side in view. Watch the EU jobs board, check the salary for the grade you are aiming at, and read the weekly EU news.

The reasoning tests of the 2026 AD5 competition (EPSO/AD/427/26) take place in the week of 9–13 November 2026, and EU knowledge and digital skills follow in Part 2, expected in 2027. The final three weeks guide is the place to start if your test is close.

Frequently asked questions

Features, counts and prices as on 28 October 2026; the pricing page always has the current ones.