| Test | Questions | Duration | Language | Scoring | Pass mark | Eliminatory | Ranked | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raisonnement verbal | 20 | 35 min | — | 1 pt/question | 10/20 | Yes | Yes | 35 % |
| Raisonnement numerique | 10 | 20 min | — | 1 pt/question | 10/20 (combined) | Yes | No | — |
| Raisonnement abstrait | 10 | 10 min | — | 1 pt/question | 10/20 (combined) | Yes | No | — |
The EUFTE is one of the three written test formats in the EPSO portfolio. Its full name, “Free-Text Essay on EU Matters”, says most of what matters: a free-text piece on a European subject, written from the documents provided, in 40 minutes.
It is the one test in the competition where you produce something. The others ask you to pick the right box; this one asks you to build an argument, structure it and address it to a reader.
It is eliminatory, and it is not marked on what you know about the Union: it is marked on five written communication criteria, published by EPSO, which this page sets out.
The written test runs through almost the whole EPSO portfolio, from generalist administrators to assistants and specialists. What changes from one competition to the next is its format and its weight.
The table below sets out, competition by competition, what the Official Journal publishes. One difference deserves attention: in some competitions the written test is eliminatory and counts towards the ranking, in others it is eliminatory only.
The distinction is not theoretical. Where the test does not count towards the ranking, clearing it is enough and over-investing in it earns nothing; where it does, every point taken there weighs as much as anywhere else. Check the line for your competition before you divide up your preparation time.
The most common mistake is treating the subject from memory. The documents are provided because they are meant to be used: a brilliant text that never draws on them misses one criterion in five, and often two.
The second is writing too much. Concision is an explicit criterion: an argument that overruns does not make up for a weak structure, it makes it worse by making it harder to read.
The third is forgetting the reader. The assignment states who you are writing for and why; an internal note and a reply to a citizen are not written the same way, and the adaptation criterion measures nothing else.
The method that works: read the assignment and identify the reader before the documents, then go through the documents looking for what serves that particular reader. The plan then almost builds itself, and the writing fills the time that is left.
The training course sets a full assignment with its file, in the time of the real test. The constraint is part of the exercise: writing without a timer does not teach you to write with one.
The review is guided by the five official criteria, one by one, rather than by an overall mark. Knowing that a text is worth twelve out of twenty teaches you nothing; knowing that the structure holds but the file went unused tells you what to redo.
Your text stays yours: you can take it away as it is, or share it through a private link with someone whose view you want.
| Connaissances de l'Union europeenne | 30 | 40 min | L2 | 1 pt/question | 15/30 | Yes | Yes | 25 % |
|---|
| Competences numeriques | 40 | 30 min | L2 | 1 pt/question | 20/40 | Yes | Yes | 25 % |
|---|
| EUFTE (epreuve ecrite) | 1 | 40 min | L2 | 1 pt/question | — | Yes | Yes | 15 % |
|---|
| Competition | Questions | Duration | Language | Pass mark | Weight |
|---|
| Administrateurs generalistes (AD 5)EPSO/AD/427/26 | 1 | 40 min | L2 | — | 15 % |
| Assistants communication (AST 3)EPSO/AST/157/25 | 1 | 40 min | L2 | 5/10 | — |
| Administrateurs audit (AD 7)EPSO/AD/428/26 | 1 | 40 min | L2 | 5/10 | — |
| Administrateurs fiscalite (AD 6)EPSO/AD/422/25 | 1 | 40 min | L2 | 5/10 | — |
| Administrateurs gestion et connaissance des donnees (AD 7)EPSO/AD/426/25 | 1 | 40 min | L2 | 5/10 | — |
| Administrateurs TIC (AD 7)EPSO/AD/429/26 | 1 | 40 min | L2 | 5/10 | — |
EPSO publishes the assessment criteria for its written test. There are five of them and none of them mentions knowledge: every one describes a quality of professional written communication.
That is what makes this test unusual, and what throws candidates who prepare for it as though it were an academic essay. You are not marked on what you bring, but on what you do with what you are given.
The five criteria are those published by EPSO on its official “Written test” page, reproduced here in EPSO’s own wording (“Structures written communication with a logical flow of ideas”, “Writes concisely, avoiding unnecessary words and sentences”, “Presents subject matter in a clear and understandable way”, “Adapts and tailors writing to suit the intended audience and purpose”, “Uses the information provided effectively to address the assignment”). EPSO publishes no weighting between them, so this page proposes none. The only official figures are those in the table and the banner, taken from the Official Journal.
The readiness index (ERI) aggregates your regularity and your results across all the tests in the competition, this one included.
EPSO writes it out as “Free-Text Essay on EU Matters”, a free-text essay on a European subject. It is one of the three written test formats in its portfolio, alongside the Written Test (WT) and the Field-Related Written Test (FRWT). We keep EPSO’s own wording for the acronym: it has no official expansion in any other form.
40 minutes for the reference competition on this page, according to the official notice (reference at the foot of the page). The parameters differ between competitions: the table on this page compares them.
On five criteria published by EPSO: logical flow, concision, clarity, adaptation to the intended audience and purpose, and use of the information provided. None of them is about your knowledge of Europe, and EPSO publishes no weighting between them.
The documents provided contain the substance you need, and one of the five criteria measures precisely your ability to use them. A good general background helps you read quickly, but it does not replace the file and earns no points on its own.
The notice of competition and the instructions on the day are what count, and we publish no range here so as not to give the appearance of an official rule. Remember the criterion instead: concision is marked, and a long text is not marked higher than an accurate one.
It depends on the competition. In some it is eliminatory and its score feeds into the ranking mark; in others it is eliminatory only, and clearing it is enough. The table on this page gives the regime for each competition we track.
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