EPSO EUFTE written test: format, criteria and practice
The EUFTE is one of the three written test formats in the EPSO portfolio. Its full name in the notices of competition, “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.
Applications closed
- Application deadline
- Last verified
Notice EPSO/AD/427/26
Official test parameters
It is the one test in the competition where you produce something. The others ask you to tick the right box; this one asks you to build an argument, structure it and address it to a reader.
- Questions
- 1
- Duration
- 40min
- Pass score
- -
- Weight
- 15%
- Scoring
- 1 pt/question
- Eliminatory
- Yes
- Ranked
- Yes
- Notice
- EPSO/AD/427/26
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.
Verbal reasoning
Numerical reasoning
Abstract reasoning
EU knowledge
Digital skills
EUFTE (written test)
Content based on the notice EPSO/AD/427/26 (C/2026/711). Official parameters last verified: .
The competitions that include this test
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, passing it is enough and investing more time in it earns you nothing; where it does, every point you score there counts as much as anywhere else. Check the line for your competition before you divide up your preparation time.
Administrateurs généralistes (AD 5)EPSO/AD/427/26
Assistants communication (AST 3)EPSO/AST/157/25
Administrateurs audit (AD 7)EPSO/AD/428/26
Administrateurs fiscalité (AD 6)EPSO/AD/422/25
Administrateurs gestion et connaissance des données (AD 7)EPSO/AD/426/25
Administrateurs TIC (AD 7)EPSO/AD/429/26
The competition families
What it actually measures, and what it does not
What the test measures
- Your ability to work from a file: the documents provided contain the substance, and the marker looks at whether you use it.
- The structure of your argument: a line of thought that can be followed, not a pile of paragraphs that are each correct but unconnected.
- Concision: writing without unnecessary words or sentences, under the constraint of 40 minutes.
- Adaptation to the reader: the assignment states who you are writing for and to what end, and that framing is part of the mark.
What it does not measure
- Your knowledge of Europe as such. The documents supply the substance; knowledge is assessed in another test, the EU knowledge test.
- Your literary style. None of the five criteria is about elegance: they are all about how effectively you communicate.
- Your opinion. The assignment asks you to address a question, not to take sides for or against the Union.
- Your raw typing speed. A longer text is not marked higher; concision is explicitly one of the criteria.
The format in detail: the five official criteria
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.
Logical flow
Structuring written communication with a logical flow of ideas. This is the criterion that separates a well-constructed text from a series of accurate but disconnected remarks.
Concision
Writing concisely, avoiding unnecessary words and sentences. The time limit pushes you that way, but concision remains a quality in its own right, not a by-product of the clock.
Clarity
Presenting subject matter in a clear and understandable way. A reader who does not know the file should be able to follow you without rereading it.
Adaptation
Adapting and tailoring the writing to suit the intended audience and purpose. The assignment names a reader and an aim: ignoring them costs you, even with faultless content.
Use of the documents
Using the information provided effectively to address the assignment. The file is not mere background: failing to use it is as much a fault as an error of reasoning.
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.
Common mistakes and method
The most common mistake is writing on the subject from memory. The documents are provided because they are meant to be used: a brilliant text that does not cite them misses one criterion in five, and often two.
The second is writing too much. Concision is an explicit criterion: an overlong argument 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.
How Erudiam trains this test
- The training course sets a full assignment with its file, within the time allowed in 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.
- The readiness index (ERI) aggregates your regularity and your results across all the tests in the competition, this one included.
Frequently asked questions about the EUFTE written test
The notices of competition published in the Official Journal write it out as “free-text essay on EU matters”. It is one of the three written test formats in the EPSO portfolio, alongside the Written Test (WT) and the Field-Related Written Test (FRWT).
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 passing it is enough. The table on this page gives the arrangements for each competition we track.
