C_202603362EN.000101.fmx.xml

Notice amending the notice of open competition – EPSO/AD/427/26 – Administrators (AD 5)

(Official Journal of the European Union C, C/2026/711, 5 February 2026)

(C/2026/3362)

The publication of open competition EPSO/AD/427/26 attracted an unprecedented number of candidates. To ensure the smooth running of the competition in this context, the procedural framework of the competition must be reviewed. Furthermore, Section 6(1) of the General rules requires clarification.

Therefore, the notice of open competition EPSO/AD/427/26 shall be amended as follows:

(1)

on page 1, ‘Contents’, entry 4.1 is replaced by the following:

‘4.1.

Overview of the competition’;

(2)

on page 2, Section 4.1 ‘Overview of the competition phases’ is replaced by the following:

‘4.1. Overview of the competition

This competition will be organised as follows, in a chronological order:

—	application (see Section 4.3.1),

—	invitations to tests (testing phase, Part 1),

—	testing phase, Part 1: reasoning tests (see Section 4.3.2),

—	scoring of the reasoning tests and notification of the results (see Section 4.3.3),

—	invitations to tests (testing phase, Part 2),

—	testing phase, Part 2: an EU knowledge test, a digital skills test, and a free-text essay on EU matters (“EUFTE”) (see Section 4.3.2),

—	scoring of the EU knowledge test and of the digital skills test (see Section 4.3.3),

—	preliminary ranking (see Section 4.3.3),

—	scoring of the EUFTE and eligibility check (see Section 4.3.3),

—	final ranking (see Section 4.3.3),

—	establishment of the reserve list and notification of the results of Part 2 of the testing phase (see Section 4.3.4).’;

(3)

on page 4, point 4.3.2(a)(i) is replaced by the following:

‘(i)

All candidates who have submitted their application form by the deadline indicated in point 4.3.1(b) will be invited to sit the reasoning tests – Part 1 of the testing phase. Candidates who obtained at least the required pass scores in Part 1 of the testing phase will be invited to sit the following tests which constitute Part 2 of the testing phase: the EU knowledge test, the digital skills test, and the EUFTE. Please note that the order in which these tests are delivered may differ from the order in which they are listed.’;

(4)

on page 4, point 4.3.2(b)(ii) is replaced by the following:

‘(ii)

To proceed to Part 2 of the testing phase, a candidate needs to obtain at least:

—	a pass score of 10/20 in the verbal reasoning test, and

—	a combined pass score of 10/20 in the numerical and abstract reasoning tests.’;

(5)

on page 6, point 4.3.3(a)(iii) is replaced by the following:

‘(iii)

Candidates who fail to sit or complete all the tests in a given part of the testing phase (see Section 4.3.2 above and Section 5 of the General rules) will not have any of their test answers and/or scripts for that part of the testing phase processed and will not have their eligibility checked.’;

(6)	on page 6, point 4.3.3(a)(iv) is deleted;

(7)

on page 6, point 4.3.3(b)(i) is replaced by the following:

‘(i)

Following Part 1 of the testing phase, the reasoning tests will be scored, and the candidates will be notified of their results. Following Part 2 of the testing phase (see point 4.3.2(a)(i)), the EU knowledge test will be scored first. Then, the digital skills test will be scored for candidates who obtained at least the required pass score in the EU knowledge test.’;

(8)

on page 7, point 4.3.4(d) is replaced by the following:

‘(d)	The candidates will be notified of their results for Part 2 of the testing phase as well as the outcome of the eligibility check unless their test answers and/or scripts have not been processed and/or eligibility has not been checked for the reasons indicated in this notice.’;

(9)

on page 12, Annex I, General rules, Section 6 ‘Disqualification from the competition’, point (1) is replaced by the following:

‘(1)

Candidates may be disqualified at any stage of the competition on the following grounds:

(a)	applying more than once to the same competition;

(b)	making false declarations or declarations unsupported by the appropriate documents;

(c)	failing to comply with testing instructions, where such instructions state that non-compliance may result in disqualification;

(d)	cheating during the tests, recording online tests or attempting to manipulate the fair conduct of tests, or compromising the integrity of the competition process in any other way;

(e)	contacting or attempting to contact a member of the Selection Board in an unauthorised manner;

(f)	failing to inform EPSO of a potential conflict of interest with a Selection Board member or with an EPSO staff member;

(g)	signing or making a distinctive mark on written or practical tests despite being instructed otherwise.’.