Summer is often treated as a quiet period. For many EPSO candidates, it is anything but quiet.
Across EPSOHQ, candidates are using the summer months for intensive training: practising before work, completing timed exams during lunch breaks, revising EU knowledge in the evening and listening to lessons while travelling.
That commitment has inspired an intensive summer at EPSOHQ too. During recent weeks, we have expanded our question libraries, introduced new languages, improved exam practice, added new learning formats and strengthened the systems that review every question.
Here is what has changed — with direct links to every new or improved part of the platform.
Practice is now available in more languages
EPSO candidates should be able to practise in the language in which they will take their test. That sounds obvious. In practice, high-quality preparation material remains concentrated in only a few languages.
EPSOHQ is working to change that. Our question libraries now include content across ten European languages:
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Spanish
- Polish
- Bulgarian
- Croatian
- Portuguese
- Romanian
Romanian is the latest addition. Romanian candidates can now access numerical and abstract reasoning questions through the EPSOHQ exam builder. Croatian preparation continues in beta while native-language review focuses on making every question natural and precise.
Each language library is connected to the live question database. Candidates can see which test types are available in each language and how many reviewed questions are ready. New questions and languages appear as soon as their reviewed pools are activated.
If the combination you need is not yet available, send us a language request. These requests help determine which libraries we expand next.
A clearer and smarter exam builder
We redesigned the exam configuration page around one practical question: what can I practise in my language today?
The language selector now responds to the chosen test type. It only presents combinations for which live questions are available. Candidates can immediately see the size of each pool, avoiding empty exams and unclear choices.
The main exam builder supports practice across:
- Numerical reasoning
- Verbal reasoning
- Abstract reasoning
- Digital skills
- EU knowledge
- Specialist competitions
- Competition-specific formats
- Mixed practice exams
The result is a faster route from choosing a training goal to answering the first question.
More varied practice with fewer repeated concepts
A large question bank does not automatically create good training. If the same concept appears several times in one exam, the apparent variety becomes misleading.
We improved question selection to distribute questions more evenly across topics and reasoning patterns. The system also detects questions that use different wording but test essentially the same idea.
This creates more balanced sessions and a more useful score. Instead of measuring whether a candidate remembers a repeated question, the exam measures whether they can apply their skills to new material.
Better practice is not only about adding questions. It is about selecting the right combination of questions for every session.
Stronger quality review behind every question
Candidates see the final question. Behind it sits a growing review process.
We strengthened checks designed to identify:
- Ambiguous wording or more than one defensible answer
- Weak and implausible distractors
- Repeated concepts and near-duplicate questions
- Incorrect calculations or incomplete explanations
- Outdated facts and time-sensitive information
- Visual labels or diagrams that could be misunderstood
The review workflow now tracks approved, rejected and inconclusive results more closely. An inconclusive question is not silently treated as correct; it remains available for further review.
This work is less visible than a new page. It is also some of the most important work we do. Candidates should spend their time learning — not trying to determine whether a practice question is flawed.
The EU Knowledge programme now contains 24 chapters
EU Knowledge preparation has received one of its largest expansions so far.
The programme now contains 24 structured chapters covering EU institutions, law, policies, programmes and current priorities. Seven new question domains have been added, including:
- Recruitment and careers within EU institutions
- The Staff Regulations and obligations of EU officials
- EPSO competitions and reserve lists
- EU defence and Readiness 2030
- The Union's competitiveness agenda
- The future Multiannual Financial Framework
- Major legislative and policy developments from 2025 and 2026
The objective is not to create an endless encyclopaedia. Candidates need a structured route through the material most relevant to an exam. Chapters therefore connect study material with summaries, important facts, EU Knowledge flashcards and practice questions.
EU Knowledge is a living subject. The programme will continue to change with legislation, institutional developments and new policy priorities.
A dedicated SHL G+ preparation track
More EU candidates are encountering SHL G+ assessments alongside traditional EPSO tests. EPSOHQ now has a dedicated SHL G+ preparation guide and SHL G+ practice exams covering numerical, deductive and inductive reasoning.
The practice environment reflects the tighter timing and interactive nature of these assessments. New formats include visual logic tasks, ordering exercises, rule-based deductions and interactive reasoning scenarios.
Explanations now include clearer diagrams where a visual representation makes the underlying rule easier to understand. The aim is not only to reveal the correct answer, but to teach a reusable method that a candidate can recognise under time pressure.
Digital Skills flashcards with audio
The Digital Skills learning area has expanded into a complete study system.
The Digital Skills flashcard deck covers artificial intelligence, data, cybersecurity, cloud services, digital communication, privacy, the AI Act, the Digital Services Act, the Digital Markets Act, NIS2 and other important topics.
Each card introduces one focused concept. Candidates can review the short answer, open a deeper explanation and listen to the material as audio.
This creates several ways to study the same subject: a quick visual review, a detailed reading session and audio reinforcement away from the screen.
On the Road: preparation beyond the desk
Serious preparation does not always happen at a desk. It happens during a commute, at the gym, while walking, on a train or during a long summer drive.
On the Road was created for those moments. The beta experience lets candidates build a continuous playlist from EPSOHQ audio material. Instead of controlling each lesson separately, candidates can queue content and keep listening.
Audio does not replace active exam practice. It complements it by reinforcing terminology, institutional knowledge and digital-skills concepts before the candidate returns to timed questions.
A complete oral presentation guide
Written knowledge is only one part of many EU selection procedures. Candidates may also need to analyse documents, structure recommendations, present conclusions and respond to follow-up questions.
The new oral presentation guide is designed around that complete workflow. It includes structured chapters, audio material and downloadable preparation resources.
Practical worksheets help candidates work through document mapping, evidence selection, stakeholder analysis, option comparison, implementation planning, risk identification, speaking structure and question-and-answer preparation.
The objective is to turn a large and potentially confusing case file into a clear, evidence-based presentation.
New learning and calculation resources
We also expanded the supporting resources around the main exam system.
A new financial mathematics guide helps candidates strengthen the calculation methods required for numerical reasoning and finance-related competitions. It focuses on practical techniques, worked examples and calculations candidates may encounter under exam conditions.
These resources increasingly connect with flashcards, audio, practice questions and related explanations. Candidates can learn a concept, practise it, review a mistake and find a deeper explanation without searching across unrelated pages.
A broader EU careers toolkit
Preparation matters most when it connects with real opportunities.
The EPSOHQ EU Jobs board now gathers vacancies from a broader range of institutional sources, including the Council, EU agencies and European Commission management positions.
Better normalisation and duplicate detection reduce the chance of seeing the same vacancy several times under slightly different names. Candidates can spend less time checking multiple websites and more time evaluating relevant opportunities.
You can also create personalised alerts with Job Watch and estimate grades, steps and allowances with the EU Salary Calculator.
More current and localized articles
The EPSOHQ blog continues to grow alongside the training platform.
Recent and updated articles cover AD5 preparation, specialist competitions, SHL G+, Digital Skills testing, EU Knowledge strategy, language selection, remote testing, scoring, written tests, Frontex recruitment and reserve-list careers.
More articles are being localized so candidates can access practical information in the language they use for preparation. Candidates should not need to assemble a strategy from scattered announcements, outdated forum posts and incomplete summaries.
Built with candidate feedback
The most rewarding part of this summer has not been the number of new pages or questions. It has been seeing candidates use them.
Candidates have continued training intensively through the summer. Their support messages, corrections, suggestions and positive reviews show us what is helping and where more work is needed.
Happy users do more than motivate the team. They improve the platform. A reported wording issue can protect hundreds of future candidates from confusion. A request for a language can influence the next question programme. Feedback about an explanation can improve an entire question family.
EPSOHQ is built around that cycle: learn, practise, review, improve.
What comes next
The work continues. More questions are being created and reviewed. Existing language libraries will grow, and new language and test combinations will be activated when their question pools are ready.
We will continue improving question variety, explanations, audio learning and competition-specific preparation.
Our goal remains simple: give every serious candidate a clearer, more structured and more effective way to prepare for an EU career.
Summer is not lost preparation time. Used well, it can become an advantage.
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