The European Commission identifies representation gaps across 15 of the EU’s 27 nationalities; Italians made up 45.4% of applicants to the 2026 graduate administrator competition.
The European Personnel Selection Office (EPSO) recorded 174,727 applicants, including 79,343 from Italy. Spain had 13,789, Germany 11,699 and France 10,939. The figures describe the applicant pool alone: they do not show who will pass testing or later be hired.
The opening stage covers verbal, numerical and abstract reasoning, with candidates scheduled in individual sessions. Applicants who pass are due to face a second phase in 2027 involving EU knowledge, digital skills and essay writing. EPSO has yet to publish a timetable for those assessments.
The competition aims to place 1,490 successful candidates on a reserve list. EU institutions, bodies and agencies may consult that pool when vacancies arise. The list does not assign candidates to jobs; recruiting services make selections for individual openings.
A European Commission decision adopted Nov. 6, 2025, permits possible hiring measures after an assessment. Options include interviewing a suitable candidate from an underrepresented nationality, favoring that candidate when merits are substantially equal, or setting indicative recruitment targets. The decision bars reserving posts by nationality. These rules cover Commission hiring, while other EU institutions may also recruit from the EPSO list.
Joint action plans developed by the Commission and underrepresented member states during 2022-23 sought to broaden outreach and support applicants, while keeping merit central to selection. Germany’s 2023 plan pointed to its strong, high-wage labor market as a possible reason young Germans may find EU careers less attractive; it did not establish that as the cause of this year’s applicant totals.
The reasoning tests are scheduled for Nov. 9-13. EPSO has not announced dates for the second-stage assessments in 2027.
