In the old days (that's a relative term), EPSO used to organise ony the CBT[1] and then the Assessment Centre. Since 2015, they thought of another intermediary phase, namely the E-tray.

From what I read, this happened because the pass mark for the CBT was so high, that potential candidates were eliminated. Now EPSO allows approximately 10 times the number of available places to reach the E-tray phase and uses it to filter out 2/3-ish of the candidates.

The E-tray is yet another competency-measuring test. It is designed to assess 3 or 4 competencies, depending of the competition. Here are the competencies assessed, with their definitions[2]:

Competency Definition
Analysis & Problem Solving Identifies the critical facts in complex issues and develops creative and practical solutions
Delivering Quality and Results Takes personal responsibility and initiative for delivering work to a high standard of quality within set procedures
Prioritising and Organising Prioritises the most important tasks, works flexibly and organises own workload efficiently.
Working with Others [3] Works co-operatively with others in teams and across organisational boundaries and respects differences between people

  1. Computer-based tests, with verbal, numerical, abstract and eventually situational judgement questions ↩︎

  2. From Eur-lex ↩︎

  3. Typically for AD competitions ↩︎