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The Commission's 2025 packages: a dated list

Last checked against sources · 8 min read
Valid for: AD5 and AST3 (COM/AD/108/2026, COM/AST/109/2026), cut-offs 29 May 2026 and mid to late June 2026 (estimated); AD6 and AST2 (COM/AD/111/2026, COM/AST/112/2026), cut-off about 5 to 6 October 2026 (estimated)

In 2025 the Commission turned the 2024-2029 Political Guidelines into named packages, from the Competitiveness Compass (COM(2025) 30, 29 January 2025) to the Automotive Package (16 December 2025). The table below gives each one's official title, reference and date, checked on the document itself, with the named elements a question is likely to use.

Why the packages matter for the test

The third content area of the internal test is the Commission's current mandate and policy priorities for 2024-2029 (the Commission's guidance to candidates; confirmed). Knowing the seven chapters of the Political Guidelines is the start. The detail sits one level down, in named communications with a date, a COM number and a handful of named elements.

That is where wrong options come from. A distractor is often a true EU fact placed in the wrong package: a figure from the Preparedness Union Strategy offered as part of the Clean Industrial Deal, or a March 2025 measure offered as part of the December 2025 Automotive Package. Learning each package as title, date and elements protects you against both.

The dated list

Each row was checked on the document's own first page (EUR-Lex text or the Commission's PDF) on 26 October 2026. Only packages whose date we could verify are listed. "Chapter" is the Political Guidelines chapter the package serves, numbered as on the priorities page.

Sources: each document as listed, read on EUR-Lex or the Commission's site. Cut-offs are our estimates (AD5 29 May 2026; AST3 mid to late June 2026; AD6 and AST2 about 5 to 6 October 2026).
DateOfficial title and referenceChapterNamed elementsCut-off position
29 Jan 2025A Competitiveness Compass for the EU, COM(2025) 301Three imperatives: closing the innovation gap; a joint roadmap for decarbonisation and competitiveness; reducing excessive dependencies and increasing security. Burden targets of at least 25%, and at least 35% for SMEsIn scope at every 2026 cut-off
5 Feb 2025A comprehensive EU toolbox for safe and sustainable e-commerce, COM(2025) 3714.6 billion low-value items imported in 2024; up to 12 million a day; the duty exemption for consignments up to EUR 150In scope at every 2026 cut-off
11 Feb 2025Commission work programme 2025, "Moving forward together: A Bolder, Simpler, Faster Union", COM(2025) 45All51 new initiatives in Annex I; 37 intended withdrawals in Annex IVIn scope at every 2026 cut-off
11 Feb 2025A simpler and faster Europe: Communication on implementation and simplification, COM(2025) 47125% and 35% targets applied to all administrative costs; EUR 37.5 billion by the end of the mandate; at least two implementation dialogues a year per CommissionerIn scope at every 2026 cut-off
19 Feb 2025A Vision for Agriculture and Food, COM(2025) 754Vision and objectives for 2040; an attractive, competitive, sustainable and fair agri-food systemIn scope at every 2026 cut-off
26 Feb 2025The Clean Industrial Deal: A joint roadmap for competitiveness and decarbonisation, COM(2025) 851Two sectors: energy-intensive industries and clean tech. Chapters on affordable energy, lead markets, investment, the circular economy, global partnerships and skillsIn scope at every 2026 cut-off
26 Feb 2025Action Plan for Affordable Energy, COM(2025) 791Adopted the same day as the Clean Industrial Deal; subtitled "Unlocking the true value of our Energy Union"In scope at every 2026 cut-off
26 Feb 2025Omnibus I (sustainability): COM(2025) 80, 81 and 87. Omnibus II (investment): COM(2025) 841About 80% of companies out of CSRD scope; a CBAM threshold of 50 tonnes per importer; about EUR 6.3 billion of annual savings and EUR 50 billion of investment capacity (IP/25/614)In scope at every 2026 cut-off
5 Mar 2025The Union of Skills, COM(2025) 903Four strands: build skills; upskill and reskill; circulate skills; attract, develop and retain talentIn scope at every 2026 cut-off
5 Mar 2025Industrial Action Plan for the European automotive sector, COM(2025) 951EUR 1.8 billion over two years for companies making batteries in the EUIn scope at every 2026 cut-off
19 Mar 2025Joint White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030, JOIN(2025) 1202Framework for the ReArm Europe plan; SAFE of EUR 150 billion; defence investment that could reach at least EUR 800 billion over four yearsIn scope at every 2026 cut-off
19 Mar 2025Savings and Investments Union, COM(2025) 1241Four headings: Citizens and Savings; Investments and Financing; Integration and Scale; Efficient Supervision in the Single Market. About EUR 10 trillion of retail savings in bank depositsIn scope at every 2026 cut-off
26 Mar 2025European Preparedness Union Strategy, JOIN(2025) 1302Seven areas; 30 key actions; guidelines for population self-sufficiency of at least 72 hoursIn scope at every 2026 cut-off
27 May 2025Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1106 establishing SAFE (proposal COM(2025) 122, 19 March 2025)2Adopted by the Council under Article 122 TFEUIn scope at every 2026 cut-off
16 Jul 2025A dynamic EU Budget for the priorities of the future: the MFF 2028-2034, COM(2025) 5707EUR 1.98 trillion for 2028-2034, equivalent to 1.26% of EU GNI. A proposal, not the current MFFIn scope at every 2026 cut-off
10 Sep 2025State of the Union 2025 (an address, not a COM document)AllEastern flank watch; a Roadmap for European defence readiness that could mobilise up to EUR 800 billion; more omnibus packages building on "the six that have already been tabled"In scope at every 2026 cut-off
21 Oct 2025Commission work programme 2026, "Europe's Independence Moment", COM(2025) 870All38 policy objectives in Annex I; 47 legislative initiatives, 25 with a significant simplification dimension; 25 proposals for withdrawalIn scope at every 2026 cut-off
4 Nov 20252025 Communication on EU enlargement policy, COM(2025) 6906The core of the 2025 Enlargement PackageIn scope at every 2026 cut-off
16 Dec 20252025 Automotive Package (IP/25/3051), including COM(2025) 995 on CO2 standards for cars and vans and Omnibus IX, COM(2025) 9931A 90% tailpipe reduction target from 2035; binding national targets for corporate vehicles; a EUR 1.8 billion Battery BoosterIn scope at every 2026 cut-off

Omnibus packages III to X (May to December 2025) are dated one by one on the simplification and omnibus page.

The first-100-days core

The Political Guidelines promised several items "in the first 100 days of the mandate", among them a Clean Industrial Deal, a White Paper on the Future of European Defence and a Vision for Agriculture and Food. The block from late January to late March 2025 is the core of the priorities area, and every item in it predates all 2026 cut-offs:

  • The [Competitiveness Compass](/topics/2025-packages/competitiveness-compass) (29 January), built on three imperatives taken from the report on "The Future of European Competitiveness".
  • The [e-commerce toolbox](/topics/2025-packages/e-commerce-toolbox) (5 February), a response to the surge of goods bought online and imported directly to consumers.
  • The 2025 work programme and COM(2025) 47 (both 11 February, Strasbourg). COM(2025) 47 carries the simplification numbers.
  • The [Clean Industrial Deal](/topics/2025-packages/clean-industrial-deal) with the Affordable Energy Action Plan (26 February), and Omnibus I and II the same day.
  • The [Preparedness Union Strategy](/topics/2025-packages/preparedness-union-strategy) (26 March), a joint communication with the High Representative.

Alongside it in March: the Union of Skills and the automotive action plan on 5 March, and the Defence White Paper and the Savings and Investments Union on 19 March. The Vision for Agriculture and Food came on 19 February.

Later in 2025

  • MFF 2028-2034 proposal (16 July). The headline 1.26% of GNI belongs to this proposal. Do not give it as the size of the current budget; see the MFF explained and the MFF proposal spoke.
  • [State of the Union 2025](/topics/2025-packages/state-of-the-union-2025) (10 September). The Commission's page dates the address and lists its main initiatives.
  • [The 2026 work programme](/topics/commission-work-programme-2026) (21 October), in scope for every 2026 sitting.
  • [The 2025 Enlargement Package](/topics/2025-packages/enlargement-package-2025) (4 November), headed by COM(2025) 690.
  • [The 2025 Automotive Package](/topics/2025-packages/automotive) (16 December). Keep it apart from the Industrial Action Plan of 5 March 2025: same sector, different documents, nine months apart.

Later than 29 May 2026: what to flag

Nothing in the dated table is later than 2025. Follow-up acts are another matter. The ones below were adopted or presented after 29 May 2026, our estimate of the AD5 cut-off, so they are later for AD5 candidates:

DateEventPosition
24 Jun 2026Omnibus XI (taxation), COM(2026) 560, and Omnibus XII (energy and tyre labelling), COM(2026) 565Later for AD5. For AST3 only if before its own notice date, which is not public. In scope for AD6 and AST2
8 Jul 2026Regulation on the simplification of AI rules (Omnibus VII) adopted, according to the Commission's simplification pageLater for AD5 and AST3. In scope for AD6 and AST2
16 Sep 2026Customs reform adopted by Parliament and Council (proposed on 17 May 2023; agreement welcomed in March 2026)Later for AD5 and AST3. In scope for AD6 and AST2. See customs reform

How to learn a package

  1. Title, exactly. "A Competitiveness Compass for the EU", not "the Competitiveness Strategy". The Clean Industrial Deal's subtitle puts competitiveness first: "A joint roadmap for competitiveness and decarbonisation".
  2. Date and place. Most were adopted in Brussels; the two work programmes, COM(2025) 47 and the Automotive Package proposals are dated Strasbourg.
  3. Author. JOIN documents are joint with the High Representative: the Defence White Paper and the Preparedness Union Strategy.
  4. Three to five named elements, with their numbers: 30 key actions, 72 hours, EUR 150 billion, 50 tonnes.
  5. The chapter it serves, so that a "which priority does this belong to" question takes seconds.

Our free 30-question test includes package questions like this one, each with its source and date. The full mocks follow the same three content areas, under Commission or open-competition rules, with AD or AST timing.

Questions people ask

Which publications are in scope for my competition?

Public official sources published before your application period opened, according to the Commission's guidance to candidates. Every package in the dated table is from 2025, so it predates all 2026 cut-offs.

How to best prepare for the EU knowledge test?

For this area, learn each package as title, date, author and three to five named elements, starting with the January to March 2025 block. Then test yourself under time.

When does EPSO publish the AD5 Part 2 sources?

About two months before the testing session, according to EPSO's AD5 FAQ. Whether the 2025 packages are on that list will only be known then.

Official sources

Every fact on this page comes from these documents. Quotations are from the official text in this language.

  1. A Competitiveness Compass for the EU, COM(2025) 30 (29 January 2025)
  2. A comprehensive EU toolbox for safe and sustainable e-commerce, COM(2025) 37 (5 February 2025)
  3. Commission work programme 2025, COM(2025) 45, with annexes (11 February 2025)
  4. A simpler and faster Europe, COM(2025) 47 (11 February 2025)
  5. A Vision for Agriculture and Food, COM(2025) 75 (19 February 2025)
  6. Action Plan for Affordable Energy, COM(2025) 79 (26 February 2025)
  7. The Clean Industrial Deal, COM(2025) 85 (26 February 2025)
  8. Omnibus I and II proposals, COM(2025) 80, 81, 84 and 87, and press release IP/25/614 (26 February 2025)
  9. The Union of Skills, COM(2025) 90 (5 March 2025)
  10. Industrial Action Plan for the European automotive sector, COM(2025) 95 (5 March 2025)
  11. Joint White Paper for European Defence Readiness 2030, JOIN(2025) 120 (19 March 2025)
  12. Savings and Investments Union, COM(2025) 124 (19 March 2025)
  13. European Preparedness Union Strategy, JOIN(2025) 130 (26 March 2025)
  14. Council Regulation (EU) 2025/1106 establishing SAFE (27 May 2025)
  15. The Multiannual Financial Framework 2028-2034, COM(2025) 570 (16 July 2025)
  16. State of the Union 2025: main initiatives (Commission page) (10 September 2025)
  17. Commission work programme 2026, COM(2025) 870, and the Commission's 2026 programme page (key figures) (21 October 2025)
  18. 2025 Communication on EU enlargement policy, COM(2025) 690 (4 November 2025)
  19. Commission takes action for clean and competitive automotive sector, IP/25/3051; proposals COM(2025) 993 and 995 (16 December 2025)
  20. Commission simplification page, omnibus table (undated; entries to 24 June 2026 fall after the AD5 cut-off)
  21. EU Customs Reform page, DG TAXUD (adoption on 16 September 2026 is after the AD5 and AST3 cut-offs)

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