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The agencies of the European Union (formally: Agencies, decentralised independent bodies, corporate bodies and joint undertakings of the European Union and the Euratom) are bodies of the European Union and the Euratom established as juridical persons through secondary EU legislation and tasked with a specific narrow field of work. [1]
They are distinct from:
In contrast to other EU bodies established through secondary legislation, each of more than fifty such entities has its own juridical personality granted by the EU law, recognised across the EU, and in some cases, also across the EEA countries, Switzerland, Serbia, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and Turkey. Nevertheless, in relations with other non-EU third countries, they are in general not recognised as independent entities, thus being considered either parts of the juridical personality of the EU or the Euratom. [1]
Some of the agencies, decentralised independent bodies and joint undertakings of the European Union and the Euratom are tasked with answering the need to develop scientific or technical know-how in certain fields, others bring together different interest groups to facilitate dialogue at European and international level.
They are divided into the following groups: [1]
Distinct from the EU institutions, the agencies of the European Union are specialist bodies set up to advise the Institutions and Member States in areas that affect everyone living in the Union. [2] They are located in member states across the EU, providing services, information, and know-how. The total budget of all the decentralised agencies is approximately 0.8% of the EU's annual budget. [3]
Single market agencies (under the former I Pillar)
Common Security and Defence Policy agencies (under the former II Pillar)
Official name | Abbreviation | Location | Member state | Est. | Members and observers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
European Defence Agency | EDA | Brussels | Belgium | 2004 | members: EU states; [28] European Commission participant: Norway |
European Institute for Security Studies | EUISS | Paris | France | 2001 | |
European Union Satellite Centre | SatCen | Torrejón de Ardoz | Spain | 2002 |
Area of freedom, security and justice agencies (under the former III Pillar)
European supervisory authorities (of the European System of Financial Supervision)
Official name | Abbreviation | Location | Member state | Est. | Members and observers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
European Banking Authority | EBA | Paris (since 2019) London (2011–2019) [lower-alpha 1] | France ( UK till 2019) [lower-alpha 1] | 2011 | [39] |
European Securities and Markets Authority | ESMA | Paris | France | 2011 | [40] |
European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority | EIOPA | Frankfurt | Germany | 2011 | [41] |
Single Resolution Mechanism bodies (of the European banking union)
Official name | Abbreviation | Location | Member state | Est. | Members and observers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Single Resolution Board | SRB | Brussels | Belgium | 2015 | Eurozone countries, Bulgaria |
Executive agencies are created by European Commission for a fixed period.
Official name | Abbreviation | Location |
---|---|---|
Euratom Supply Agency | ESA | Luxembourg City |
The list includes the two decentralised bodies other than agencies, established as EU juridical persons through secondary legislation of the EU/Euratom.
Official name | Abbreviation | Location | Member state | Members and associates |
---|---|---|---|---|
European Institute of Innovation and Technology | EIT | Budapest | Hungary | Members: EEA countries, Switzerland; associates: the United Kingdom |
European Public Prosecutor's Office | EPPO | Luxembourg City [43] [44] | Luxembourg | members: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain |
The list includes the remaining two bodies other than agencies, decentralised bodies or joint undertakings, established as EU juridical persons through secondary legislation of the EU/Euratom.
Official name | Abbreviation | Location | Member state | Est. |
---|---|---|---|---|
European Data Protection Board | EDPB | Brussels | Belgium | 2018 |
Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations | APPF | Brussels [45] | Belgium | 2014 |
A joint undertaking is a juridical person and a subsidiary body of the EU or the Euratom, established through an agreement between the European Commission, the participating member states, and the European industry of a certain field, with the purpose of implementing a public-private partnership project.
Official name | Abbreviation |
---|---|
Bio-based Industries | BBI |
Clean Sky | CS |
Electronic Components and Systems | ECSEL |
Fuel Cells and Hydrogen | FCH |
High-Performance Computing | EuroHPC |
Innovative Medicines Initiative | IMI |
Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research | SESAR |
Shift-2-Rail | S2R |
Official name | Abbreviation |
---|---|
Fusion for Energy | F4E |
Joint European Torus | JET |
Name | Abbreviation | Fate |
---|---|---|
Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority [46] | HERA | eventually established as DG HERA instead |
Official name | Abbreviation | Location | Member state | Established | Abolished | Fate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia | EUMC | Vienna | Austria | 1997 | 2007 | Transformed into FRA |
European Agency for Reconstruction | EAR | Thessaloniki | Greece | 2000 | 2008 | Dissolved; tasks assigned to DG NEAR and IPA |
Consumers, Health, Agriculture and Food Executive Agency | Chafea | Luxembourg City | Luxembourg | 2005 | 2015 | Dissolved; tasks assigned to DG SANTE and to HaDEA |
European GNSS Supervisory Authority | GSA | undef. | undef. | 2004 | 2010 | Transformed into the second GSA |
European GNSS Agency | GSA | Prague | Czech Republic | 2010 | 2021 | Transformed into EUSPA |
European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union | Frontex | Warsaw | Poland | 2005 | 2016 | Transformed into current Frontex |
The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as listed in the Treaty on European Union. It is one of two legislative bodies and together with the European Parliament serves to amend and approve or veto the proposals of the European Commission, which holds the right of initiative.
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The Union has a total area of 4,233,255 km2 (1,634,469 sq mi) and an estimated total population of over 448 million. The EU has often been described as a sui generis political entity combining the characteristics of both a federation and a confederation.
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957, aiming to foster economic integration among its member states. It was subsequently renamed the European Community (EC) upon becoming integrated into the first pillar of the newly formed European Union in 1993. In the popular language, however, the singular European Community was sometimes inaccurately used in the wider sense of the plural European Communities, in spite of the latter designation covering all the three constituent entities of the first pillar.
The European Council is a collegiate body that defines the overall political direction and priorities of the European Union. The European Council is part of the executive of the European Union (EU), beside the European Commission. It is composed of the heads of state or of government of the EU member states, the President of the European Council, and the President of the European Commission. The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy also takes part in its meetings.
The European Commission (EC) is the primary executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission headed by a President. It includes an administrative body of about 32,000 European civil servants. The commission is divided into departments known as Directorates-General (DGs) that can be likened to departments or ministries each headed by a Director-General who is responsible to a Commissioner.
The president of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The president of the commission leads a cabinet of commissioners, referred to as the college. The president is empowered to allocate portfolios among, reshuffle, or dismiss commissioners as necessary. The college directs the commission's civil service, sets the policy agenda and determines the legislative proposals it produces. The commission is the only body that can propose or draft bills to become EU laws.
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The European Communities (EC) were three international organizations that were governed by the same set of institutions. These were the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Atomic Energy Community, and the European Economic Community (EEC), the last of which was renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993 by the Maastricht Treaty establishing the European Union. The European Union was established at that time more as a concept rather than an entity, while the Communities remained the actual subjects of international law impersonating the rather abstract Union, becoming at the same time its first pillar. In popular language, however, the singular European Community was sometimes used interchangeably with the plural phrase, in the sense of referring to all three entities.
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The accession of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the European Union (EU) is the stated aim of the present relations between the two entities. Bosnia and Herzegovina has been recognised by the European Union as a "candidate country" for accession since the decision of the European Council in 2022 and is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the EU. Bosnia and Herzegovina takes part in the Stabilisation and Association Process and trade relations are regulated by an Interim Agreement.
European Union (EU) concepts, acronyms, and jargon are a terminology set that has developed as a form of shorthand, to quickly express a (formal) EU process, an (informal) institutional working practice, or an EU body, function or decision, and which is commonly understood among EU officials or external people who regularly deal with EU institutions.
The area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) of the European Union (EU) is a policy domain concerning home affairs and migration, justice as well as fundamental rights, developed to address the challenges posed to internal security by collateral effects of the free movement of people and goods in the absence of border controls or customs inspection throughout the Schengen Area, as well as to safeguard adherence to the common European values through ensuring that the fundamental rights of people are respected across the EU.
On 28 February 2022, four days after it was invaded by Russia, Ukraine applied for membership of the European Union (EU). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested immediate admission under a "new special procedure", and the presidents of eight EU states called for an accelerated accession process. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen stated that she supports Ukrainian accession, but that the process would take time. On 10 March 2022, the Council of the European Union asked the commission for its opinion on the application. On 8 April 2022, von der Leyen presented Zelenskyy with a legislative questionnaire, which Ukraine responded to on 9 May.
The main bodies of the European Union and the Euratom are:
The order of precedence of the European Union is the protocol hierarchy in which its offices and dignitaries are listed according to their rank in the European Union. Article 13 of the Treaty on European Union, entered into force on 1 December 2009, sets the EU's current order of precedence among the EU institutions and bodies. The EU administrative structure further has interinstitutional services, decentralised organisations (agencies), executive agencies, Euratom agencies and bodies, and other EU organisations not included in the order of precedence.