_________________________________________________________________By Alina Kulinich

Council Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 of 19 December 2002 laying down the statute for executive
agencies to be entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes
(Lecture Notes)
Foreword:
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 308
thereof, to the proposal from the Commission, to the opinion of the European Parliament, to the
opinion of the Court of Auditors, whereas:
 An increasing number of programmes are being created in a wide range of fields targeting a
variety of categories of beneficiaries, as part of the activities provided for in Article 3 of the
Treaty. The Commission is, as a rule, responsible for adopting measures to implement such
programmes (Community programmes).
 Implementation of the Community programmes concerned is financed, at least in part, from
appropriations entered in the general budget of the European Union.
 Under Article 274 of the Treaty, the Commission is responsible for implementing the
budget.
 If the Commission is to be properly accountable to citizens, it must focus primarily on its
institutional tasks. It should therefore be able to delegate some of the tasks relating to the
management of Community programmes to third parties.
 Outsourcing of management tasks should nevertheless stay within the limits set by the
institutional system as laid out in the Treaty.
 Outsourcing should, moreover, be subject to a cost-benefit analysis taking account of a
number of factors such as identification of the tasks justifying outsourcing, a cost-benefit
analysis (the costs of coordination and checks, the impact on human resources, efficiency
and flexibility in the implementation of outsourced tasks, simplification of the procedures
used etc.).
 One form of outsourcing consists in using Community bodies which have legal personality
(executive agencies).
 The statute of executive agencies should be laid down, in particular as regards certain
essential aspects of their structure, tasks, operation, budget system, staff, supervision and
responsibility.
 As the institution responsible for implementing the various Community programmes, the
Commission is best qualified to assess whether and to what extent it is appropriate to entrust
management tasks relating to one or more specific Community programmes to an executive
agency.
 An executive agency may be entrusted with implementing tasks relating to the management
of programmes which are financed from sources other than the general budget of the
European Union. However, this should not lead even indirectly to extra administrative costs,
which should be covered by additional appropriations entered in the general budget
concerned.
 Executive agencies should be made accountable for their actions and the Commission
should exercise administrative supervision over the executive agency, without ruling out the
possibility of an audit by the Court of Justice.
 The public should have access to the documents held by the executive agencies, on terms
and within limits similar to those in Article 255 of the Treaty.
 Each executive agency must collaborate intensively and continuously with the Commission
departments responsible for the Community programmes which it is involved in managing.
Article 1. Aim
This Regulation lays down the statute of executive agencies to which the Commission, under its
own control and responsibility, may entrust certain tasks relating to the management of
Community programmes.
Article 2. Definitions
"Executive agency" means a legal entity established in accordance with this Regulation.
"Community programme" means any activity, set of activities or other initiative which the
relevant basic instrument or budgetary authorisation requires the Commission to implement for
the benefit of one or more categories of specific beneficiaries, by committing expenditure.
Article 3. Setting-up and winding-up of executive agencies
The Commission may decide, after a prior cost-benefit analysis, to set up an executive agency
with a view to entrusting it with certain tasks relating to the management of one or more
Community programmes. It shall determine the lifetime of the executive agency.
The cost-benefit analysis shall take into account a number of factors such as identification of the
tasks justiflying outsourcing, a cost-benefit analysis which includes the costs of coordination
and checks, the impact on human resources, possible savings within the general budgetary
framework of the European Union, efficiency and flexibility in the implementation of
outsourced tasks etc.
At the date determined when setting up the executive agency, the Commission may extend the
duration of its lifetime for a period not exceeding that originally provided for. Such extension
may be renewed.
When adopting a Community programme, the Commission shall inform the budgetary authority
of whether it intends to set up an executive agency to implement the programme.
Article 4. Legal status
An executive agency is a Community body with a public service role and shall have legal
personality. In each of the Member States, it shall enjoy the most extensive legal capacity
accorded to legal persons under national law.
Article 5. Location
An executive agency shall be located at the place where the Commission and its departments are
located, in accordance with the Protocol on the location of the seats of the institutions and of
certain bodies and departments of the European Communities and of Europol.
Article 6. Tasks
To attain the objective set out in Article 3(1), the Commission may entrust an executive agency
with any tasks required to implement a Community programme, with the exception of tasks
requiring discretionary powers in translating political choices into action.
Executive agencies may in particular be entrusted with the following tasks:
 managing some or all of the phases in the lifetime of a project, in relation with specific
individual projects, in the context of implementing a Community programme;
 adopting the instruments of budget implementation for the revenue and expenditure and
carrying out all activities required to implement a Community programme on the basis
of the power delegated by the Commission;
  gathering, analysing and transmitting to the Commission all the information needed to
guide the implementation of a Community programme.
Article 7. Structure
1. An executive agency shall be managed by a Steering Committee and a director.
2. An executive agency's director shall have authority over its staff.
Article 8. Steering Committee
The Steering Committee shall consist of five members appointed by the Commission. The term of
office of the members of the Steering Committee shall be two years in principle and shall take into
account the length of time fixed for implementation of the Community programme, management of
which has been entrusted to the executive agency. The Steering Committee shall choose a
chairperson and deputy-chairperson from among its members. Any member of the Steering
Committee unable to attend a meeting may be represented by another member specially empowered
for the meeting concerned. Each member may represent only one other member. Should the
chairperson be unable to attend, the Steering Committee shall be chaired by the deputychairperson.
The Steering Committee's decisions shall be adopted by a simple majority of votes. In the event of a
tie, the chair shall have the casting vote.
Article 9. Tasks of the Steering Committee
The Steering Committee shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
On the basis of a draft submitted by the director and after approval by the Commission, the Steering
Committee shall, no later than the beginning of each year, adopt the executive agency's annual work
programme comprising detailed objectives and performance indicators. The work programme must
comply with the programming defined by the Commission in accordance with the instruments
establishing the Community programmes in the management of which the executive agency is
involved.
The Steering Committee shall obtain the Commission's agreement before deciding to accept any
gifts, legacies and grants from sources other than the Community.
The Steering Committee shall decide on the organisation of the departments of the executive
agency. The Steering Committee shall adopt any special rules needed to implement the right of
access to the executive agency's documents in accordance with Article 23(1).
The Steering Committee shall adopt and apply measures to combat fraud and irregularities. The
Steering Committee shall perform the other tasks entrusted to it by this Regulation.
Article 10. Director
The director shall be appointed for a term of four years in principle and shall take into account the
length of time fixed for implementation of the Community programme, management of which had
been entrusted to the executive agency.
Article 11. Tasks of the director
The director shall represent the executive agency and shall be responsible for its management.
The director shall prepare the work of the Steering Committee, in particular the draft annual work
programme of the executive agency. The director shall participate, without voting, in the work of
the Steering Committee.
The director shall ensure that the annual work programme of the executive agency is implemented.
The director shall be responsible for preparing and publishing the reports which the executive
agency must present to the Commission.
The director shall be empowered under the arrangements applicable to other servants of the
European Communities to conclude employment contracts in respect of staff of the executive
agency. The director shall be responsible for all other matters relating to personnel management
within the executive agency.
Article 12. Operating budget
Forecasts of all the executive agency's revenue and expenditure shall be prepared for each financial
year, which shall be the same as the calendar year, and shall be shown in its operating budget. The
forecasts, which shall include the establishment plan of the executive agency, shall be sent to the
budgetary authority with the documents relating to the preliminary draft general budget of the
European Union.
Article 13. Preparation of the operating budget
Each year the director shall draw up a draft operating budget for the executive agency covering the
agency's running costs for the following financial year and shall submit it to the Steering
Committee.
No later than 1 March each year, the Steering Committee shall adopt the draft operating budget,
including the establishment plan, for the following financial year and shall submit it to the
Commission.
At the beginning of each financial year, the Steering Committee shall adopt the executive agency's
operating budget, on the basis of the annual subsidy thus determined by the budgetary authority, at
the same time as it adopts the annual work programme, adjusting the budget in accordance with the
different contributions granted to the executive agency and any funds from other sources.
The operating budget of the agency may not be adopted definitively until the general budget of the
European Union has been finally adopted.
When the Commission contemplates setting up an executive agency, it shall inform the budgetary
authority in accordance with the budgetary procedure and respecting the principle of transparency:
of the resources in terms of appropriations and jobs required to run the executive agency; of planned
secondments of officials from the Commission to the executive agency; of administrative resources
freed by transferring tasks from the Commission departments to the executive agency, and the re-
allocation of those freed administrative resources.
Article 14. Implementation of the operating budget and discharge
The director shall implement the executive agency's operating budget. The European Parliament,
acting on a recommendation from the Council, shall grant a discharge to the executive agency for
the implementation of its budget no later than 29 April of year n+2 after examination of the report
by the Court of Auditors. Such discharge shall be granted together with that relating to
implementation of the general budget of the European Union.
Article 15. Financial Regulation applicable to the operating budget
The standard financial regulation applicable to the operating budget of an executive agency shall be
adopted by the Commission.
Article 16. Financial Regulation applicable to the operational appropriations
Where the Commission has delegated tasks to the executive agency relating to the budget
implementation of operational appropriations for Community programmes in accordance with
Article 6(2)(b), such appropriations shall be entered in the general budget of the European Union
and shall be implemented by direct charging to that budget under the responsibility of the
Commission.
The director shall act as the executive agency's authorising officer by delegation as regards
implementation of these operational appropriations and shall comply to that end with the
obligations laid down in the financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European
Communities.
Article 17. Programmes financed from sources other than the general budget of the European
Union
Articles 13 and 16 shall apply without prejudice to specific provisions laid down in the basic
instruments relating to programmes financed from sources other than the general budget of the
European Union.
Article 18. Staff
The executive agency's staff shall consist of Community officials seconded as temporary staff
members by the institutions to positions of responsibility in the executive agency, and of other
temporary staff 9 / 13 06/09/2012 members directly recruited by the executive agency, as well as of
other servants recruited by the executive agency on renewable contracts. The nature of the contract,
governed by either private law or public law, its duration and the extent of the servants' obligations
vis-à-vis the agency, and the appropriate eligibility criteria shall be determined on the basis of the
specific nature of the tasks to be performed, and shall comply with the Staff Regulations as well as
with current national legislation.
The Steering Committee, in agreement with the Commission, shall adopt the necessary
implementing rules for personnel management within the executive agency, if necessary.
Article 19. Privileges and immunities
The Protocol of 8 April 1965 on the privileges and immunities of the European Communities shall
apply to both the executive agency and its staff, insofar as it is subject to the Staff Regulations.
Article 20. Supervision
Implementation of the Community programmes entrusted to executive agencies shall be supervised
by the Commission. Such supervision shall follow the procedures it shall adopt in accordance with
Article 6(3).
The function of internal auditor shall be performed in the executive agencies by the internal auditor
of the Commission.
The Commission and the executive agency shall implement the recommendations of the internal
auditors, each according to their respective powers.
The Court of Auditors shall examine the executive agency's accounts in accordance with Article
248 of the Treaty.
Article 21. Liability
The contractual liability of the executive agency shall be governed by the law applicable to the
contract in question.
In the case of non-contractual liability, the executive agency shall make good any damage caused
by the agency or its servants in the performance of their duties, in accordance with the general
principles common to the laws of the Member States. The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction in
disputes relating to compensation for any such damage.
Article 22. Legality of acts
Any act of an executive agency which injures a third party may be referred to the Commission by
any person directly or individually concerned or by a Member State for a review of its legality.
Administrative proceedings shall be referred to the Commission within one month of the day on
which the interested party or Member State concerned learnt of the act challenged.
On its own initiative the Commission may review any act of an executive agency. It shall decide
within two months of the day on which that review, after having heard the arguments adduced by
the agency.
Executive agencies must take the necessary measures within a reasonable period to comply with the
Commission's decision.
Article 23. Access to documents and confidentiality
Executive agencies shall be subject to Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament
and of the Council of 30 May 2001 on public access to European Parliament, Council and
Commission documents(9 ) when it receives a request for access to a document in its possession.
The members of the Steering Committee, the director and members of staff and all persons involved
in the activities of the executive agency shall be required, even after their duties have ceased, not to
disclose information of the kind covered by the obligation of professional secrecy.
Article 24. Committee
The Commission shall be assisted by a committee, hereinafter referred to as the "Committee for
Executive Agencies". The Committee shall adopt its rules of procedure.
Article 25. Evaluation
An external evaluation report on the first three years of operation of each executive agency shall be
drawn up by the Commission and submitted to the steering committee of the executive agency, to
the European Parliament, to the Council and to the Court of Auditors. It shall include a cost-benefit
analysis as referred to in Article 3(1).
The evaluation shall subsequently be repeated every three years under the same conditions.
Article 26. Interim measures
As far as executive agencies have already been set up: the annual activity report referred to in
Article 9(7) shall be drawn up for the first time for the 2003 financial year; the deadline referred to
in Article 14(2)(b) for transmission of the final accounts shall apply for the first time to the 2005
financial year; for the financial years prior to 2005 the deadline for transmission of the final
accounts shall be 15 September.
Article 27. Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the 10th day following that of its publication in the Official
Journal of the European Communities.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
 EUROPEAN UNION INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE
History
The EUIPO, then known as the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM) was one of
six agencies set up under the 1993 Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty). With
administrative and financial autonomy, the new agency had as its task the management of a new
EU-wide intellectual property right, the European Union trade mark (then known as the Community
trade mark).
Spain was designated as the host country for the EUIPO, with the coastal city of Alicante chosen as
its seat.
In September 1994, the EUIPO opened its doors for the first time, in a rented office in Alicante city
centre.
At that point, the Office had just a handful of staff, and its activities were focused on preparing the
necessary administrative infrastructure ahead of the first possible filing date for the new unitary
trade mark, on 1 April 1996.
A decision had already been taken that CTM applicants could file in all languages of the EU (11 at
that stage) with the five working languages of the Office being English, French, German, Spanish
and Italian.
The Office was starting from scratch. Everything – from computers to chairs – had to be sourced,
purchased and made ready ahead of the all-important first filling date.
In April 1996, the intense work that had gone into setting up the Office finally came to fruition. The
first Community trade marks were received, in quantities that surpassed even the most optimistic
projections.
In the first month alone, close to 22 000 trade mark applications were sent to the Office.
The original prediction had been for 15 000 in the first full year of operations.
The new Office had a set of well-defined tasks to carry out under the Trade Mark Regulation.
Among them: the setting up of an Opposition Division; a Cancellation Division; and the Boards of
Appeal. By the end of 1996, for example, the Boards of Appeal, with only six members, had already
received 20 appeals.
1996 - The Office was consolidating itself as an IP office with global reach, confirming the vision
of its founding fathers as it became both a motor and a reflection of the EU’s Internal Market.
The huge inflow of filings meant that the Office had to expand quickly. The rented offices were
rapidly proving unsuitable, and a new headquarters was needed.
Construction begins on EUIPO’s main headquarters, in Agua Amarga, on the outskirts of Alicante.
With the support of the Spanish government and the local and regional political structure, the site
for the new headquarters was identified and secured. The Office’s workforce had expanded in line
with the higher than predicted volume of applications, and the greatly consequent higher workload
meant that more IP experts had to be accomodated.
It is still EUIPO’s seat today, situated off the road that links the city to the airport, and well served
by transport links to and from the centre.
1999 - Once installed in its permanent home in the outskirts of Alicante city centre, the pace of
work quickened. Electronic trade mark filing was being improved and upgraded at the same time as
the Office was busy implementing the framework for the first Community Design applications.
The Office began accepting applications for Registered Community Designs in 2003. The dream of
a unitary design right for the EU had taken many years to come true, but like the EU trade mark, it
was a success from the outset.
Designed to be a flexible, inclusive IP right, and aimed at every type of user, from multinationals to
individual designers, the RCD is a powerful tool for business.
At the same time, a huge amount of work was taking place to prepare for the “big bang” accession
of 2004, which saw 10 new Member States join the EU family. That work would be repeated a few
years later when Romania and Bulgaria joined the EU.
10 new Member States meant 10 new languages through which to administer trade mark and design
applications, plus an increase in cooperation activities and an expansion of the Office’s EU-wide
networks.
Preparation work was intense, but the final result saw the scope of protection of the EU trade mark
and Registered Community Design extended to users across the Union.
The second decade of the new century ushered in a host of changes for the Office. Cooperation with
national and regional EU IP offices became closer than ever, while international cooperation grew
strongly. New tools and e-services were developed, to offer users a fully electronic experience
across trade marks and designs. Underpinning all this effort was the Office’s first ever Strategic
Plan – its roadmap for the future.
The transfer of the European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights heralded
in a new era for the Office. The Observatory, with a host of tasks under its own Regulation, was a
new venture for IP at the European level, and its transfer brought infringement issues, like
collaboration with enforcers, the development of specialised tools, the provision of evidence-based
research and awareness-raising on IP.
The Observatory was created as part of the Commission's Internal Market and Services Directorate-
General in April 2009 under the name of the European Observatory on Counterfeiting and Piracy.
EUIPO, as the EU's principal agency devoted exclusively to IP matters, began co-operating closely
with the Observatory under a Memorandum of Understanding signed in April 2011.
Following a proposal by the Commission, backed by the European Parliament and the Council, the
Observatory was fully entrusted to EUIPO on 5 June 2012.
The long-awaited trade mark reform package was finally published in 2015, with its entry into force
set for 23 March, 2016. A change of name for the Office was in order- the Office for Harmonization
in the Internal Market became the European Union Intellectual Property Office. EUIPO absorbed
huge changes to its work – a new fee structure, new practice changes and a new identity, with a
second wave of changes due under the legislation on 1 October 2017, which further modernised the
EU trade mark system, for the benefit of all users.
Under the new regulation, the name of the Office was harmonised with the terminology in the
Treaty of Lisbon.
It was a new name for a new era, reflecting the expanded competences of the Office and its role in
the EU intellectual property system. The Community trade mark also saw its name changed to the
European Union trade mark.
The physical transformation of the Office is one of the most striking aspects of its development over
the past 25 years. From a rented office in the centre of Alicante to a purpose-built campus, it reflects
the Office’s commitment to sustainability and to its local base in the region.

Residence
Alicante, on the south-east coast of Spain, and there are five working languages at the Office –
English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The office also processes trade mark and design
applications in 23 official languages of the EU.

Year of establishment
March, 1994

Main aim
First of all, to offer IP protection to businesses and innovators across the EU and beyond.
Management of EU-wide intellectual property right and the European Union trade mark. As well as
rising of the level of awareness of Intellectual Property Law, the registration of the European Union
trade mark (EUTM) (formerly known as "community trade mark") and the registered Community
design (RCD), two unitary intellectual property rights valid across the 27 Member States of the EU.

Tools:
The EUIPO's decision-making process combines transparency with a commitment to users.
The work of this EU agency extends beyond registration to cover the harmonisation of registration
practices for trade marks and designs and the development of common IP management tools. This
work is carried out in cooperation with the national and regional IP offices throughout the EU-27,
user associations and other institutional partners with the objective of offering users of the trade
mark and design system a similar registration experience, be it at national or at EU level.

Participating Member Countries:

All 27 Member States of EU: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain
and Sweden.
The EUIPO works in partnership with national and regional EU intellectual property offices, user
groups, the European Commission, the European Parliament and other international organisations.
 THE EUROPEAN INSTITUTE OF
INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (EIT)
The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is an EU body created by the European
Union in 2008 to strengthen Europe’s ability to innovate. The EIT is an integral part of Horizon
2020, the EU’s Framework Programme for Research and Innovation.
It drives innovation in Europe by supporting entepreneurs, innovators and students across Europe to
turn their best ideas into reality.

Residence
In 2017, the EIT officially opened the EIT House in Brussels. The EIT House serves two purposes,
to increase awareness of the EIT among its stakeholders, and provide a space for members of the
EIT Community to network and interact.

Year of establishment
2008

Main aim
Increase Europe's competitiveness, its sustainable economic growth and job creation by promoting
and strengthening cooperation among leading business, education and research organisations.
Power innovation and entrepreneurship in Europe by creating environments for creative and
innovative thoughts to thrive.

Tools:
The Institute is a unique EU initiative that drives innovation across Europe by integrating business,
education and research to find solutions to pressing global challenges.
Together with leading partners, the EIT Community offers a wide range of innovation and
entrepreneurship activities: education courses that combine technical and entrepreneurial skills,
tailored business creation and acceleration services and innovation driven research projects. This
brings new ideas and solutions to the market, turns students into entrepreneurs and, most
importantly, delivers innovation.

Participating Member Countries:

All 27 Member States of EU: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech
Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain
and Sweden. Also the United Kingdom and Switzerland are participate.
 THE EUROPEAN DEFENCE AGENCY
Residence
Based in the Kortenberg building in Brussels, Belgium, along with a number of other CSDP bodies.

Year of establishment
12 July 2004

Main aim
The European Defence Agency was established under a Joint Action of the Council of Ministers "to
support the Member States and the Council in their effort to improve European defence capabilities
in the field of crisis management and to sustain the European Security and Defence Policy as it
stands now and develops in the future”.
To implement the provisions of the Lisbon Treaty (Art.42 TEU), this Joint Action was first replaced
by a Council Decision on 12 July 2011 which was revised by Council decision (CFSP) 2015/1835
of 12 October 2015 on the statute, seat and operational rules of the EDA.
The European Defence Agency, within the overall mission set out in the before-mentioned Council
decision, has three main missions:
 supporting the development of defence capabilities and military cooperation among the
European Union Member States;
 stimulating defence Research and Technology (R&T) and strengthening the European
defence industry;
 acting as a military interface to EU policies.

Tools:
EDA acts as a catalyst, promotes collaborations, launches new initiatives and introduces solutions
to improve defence capabilities. It is the place where Member States willing to develop capabilities
in cooperation do so. It is also a key facilitator in developing the capabilities necessary to underpin
the Common Security and Defence Policy of the Union.

Participating Member Countries:

The European Defence Agency (EDA) is an intergovernmental agency of the Council of the
European Union. Currently, 26 countries – all EU Member States except Denmark – participate in
EDA.
The Agency signed Administrative Arrangements with Norway (2006), Switzerland (2012), the
Republic of Serbia (2013) and Ukraine (2015) enabling them to participate in EDA’s projects and
programmes.
All Administrative Arrangements are approved by the European Council. The Head of the Agency
is responsible for negotiating these arrangements in accordance with directives given by the EDA
Steering Board.
 THE EUROPEAN CENTRE FOR DISEASE
PREVENTION AND CONTROL (ECDC)
Residence
Solna, Sweden

Year of establishment
2005

Main aim
According to Article 3 of the Founding Regulation, ECDC's mission is to identify, assess and
communicate current and emerging threats to human health posed by infectious diseases.
In order to achieve this mission, ECDC works in partnership with national health protection bodies
across Europe to strengthen and develop continent-wide disease surveillance and early warning
systems. By working with experts throughout Europe, ECDC pools Europe's health knowledge to
develop authoritative scientific opinions about the risks posed by current and emerging infectious
diseases.

ECDC is an EU agency aimed at strengthening Europe's defences against infectious diseases. The
core functions cover a wide spectrum of activities: surveillance, epidemic intelligence, response,
scientific advice, microbiology, preparedness, public health training, international relations, health
communication, and the scientific journal Eurosurveillance.
ECDC disease programmes cover antimicrobial resistance and healthcare-associated infections;
emerging and vector-borne diseases; food- and waterborne diseases and zoonoses; HIV, sexually
transmitted infections and viral hepatitis; influenza and other respiratory viruses; tuberculosis; and
vaccine-preventable diseases.

Tools:
Within the field of its mission, the Centre shall:
 search for, collect, collate, evaluate and disseminate relevant scientific and technical data;
 provide scientific opinions and scientific and technical assistance including training;
 provide timely information to the Commission, the Member States, Community agencies
and international organisations active within the field of public health;
 coordinate the European networking of bodies operating in the fields within the Centre's
mission, including networks that emerge from public health activities supported by the
Commission and operating the dedicated surveillance networks;
 exchange information, expertise and best practices, and facilitate the development and
implementation of joint actions.

Participating Member Countries:

In addition to the member states of the union, four members of the European Economic Area also
participate in the ECDC network: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway.
The United Kingdom still benefits from the ECDC during the Brexit transition period planned from
1 February to 31 December 2020.
 THE EUROPEAN ENVIRONMENT AGENCY
Residence
Headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark

Year of establishment
The EEA was established by the European Economic Community (EEC) Regulation 1210/1990
(amended by EEC Regulation 933/1999 and EC Regulation 401/2009) and became operational in
1994

Main aim
The European Environment Agency (EEA) is an agency of the European Union, whose task is to
provide sound, independent information on the environment. The EEA aims to support sustainable
development by helping to achieve significant and measurable improvement in Europe's
environment, through the provision of timely, targeted, relevant and reliable information to
policymaking agents and the public.

Tools:
The EEA is responsible for developing the network and coordinating its activities. To do so, the
EEA works closely together with national focal points, typically national environment agencies or
environment ministries. They are responsible for coordinating national networks involving many
institutions (about 350 in all).
Main clients are the European Union institutions — the European Commission, the European
Parliament, the Council — and our member and cooperating countries. In addition to this central
group of European policy actors, we also serve other EU institutions such as the Economic and
Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions.
The business community, academia, non-governmental organisations and other parts of civil society
are also important users of our information. We try to achieve two-way communication with our
clients in order to correctly identify their information needs, and make sure that the information
provided is understood and taken up by them.

Participating Member Countries:

The EEA has 33 member countries and six cooperating countries. The 33 member countries include
the 27 European Union member states together with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland
and Turkey.
Cooperating countries are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North
Macedonia and Serbia.