Agencies of the European Union

The agencies of the European Union (formally: Agencies, decentralised independent bodies, corporate bodies and joint undertakings of the European Union and Euratom) are bodies of the European Union and Euratom established as juridical persons through secondary EU legislation and tasked with a specific narrow field of work.[1]

They are distinct from:

Overview

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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 Euratom.[1]

Some of the agencies, decentralised independent bodies and joint undertakings of the European Union and 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.

Existing agencies

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They are divided into the following groups:[1]

Decentralised agencies of the EU

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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

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Single market agencies (under the former I Pillar)

Official name Abbreviation Location Member state Est. Members and observers
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work EU-OSHA Bilbao   Spain 1994 members: EU states, European Commission[4]
European Centre for the Development of Professional Training Cedefop Thessaloniki   Greece 1975 members: EU states
observers: Iceland, Norway[5]
European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions EUROFOUND Dublin   Ireland 1975 members: EU states, European Commission
observers: EFTA[6]
European Environment Agency EEA Copenhagen   Denmark 1994 members: EU states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Turkey[7]
co-operating: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia
European Training Foundation ETF Turin   Italy 1994 members: EU states, European Commission[8]
European Medicines Agency EMA Amsterdam (since 2019)

London (1995–2019)[a]

  Netherlands

(  UK until 2019)[a]

1995 members: EU states, European Commission, European Parliament
observers: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway[10]
European Union Intellectual Property Office[11] EUIPO[12] Alicante   Spain 1994 members: EU states, European Commission[13]
Community Plant Variety Office CPVO Angers   France 1994 members: EU states, European Commission[14]
Translation Centre for the Bodies of the European Union CdT Luxembourg City   Luxembourg 1994 members: EU states, European Commission[15]
European Food Safety Authority EFSA Parma   Italy 2002 members: EU states
observers European Commission, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland
European Maritime Safety Agency EMSA Lisbon   Portugal 2002 members: EU states, European Commission, Iceland, Norway[16]
European Aviation Safety Agency EASA Cologne   Germany 2003 members: EU states, European Commission, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland[17]
observers: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, UNMIK[18]
European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control ECDC Stockholm   Sweden 2005 members: EU states, European Commission, European Parliament
observers: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway[19]
European Union Agency for the Space Programme EUSPA Prague   Czech Republic 2021[20] members: EU states, European Commission
observers: Norway, European Space Agency[21]
European Railway Agency ERA Valenciennes and Lille   France 2004 members: EU states, European Commission, Norway[22]
European Fisheries Control Agency EFCA Vigo   Spain 2005 members: EU states, European Commission[23]
European Chemicals Agency ECHA Helsinki   Finland 2007 members: EU states, European Commission, European Parliament
observers: Iceland, Norway[24]
Agency for Support for BEREC BEREC Office Riga   Latvia 2010 members: EU states, European Commission[25]
Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators ACER Ljubljana   Slovenia 2009
European Labour Authority ELA Bratislava   Slovakia 2019 members: EU states, European Commission, European Parliament[26][27]

Area of freedom, security and justice agencies

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Area of freedom, security and justice agencies (under the former III Pillar)

Official name Abbreviation Location Member state Est. Members and observers
European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training CEPOL Budapest (since 2014)

Bramshill (2005–2014)

  Hungary

(  UK till 2014)

2005 members: EU states without Denmark
associates: Iceland, Norway, Switzerland[28]
European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation Europol The Hague   Netherlands 1998 members: EU states
European body for the enhancement of judicial co-operation Eurojust The Hague   Netherlands 2002 members: EU states
European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT Systems in the area of freedom, security and justice[29][30] eu-LISA[31] Tallinn[32]   Estonia 2012
European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex Warsaw   Poland 2016[33] members: EU states, except Ireland, Schengen Area states not members of the EU
European Union Drugs Agency EUDA Lisbon   Portugal 1993 members: EU states, European Commission, European Parliament, Norway
observers: Turkey[34]
European Union Agency for Cybersecurity ENISA Athens   Greece 2005 members: EU states[35]
European Union Agency for Asylum EUAA Valletta   Malta 2011[30]
European Institute for Gender Equality EIGE Vilnius   Lithuania 2007 members: EU states[36]
Fundamental Rights Agency FRA Vienna   Austria 2007 members: EU states, European Commission, Council of Europe[37]
Anti-Money Laundering Authority AMLA Frankfurt   Germany 2024 members: EU states

European supervisory authorities

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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)[a]

  France

(  UK till 2019)[a]

2011 [38]
European Securities and Markets Authority ESMA Paris   France 2011 [39]
European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority EIOPA Frankfurt   Germany 2011 [40]

Banking union (Single Resolution Mechanism) bodies

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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

Common Security and Defence Policy agencies

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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;[41] European Commission
participant: Norway
European Institute for Security Studies EUISS Paris   France 2001
European Union Satellite Centre SatCen Torrejón de Ardoz   Spain 2002

Executive agencies of the EU

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Executive agencies are created by European Commission for a fixed period.

Official name Abbreviation Location
European Cybersecurity Competence Centre ECCC Bucharest[42]
European Innovation Council and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Executive Agency EISMEA Brussels
Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency EACEA Brussels
European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency CINEA Brussels
European Research Executive Agency REA Brussels
European Research Council Executive Agency ERCEA Brussels
European Health and Digital Executive Agency HaDEA Brussels

Euratom agencies

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Official name Abbreviation Location
Euratom Supply Agency ESA Luxembourg City

Joint undertakings

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A joint undertaking is a juridical person and a subsidiary body of the EU or 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.

of the European Union

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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

of Euratom

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Official name Abbreviation
Fusion for Energy F4E
Joint European Torus JET

Independent secondary-legislation bodies

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Decentralised

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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

Other

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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

Non-existing decentralised bodies

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Proposed and abandoned

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Name Abbreviation Fate
Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority[46] HERA eventually established as DG HERA instead

Transformed or dissolved

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Agencies

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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

Euratom joint undertakings

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Anonymous (5 July 2016). "Agencies and other EU bodies – European Union – European Commission". European Union. Archived from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 29 March 2014.
  2. ^ European Commission (27 April 2018). "Decentralised agencies". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
  3. ^ Deloitte (November 2016), How do EU agencies and other bodies contribute to the Europe 2020 Strategy and to the Juncker Commission Agenda? (Report), European Union (published 11 May 2017), archived from the original on 8 July 2022, retrieved 21 August 2018
  4. ^ "OSHA membership". Europa (web portal). 1 January 2000. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  5. ^ "Cedefop membership". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  6. ^ "EUROFOUND membership". Europa (web portal). 3 June 2010. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  7. ^ "EEA membership". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 10 September 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  8. ^ "ETF membership". Europa (web portal). 1 June 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  9. ^ "Paris and Amsterdam to host key EU agencies post-Brexit". BBC News. 20 November 2017. Archived from the original on 7 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
  10. ^ "EMA membership". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  11. ^ Former Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market
  12. ^ Former OHIM
  13. ^ "OHIM membership" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 February 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  14. ^ "CPVO membership". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  15. ^ "CdT membership" (PDF).[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ "EMSA membership". Europa (web portal). 24 March 2011. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  17. ^ "EASA members". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  18. ^ "EASA observers". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  19. ^ "ECDC observers". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 25 April 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  20. ^ "From GSA to EUSPA: space transforming business and the economy". 27 November 2019. Archived from the original on 19 January 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2020.
  21. ^ "GSA observers". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  22. ^ "ERA observers". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  23. ^ "CFCA membership". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  24. ^ "ECHA membership". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  25. ^ "About BEREC". Erg.eu.int. 25 November 2009. Archived from the original on 26 February 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  26. ^ "European Labour Authority – Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion". European Commission. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  27. ^ "European Labour Authority – Consilium". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  28. ^ "CEPOL membership". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 17 April 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  29. ^ "Regulation 1077/2011 establishing a European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  30. ^ a b "Agencies". Migration and Home Affairs. European Commission. Archived from the original on 27 June 2012.
  31. ^ Anonymous (16 June 2016). "European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (eu-LISA) – European Union – European Commission". European Union. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  32. ^ Valentina Pop. "Estonia and France are candidates for IT agency seat". EUobserver. Archived from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  33. ^ "Frontex | News – European Border and Coast Guard Agency launches today". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 9 October 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  34. ^ "EMCDDA membership". Europa (web portal). 10 February 2011. Archived from the original on 24 September 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  35. ^ "ENISA membership". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  36. ^ "EIGE membership". Eur-lex.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  37. ^ "FRA membership". Europa (web portal). 15 April 2011. Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  38. ^ "EBA legal framework". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 22 July 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  39. ^ "ESMA legal framework". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  40. ^ "EIOPA legal framework". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
  41. ^ "Denmark joins the European Defence Agency". eda.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
  42. ^ "Commission welcomes political agreement on the Cybersecurity Competence Centre and Network". Archived from the original on 6 December 2022. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
  43. ^ "Ministry of Justice: New European Public Prosecutor's Office to be based in Luxembourg". 8 June 2017. Archived from the original on 12 September 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  44. ^ "Joint Statement by Vice-President Jourová, Commissioner Hahn and Commissioner Reynders on the launch of the European Public Prosecutor's Office" (Press release). Brussels: European Commission. 1 June 2021. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  45. ^ "Authority for European Political Parties and European Political Foundations". Europa (web portal). Archived from the original on 20 January 2022. Retrieved 3 February 2020.
  46. ^ "European Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA)". Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2021.

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d With the United Kingdom departure from the EU, the EU decided to relocate the agencies based in London to Amsterdam and Paris on 20 November 2017.[9]
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