EU-related links

EU-related links | Links to networks and organisations

Various links to the EU Institutions

You can find the official site of the EU Commission here:
http://www.europa.eu.int

The European Parliament represents the people of the European Union: through the European Parliament, some 370 million European citizens now take part in the process of European integration.
http://www.europarl.eu.int/

The Council of the European Union is an institution that exercises legislative and decision-making powers. At the same time, it is the forum in which the representatives of the Governments of the 25 Member States can assert their interests and try to reach compromises.
http://ue.eu.int/

The European Ombudsman investigates complaints about maladministration by institutions and bodies of the European Community.
http://www.euro-ombudsman.eu.int/

The Court of Justice has jurisdiction to hear disputes to which the Member States, the Community institutions, undertakings and individuals may be parties.
http://europa.eu.int/cj/

The Committee of the Regions (COR) is an advisory assembly of the European Union composed of 222 representatives of local and regional authorities.
http://www.cor.europa.eu

The EIB is the European Union's long-term lending institution. It was created in 1958 as an autonomous body set up to finance capital investment furthering European integration by promoting EU economic policies.
http://www.eib.org/

The European Central Bank issues the EU Currency, the Euro. The primary objective of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) is to maintain price stability. The ESCB shall support the general economic policies in the Community with a view to contributing to the achievement of the objectives of the Community.
http://www.ecb.int/

The Citizens First initiative enables you to obtain hard facts about your rights and the opportunities available in the European Union and its Single Market according to your individual needs. It also gives you advice on how to exercise these rights in practice.
http://europa.eu.int/citizensrights/signpost/

At Euro-LEX you can find all EU laws and treaties. Also the Official Journal is published here. The site contains an enormous amount of information and you should be interested in legislation to find your way around.

You can for example find Regulation (EEC) No 1985/74 of the Commission of 25 July 1974 laying down detailed rules of application for the fixing of reference prices and free-at-frontier prices for carp
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/index.htm

The European Economic and Social Committee (ESC) is an advisory body that gives Europe's economic and social partners (its employers, trade unions, representatives of small businesses, farmers' associations, consumers and the professions, to name but a few) the chance to issue their formal opinion on EU policies and thus give them a dimension that is both pragmatic and consensual.
http://eesc.europa.eu/index_en.asp

CORDIS provides information on a vast range of research, development and innovation activities undertaken on a European level.

CORDIS is the starting point for:

Keeping up-to-date on current research
Establishing strategic directions and making policy decisions
Identifying potential funding sources for research and technological development
Finding partners to co-operate in R&D (Research & Development) activities and share expertise
Forming transnational consortia for the exploitation of research results
Licensing in or licensing out technology
Promoting and locating transferable technologies

http://www.cordis.lu/

The EU Newsroom gives access to press releases from all EU institutions as well as daily ECU-rates, a calendar on upcoming events and various EU links.
http://europa.eu.int/press_room/index_en.htm

The European Union, the biggest donor of humanitarian aid in the world, has recently seen a heavy demand for humanitarian aid resources with crises of immense proportions in the Great Lakes region, former Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union.

The European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) is a service of the European Commission, under the direct responsibility of Commissioner Emma Bonino
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/

In SCADplus you can find various documents and facts, for example:

A Calendar with dates of meetings with details of subjects discussed or to be discussed by the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee or the Committee of the Regions
Papers on European Union Policies, like Summaries and legislative follow-up, and Enlargement: preparations for adhesion
A practical guide to the free movement of persons concerning seeking employment, residence rights, living and working conditions and social security for workers and those people who move from one Member State to another
The SCAD DATABASE with information on legislation and Community publications; articles from periodicals from all over the world; positions of the two sides of industry
The SCAD BULLETIN
A very valuable "GLOSSARY: THE INSTITUTIONAL REFORM OF THE EUROPEAN UNION", containing 150 concepts for a better understanding of the challenges facing the European Union: enlargement, Economic and Monetary Union, internal and external security...
A comprehensive guide to the Amsterdam Treaty

http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/

Swedish Association of Local Authorities (SALA) has a very large database on EU programs on the internet. Most of it is in Swedish only, but you can see some information in English, for example on Phare/Tacis CBC Project Facility here.
www.skl.se

Links to General Directorates of the European Union

DG AGRICULTURE AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT

The Agriculture and Rural Development Directorate-General is based in Brussels under the authority of Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel. It is responsible for the implementation of agriculture and rural development policy, the latter being managed in conjunction with the other DGs which deal with structural policies. It is made up of twelve Directorates dealing with all aspects of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) including market measures, rural development policy, financial matters as well as international relations relating to agriculture.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/agriculture/index_en.htm

DG BUDGET

The tasks of the Budget Directorate-General are:
- Securing from the budgetary authority- the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers - the resources needed to implement the European Union's policies.
- Managing the budgetary regulatory framework. The Directorate-General puts forward proposals and implements the regulatory framework (interinstitutional agreement, own resources decision, financial regulation and its implementing rules and the internal rules) for the establishment and implementation of the budget.
- Implementing the budget in terms of both revenue and expenditure, in compliance with the rules.
- Drawing up the annual accounts of the institutions and reporting on the implementation of the budget.
- Contributing, in the form of advice and training and by providing control and management tools, to sound financial management in Commission departments. In this way the Directorate-General plays a decisive role in the administrative reform process designed to make the Commission a high-quality public administration.
DG Budget is under the responsibility of the Commissioner Ms Dalia Grybauskaite.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/budget/index_en.htm

DG COMPETITION

Under the authority of Ms. Neelie KROES, Commissioner responsible for Competition Policy, the mission of Competition Directorate General is to enforce the competition rules of the Community Treaties in order to ensure that competition in the EU market is not distorted, thereby contributing to the welfare of consumers and the competitiveness of the European economy.
Competition DG's main areas of activity are:
- Anti-trust
- Merger Control
- Liberalisation and State Intervention
- State Aid:

Competition DG also deals with the international dimension of competition policy, and generally in international fora.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/competition/index_en.htm

DG CULTURE AND EDUCATION

DG Education and Culture is under the responsibility of the Commissioner Mr Jan Figel.
The Education and Culture Directorate-General’s mission has three main aspects:
- Building a Europe of knowledge
- Developing the European cultural area
- Involving citizens in European integration
In addition to policy and regulatory action, the Education and Culture DG implements a wide variety of programmes involving hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries every year, via the mobility and transnational cooperation projects. Through these actions, the Education and Culture DG contributes decisively to safeguarding Europe’s prosperity and values, involving citizens in a very real way in European integration and strengthening their feeling of belonging to this community which is still growing.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/education_culture/index_en.htm

DG DEVELOPMENT

DG Development is under the responsibility of the Commissioner Mr Louis Michel. The mission is to help to reduce and ultimately to eradicate poverty in the developing countries and to promote sustainable development, democracy, peace and security. The role is firstly to initiate and formulate the EU's development co-operation policy for all developing countries as defined in Title XX of the Treaty establishing the European Community. In order to realise the potential synergies and maximise the impact of development policy, DG Development works towards greater coherence of Community policies having external effects.
The role is secondly to co-ordinate the Community's relations with the sub-Saharan African, Caribbean and Pacific countries (ACP) and regions, including the African Union, as well as the Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT). To this end, DG Development follows political relations with these countries, programmes resources of the European Development Fund, prepares strategies for co-operation with ACP countries and Overseas Countries and Territories and monitors their implementation.

http://ec.europa.eu/development/index_en.cfm

DG ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL AFFAIRS

Mr Joaquín Almunia is the Commissioner responsible for Economic and Financial Affairs. The main activities are:

Economic surveillance (euro area and EU)
Monitoring budgetary policy and public finances
Economic policy coordination
The euro: legal, practical and institutional aspects
Financial markets and capital movement
Economic relations with third countries
Financing

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/economy_finance/index_en.htm

DG EMPLOYMENT AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS

Mr Vladimír Špidla is the Commissioner for DG Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities. The Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities has the task of contributing to the development of a modern, innovative and sustainable European Social Model with more and better jobs in an inclusive society based on equal opportunities. It plays a key role in promoting positive interaction between economic, social and employment policies, bringing in the main players who can help to achieve the EU strategic objective, viz. to make Europe the world most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy, capable of sustainable economic growth, with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion.

http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/employment_social/index_en.htm

DG ENERGY AND TRANSPORT

DG Energy and Transportation is under the responsibility of the Vice-President Mr Jacques Barrot, Commissioner for Transport and Andris Piebalgs, Commissioner for Energy.
The Directorate-General for Energy and Transport is responsible for developing and implementing European policies in the energy and transport field. Its mission is to ensure that energy and transport policies are designed for the benefit of all sectors of the society, businesses, cities, rural areas and above all of citizens. The energy and transport sectors are pivotal to the European way of life and to the functioning of our economy; as such their operation has to be responsible in economic, environmental, safety and social terms. The Directorate-General for Energy and Transport carries out these tasks using legislative proposals and programme management, including the financing of projects.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/energy_transport/index_en.html

DG EU ENLARGEMENT

Mr Olli Rehn is the Commissioner for Enlargement. After successfully growing from 6 to 25 members, the European Union is now preparing for the next enlargement. As regards the 3 remaining candidate countries, Bulgaria and Romania hope to join by 2007, while Turkey is not currently negotiating its membership. In order to join the Union, they need to fulfil the economic and political conditions known as the 'Copenhagen criteria', according to which a prospective member must: be a stable democracy, respecting human rights, the rule of law, and the protection of minorities; have a functioning market economy; adopt the common rules, standards and policies that make up the body of EU law.The EU assists these countries in taking on EU laws, and provides a range of financial assistance to improve their infrastructure and economy.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/enlargement/index_en.htm

DG ENTERPRISE AND INDUSTRY

Mr Günter Verheugen is the Vice-President and the Commissioner for DG Enterprise and Industry. The Enterprise Directorate General works toward the objective set at the Lisbon European Council in Spring 2000, of transforming the EU into “the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world” by 2010. The following general objectives encapsulate the aims of the Enterprise Directorate General:
- Lower barriers to entrepreneurs in Europe and encourage potential entrepreneurs;
- Foster innovation both in the technical sphere as an adjunct to research, and in the business process
- Continue to enhance the efficiency of the internal market, with particular attention paid to its operation in the new Member States, and aim to extend its benefits to other regions
- Enhance the global competitiveness of European industry within a framework of sustainable development.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/enterprise/index_en.htm

DG ENVIRONMENT

Mr Stavros Dimas is the Commissioner for the Environment.
Its main role is to initiate and define new environmental legislation
and to ensure that measures, which have been agreed, are actually put into practice in the Member States. The mission on this DG is:
- To maintain and improve the quality of life through a high level of protection of our natural resources, effective risk assessment and management and the timely implementation of Community legislation.
- To foster resource-efficiency in production, consumption and waste-disposal measures.
- To integrate environmental concerns into other EU policy areas.
- To promote growth in the EU that takes account of the economic, social and environmental needs both of our citizens and of future generations.
- To address the global challenges facing us notably combating climate change and the international conservation of biodiversity.
- To ensure that all policies and measures in the above areas are based on a multi-sectoral approach, involve all stakeholders in the process and are communicated in an effective way.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/index_en.htm

DG EXTERNAL RELATIONS

DG External Relations is under the responsibility of the Commissioner Mrs Benita Ferrero-Waldner. The Directorate General for External Relations is a new department of the European Commission which arose from the fundamental restructuring of the Commission which took place at the end of 1999. The External Relations website provides information about the policies carried out by this Directorate General. However, as the website is currently being reorganised it still contains a number of links to documents formerly published on the DG 1, DG 1A and DG 1B websites.
The aim is to reflect the European Commission's growing role in external relations and to make it more effective.
The specific tasks of the External Relations Directorate General are, among others:

relations with European countries which are not members of the European Union and not part of the enlargement process;
programming Tacis assistance to Eastern Europe, Caucasus, Central Asian Republics;
relations with international organisations, i.e. United Nations, NATO, WEU, OSCE, the Council of Europe;
The Commission's participation in the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP);

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/external_relations/index_en.htm

DG FISHERIES AND MARITIME AFFAIRS

DG Fisheries is under the responsibility of Mr Joe Borg, the Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Commissioner. The mission of the Directorate General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs is to ensure the delivery of the Commission’s political priorities in the areas of fisheries, the Law of the Sea and Maritime Affairs. The Directorate General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs is responsible for the management, on behalf of the Commission, of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in order to provide the basis for sustainable fisheries within and beyond Community waters, taking into account environmental, economic and social aspects and applying good governance principles. The most important tasks of the Directorate General for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs related to the Common Fisheries Policy are the following:
- Formulating and proposing measures for the conservation and management of fisheries resources to ensure their sustainable exploitation;
- Ensure the day-to-day management of resources through catch and fishing effort reports, exchanges and adjustments of available fishing possibilities;
- Making sure that CFP rules are effectively implemented and that Member States set up and apply appropriate systems and rules to manage, control and enforce the limitations on fishing possibilities and fishing effort required by the CFP;
- Promoting the dialogue between fishermen, scientists and fisheries managers, in particular within the newly created Regional Advisory Councils;

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/fisheries/index_en.htm

DG HEALTH AND CONSUMER PROTECTION

DG Health And Consumer Protection is under the responsibility of the Commissioner Mrs Androulla Vassiliou. The task of this DG is to help make Europe's citizens healthier, safer and more confident. Over the years the European Union has established EU laws on the safety of food and other products, on consumers' rights and on the protection of people's health. The Health and Consumer Protection Directorate General has the task of keeping these laws up to date. It is national, regional or even local governments in EU countries who actually apply the EU's health and consumer protection laws. It is their job to make sure traders, manufacturers and food producers in their country observe the rules. Nonetheless, part of our job is to check that this is really happening and that the rules are being applied properly in all EU countries. The work is divided into three main areas: Public Health, Food Safety and Consumer Affairs.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/health_consumer/index_en.htm

DG INFORMATION SOCIETY AND MEDIA

The Commissioner is Ms Viviane Reding. The Information Society Directorate-General is playing a key role in implementing the "vision" set by Europe's heads of state in Lisbon, 2000: "to make Europe the world's most competitive and dynamic economy, characterised by sustainable growth, more and better jobs and greater social cohesion, by 2010."
As set out in the eEurope action plan, this will require advanced and easily accessible Information Society technologies to permeate throughout European business and society. The Information Society Directorate-General therefore:

stimulates research into Information Society technologies which can be integrated into the citizen's everyday environment, business and administration
has established and is maintaining a framework of regulation designed to generate competition and stimulate the development of applications and content
supports initiatives that encourage and enable all European citizens to benefit from, and participate in, the Information Society.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/information_society/index_en.htm

DG INTERNAL MARKET AND SERVICES

DG Internal Market is under the responsibility of the Commissioner Charlie McCreevy. The Internal Market Directorate-General coordinates the Commission's policy on the European Single Market, which aims to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services and capital within the Union. In its first ten years of existence (since 1 January 1993) the Single Market has created 2.5 million jobs and 877 billion euros of extra prosperity. In addition to its general responsibilities for making the Single Market work, the Internal Market Directorate-general is tasked with developing the Single Market in certain specific sectors, for example, financial services, postal services, electronic commerce and media. It is also responsible for proposing and - once laws are adopted by the European Parliament and Council - implementing a European legal framework for company law, public procurement, intellectual property (copyright etc), industrial property (for example patents, trademarks and designs), the protection of personal data and the recognition by Member States of professional qualifications gained elsewhere in the EU. Several other Commission Directorate-generals, for example those responsible for enterprise, the information society, transport and energy, the environment and health and consumer protection are also involved in taking forward the Single Market in the sectors in which they specialise.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/internal_market/index_en.htm

DG JUSTICE, FREEDOM AND SECURITY

DG Justice is under the responsibility of the Commissioner Mr Franco Frattini. The role of the European Commission is to make proposals for European Union legislation. It also monitors how this legislation is implemented once it has been adopted by the EU Council of Ministers. However, in the area of Justice, Freedom and Security - a new area of European Union competence - the European Commission shares its right to make legislative proposals with the Member States. This DG is consisting of 4 Directorates:
Directorate A : General Affairs
Directorate B : Immigration, Asylum and Borders
Directorate C : Civil Justice, Rights and Citizenship
Directorate D : Internal security and criminal justice

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/justice_home/index_en.htm

DG REGIONAL POLICY

DG Regional Policy is under the responsibility of the Commissioner Danuta Hubner. The Regional Policy Directorate-General is the department in the European Commission responsible for European measures to assist the economic and social development of the less-favoured regions of the European Union under Articles 158 and 160 of the Treaty. Supporting regional development is vital for stability in the European Union. The aim is to promote a high level of competitiveness and employment by helping the least prosperous regions and those facing structural difficulties to generate sustainable development by adapting to change in the labour market and to worldwide competition.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/regional_policy/index_en.htm

DG RESEARCH

Under the authority of Mr Janez Potocnik, Commissioner responsible for research. The Directorate General’s mission is evolving as work on the European Research Area (ERA) continues. It can be summarised as follows:
- to develop the European Union’s policy in the field of research and technological development and thereby contribute to the international competitiveness of European industry;
- to coordinate European research activities with those carried out at the level of the Member States;
- to support the Union’s policies in other fields such as environment, health, energy, regional development etc;
- to promote a better understanding of the role of science in modern societies and stimulate a public debate about research-related issues at European level.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/research/index_en.html

DG TAXATION AND CUSTOMS UNION

Under the authority of Commissioner László Kovács, the Directorate-General takes an active part in the achievement of the strategic aims of the European Union.
In this context it aims to:
- manage, defend and develop the customs union as a vital part of protecting the external borders of the EU
- tackle the tax obstacles that currently prevent individuals and companies from operating freely across borders and from exploiting the full benefit of the Internal Market and encourage changes to tax systems so that they support Community objectives such as competitiveness and sustainable development ;
- Respond effectively to the international challenges associated with customs and tax policies;
- Facilitate better co-operation between Member States to combat tax and customs fraud.
- It engages regularly in open dialogue with stakeholders and interested parties in order to ensure that rules and proposals keep pace with the reality of rapid change.

http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/dgs/taxation_customs/index_en.htm

DG TRADE

DG Trade conducts the European Union’s common trade policy under the authority of EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson. The Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission is in charge of implementing the external trade policy of the European Union.

http://europa.eu.int/comm/trade/index_en.htm

THE EURACTIV INFORMATION SYSTEM

The system helps to:

Read news on line in fields that might interest you
Get regular news on e-mail on subjects that interest you
Use an extensive link list
Have access to a register of 10 000 EU actors on their homepage

http://www.euractiv.com

TAIEX

T.A.I.E.X. is the Technical Assistance and Information Exchange unit of Directorate-General Enlargement of the European Commission. In operation since 1996, TAIEX provides centrally managed short-term technical assistance in the field of approximation, application and enforcement of legislation. Its services are complementary to the several alternative assistance programmes the European Commission offers to new Member States, candidates for accession to the European Union, and the countries of the Western Balkans.

http://taiex.cec.eu.int/

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