The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is responsible for the management of certain parts of the EU's programmes in the fields of education, culture and audiovisual. Fully operational from the 1st of January 2006, the Executive Agency operates under supervision from its three parent Directorates-General: Education and Culture (DG EAC), Information Society and Media (DG INFSO) and the EuropeAid Cooperation Office (DG AIDCO).
Contact Details
Postal address: Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency
Avenue du Bourget 1 BOUR BE-1140 Brussels. Email: eacea-info@ec.europa.eu
Website: http://eacea.ec.europa.eu
On 14 January 2005 the Commission adopted Decision 2005/56/EC setting up the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency. This Agency is responsible for the management of certain parts of the EU’s programmes in the education, culture and audiovisual fields.
Why an Executive Agency?
In the education, culture and audiovisual fields the Commission has a long tradition of outsourcing certain activities to Technical Assistance Offices ( TAOs ). Since 2000, measures have been adopted to phase out the private sector TAOs and create public law entities specialised in programme management in their stead. In particular, on 19 December 2002 the Council adopted Regulation (EC) No 58/2003 which empowers the Commission to set up executive agencies entrusted with certain tasks in the management of Community programmes. Entrusting programmes to a well-resourced, specialised body should lead to better-managed and improved services to beneficiaries. Compared to the previous management situation, whereby the Commission was assisted by three TAOs, the new Agency has more staff stability (longer term contracts). Moreover, within the agency it is possible to create and exploit synergies between programmes.
Management and programme administration tasks are concentrated within the Agency, leaving the Commission free to refocus its activities on its policy and institutional tasks.
A cost-benefit analysis has shown that using an executive agency to manage certain parts of the EU’s programmes in the education, culture and audiovisual fields is the most advantageous of the options available, both in financial and in non-financial terms.
Which programmes are managed by the Executive Agency?
The Agency's mission is to implement a number of strands of more than 15 Community funded programmes and actions in the fields of education and training, active citizenship, youth, audiovisual and culture.
The programme strands managed by the Agency are all centralised and support technical projects, which do not imply making political decisions.
Which is the division of tasks between the Commission and the Agency?
On the basis of the reference framework established by the Commission, the Agency is responsible for the implementation of the following tasks:
Drawing up calls for proposals
Project selection (in some cases the Commission adopts the selection decision)
Signing project agreements
Financial management
Operational budgets of programmes
Operating budget
Monitoring of projects (intermediate reports, final reports)
Communication and information with beneficiaries
On the spot controls
Annual work programme and activity report
The Commission is responsible for the following tasks
Management of certain programme strands
Annual work programmes in the fields of education, audiovisual and culture
Political and budgetary priority-setting
Programme evaluation and information
Monitoring of the agency
Chairing programme committees (the role of the committees remains unchanged)
In certain cases: adoption of the project selection and publication of the calls for proposals
Links related to the information showed above
DG Education and Culture; Education and Culture
DG Information Society and Media; Information Society and Media
DG AIDCO; EuropeAid Cooperation Office
Education, Audiovisual & Culture Executive Agency. Presentation Folder
