1. The Community policy on the environment shall contribute to preserving, protecting and improving the quality of the environment; protecting human health; prudent and rational utilisation of natural resources; and promoting measures at international level to deal with regional or worldwide environmental problems. (Article 174 of the Treaty) 2. The Community policy on industry shall ensure that the conditions necessary for the competitiveness of the Community’s industry exist by speeding up the adjustment of industry to structural changes, encouraging an environment favourable to initiative and to the development of and cooperation between undertakings, fostering better exploitation of the industrial potential of policies of innovation, research and technological development. The Member States shall consult each other in liaison with the Commission and, where necessary, shall coordinate their action. The Commission may take any useful initiative to promote such coordination. (Article 157 of the Treaty) 3. The common transport policy shall lay down common rules applicable to international transport to or from the territory of a Member State or passing across the territory of one or more Member States. It shall also set out the conditions under which non-resident carriers may operate transport services within a Member State, and lay down measures to improve transport safety. (Articles 71(1) and 80(2))

Objectives Within the framework of the Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs, the European Union has taken measures to promote and develop competitiveness and innovation. These measures include the establishment of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) 2007-2013 (Decision No 1639/2006/EC), notably with the programmes Intelligent Energy — Europe (IEE) and Entrepreneurship and Innovation (EIP). They also include the Marco Polo (MP) programme (Regulation (EC) No 1692/2006). The main objectives are to foster competitiveness of enterprises, in particular SMEs; to promote all forms of innovation, including eco-innovation; to promote energy efficiency and new and renewable energy sources in all sectors, including transport. Under these Community programmes, the Agency is responsible for implementing the tasks concerning Community aid, except for programme evaluation, monitoring of legislation and strategic studies, or any other action which comes under the exclusive competence of the European Commission.

Tasks In the context of implementing the Community programmes for which the delegation of tasks from the Commission to the Agency was effective in 2008: — To manage all phases in the lifetime of specific projects. — To adopt the instruments of budget implementation and to carry out, where the Commission has empowered it to do so, all operations necessary to manage the Community programme and, in particular, those linked to the award of contracts and grants. — To gather, analyse and pass on to the Commission all the information needed to guide the implementation of the programme as well as to promote coordination and synergy among the programmes. — As regards the EIP, to be in charge of project management and network animation of the Enterprise Europe Network, eco-innovation pilot and market replication projects, and innovation actions with a high degree of standardisation (IP Base project).

1 — Steering Committee Comprises five members appointed by the European Commission. It adopts the Agency’s annual work programme after approval by the European Commission. In addition, it adopts the administrative budget of the Agency and its annual activity report. 2 — Director Appointed by the European Commission. 3 — External Audit The Court of Auditors. 4 — Discharge authority Parliament, acting on a recommendation by the Council.

Budget A) 204,8 (137,3) million euro (100 % general budget of the European Union of which 55,8 (63,8) million euro for IEE; 27,9 (0,0) million euro for eco-innovation; 38,3 (0,0) million euro for MP; 82,8 (73,5) million euro for EIP. The EACI implements the operating budget under the responsibility of the Commission.) B) 11,5 (6,9) million euro (100 % Community subsidy) for the administrative budget for which the EACI is autonomous. Staff at 31 December 2008 TA posts: 36 (35) listed in the establishment plan, of which 27 (22) occupied. Contract staff: 108 (77) posts planned, of which 104 (47) were occupied. Total staff: 131 (69) Responsible for a) Operational tasks: 110 (54) b) Administrative tasks: 21 (15)