Resources made available to the Agency in 2008

Competences of the Agency as defined in Commission Decision 2005/56/EC of 14 January 2005

The Community shall contribute to the development of quality education. (Article 149(1) of the Treaty) The Community shall implement a vocational training policy. (Article 150(1) of the Treaty) The Community shall contribute to the flowering of the cultures of the Member States. (Article 151(1) of the Treaty) The Community and the Member States shall ensure that the conditions necessary for the competitiveness of the Community’s industry exist. (Article 157(1) of the Treaty)

Objectives In the framework of the education, culture and industry policies, numerous measures have been taken to promote education, vocational training, audiovisual, culture, youth and active citizenship in the European Union. The main objectives of these measures are to reinforce social cohesion and to contribute to competitiveness, to economic growth and to an ever closer union amongst the people of Europe. These measures include a variety of Community programmes. The Agency is responsible for managing certain strands of these programmes (e.g. ‘Lifelong learning’, ‘Culture’, ‘Youth in Action’, ‘Europe for Citizens’, ‘MEDIA’, ‘Erasmus Mundus’ and ‘External Cooperation Windows’). In this respect, it implements the community aid, except for programme evaluation, strategic studies and any other task which require discretionary powers in translating political choices.

Tasks — To manage, throughout their duration, the specific projects entrusted to it in the context of implementation of Community programmes. — To adopt the instruments of budget implementation for revenue and expenditure and to carry out, where the Commission has empowered it to do so, the operations necessary for the manągement of the Community programmes and, in particular, those linked to the award of grants and contracts. — To gather, analyse and pass on to the Commission all the information needed to guide the implementation of the Community programmes. — To implement, at Community level, the network of information on education in Europe (Eurydice) for the collection, analysis and dissemination of information and the production of studies and publications.

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 Court of Auditors. 4 — Discharge authority European Parliament acting a on recommendation by the Council.

Budget 1) Operational budget 488 million euro for the management of Community programmes and projects delegated to the Executive Agency and implemented by the Agency on the Commission’s responsibility. 2) Administrative budget 38 million euro for operating the Executive Agency as an independent body (99,8 % subsidy entered in the general budget of the European Communities). Staff at 31 December 2008 1) Temporary staff 92 posts for temporary staff in the establishment plan Post occupied: 85 2) Contractual staff 303 contractual staff Posts occupied: 277 3) Total staff: 362 4) Jobs allocation: Operational: 295 Administrative: 65 Mixed: 2