European Agencies Working for You

Download or read book European Agencies Working for You written by and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A single market, a single currency, borderless travel, internal mobility - just some of the very tangible benefits of the EU that many of us cannot imagine life without today. The network of specialist EU agencies set up by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union to carry out specific legal, technical or scientific tasks is an important component of the EU. They work alongside the main EU institutions and Member States, feeding them evidence-based advice to help shape informed policies and laws at the EU and national level. They add value by promoting the sharing of information and expertise in areas that impact the lives of Europe's 500 million citizens. And all this for only 0.6% of the EU's total annual budget - only €1.6 for every man, woman and child in the EU. Around the world, respected and well-known agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration in the US, have been created to give expert advice to their national administrations. EU agencies were similarly created to help implement EU policies more efficiently and to respond to particular needs identified by the EU institutions and Member States. They work on a wide range of areas that touch the lives of everyone across the EU (and beyond) on land, at sea, in the air, in sickness and in health. They cover the food we eat, the medicine we take, chemicals, education, quality of working life, the environment, not to mention justice, safety of transport, security and our fundamental rights. This list is not exhaustive, but serves to give you a favour of some of the many specialist areas they work on. This brochure provides an overview of the breadth and depth of work carried out by the various specialist EU agencies. It clearly underlines their combined added-value, and how they are working to help make Europe more competitive and a better place to live and work.