Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Brussels, Belgium

The Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation ( EACI, English Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation) is one of the executive agencies of the European Union. These take under the EU agencies a special position. They are set up by the European Commission and are responsible for the management of certain programs. Here are not set up on a permanent basis, but only for a limited period and equal in rank to a Directorate General of the European Commission. In contrast to the other EU agencies, they must be in Brussels or Luxembourg, settled.

The later EACI was established by the European Commission on 23 December 2003, originally under the name Intelligent Energy Executive Agency ( IEEA ) for implementing the " Intelligent Energy - Europe " program. On 1 May 2007, the agency was renamed and their goals and objectives have been redefined. It was thus the first in a series of new executive agencies that have been established to operate by the European Commission on its own to put strategies into action more efficiently and effectively and to help focus the Commission on its policy-making and institutional tasks.

The Agency has the task of carrying out the first " Intelligent Energy - Europe " (IEE ) program. In 2007, the task pane ( period 200-2013 ) has been extended to the Marco Polo programs. The superior authority is the Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, which also takes care across the enforcement of the IEE initiative.

The Executive Agency was originally scheduled for the period from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2008, this was later extended to 31 December 2015. The Agency has its seat in the Madou Plaza Tower in Brussels.