Skip to main content
European Education and Culture Executive Agency

Legal Background

Details of the legal basis for EACEA's activities as an Executive Agency of the European Commission.

EACEA's partners in the European Commission

EACEA was established in 2006 as an Executive Agency for the implementation of EU programmes in the areas of education, audiovisual and culture. Since then, its programme portfolio has steadily grown. With its new mandate for the 2021-2027 multiannual financial framework (Commission Decision 2021/173), EACEA's name changed to 'European Education and Culture Executive Agency' on 1 April 2021. EACEA is its own legal entity and is governed within a specific legal framework, notably by EU Council Regulation 58/2003 laying down the statute for all Executive Agencies. The EACEA Steering Committee, as established by Commission Decision C(2021)2630, approves important decisions of the Agency.

The Agency operates under the supervision of six Directorates-General (DGs) of the European Commission:

These DGs have delegated parts of their programmes to the Agency for implementation in the period 2021-2027. Details are laid down in Commission Decision C(2021)951 and its annexes of 12 February 2021 (delegation act).

Each programme for which EACEA has delegated implementing powers has its legal basis (basic act). The following basic acts apply to EACEA's programme portfolio 2021-2027: Regulation (EU) 2021/817 for the Erasmus+ programme, Regulation (EU) 2021/818 for the Creative Europe programme, Regulation (EU) 2021/692 for the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values programme, and Regulation (EU) 2021/888 for the European Solidarity Corps programme.