EIPA key terms

EU funds invested through national and regional programmes to narrow development gaps and support jobs, farming, fisheries and regional growth. They are delivered jointly by the European Commission and national authorities within a seven-year budget cycle.

A way of spending the EU budget in which the European Commission delegates day-to-day programme administration to national or regional authorities, while keeping overall responsibility for legality and sound financial management.

A strategic document agreed between the European Commission and a Member State that sets out how cohesion and other shared-management funds will be invested in that country over the programming period.

A temporary EU instrument created in response to the pandemic that finances national reforms and investments through grants and loans, paying out funds only against agreed milestones and targets.

Concrete, verifiable indicators attached to a national recovery plan. The Commission releases each funding instalment only after the Member State demonstrates that the agreed step has actually been completed.

The rules and procedures by which public bodies buy works, supplies and services. EU law requires transparency, equal treatment, proportionality and open competition above specified value thresholds.

A selective advantage granted by a public authority to a business from state resources which may distort competition and affect trade between Member States; normally prohibited unless a Treaty exception or exemption applies.

An EU regulation listing categories of state aid, such as aid to small businesses, research, training or environmental protection, that Member States may grant without notifying the Commission in advance.

A principle requiring that funded activities must not seriously damage any of the six EU environmental objectives, such as climate mitigation, biodiversity protection or pollution prevention.

The European Commission's approach to law-making based on evidence: consulting stakeholders, assessing impacts, evaluating and simplifying existing rules before proposing new legislation or revising old rules.

A structured analysis prepared before a legislative proposal of the likely economic, social and environmental consequences of the main policy options, including the option of taking no EU action.

The standard EU law-making route in which the European Parliament and the Council of the EU act as equal co-legislators, amending and adopting a proposal put forward by the Commission.

The main Council voting rule under which a decision passes if at least 55 per cent of Member States, representing at least 65 per cent of the EU population, vote in favour.

An informal three-way negotiation between representatives of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission intended to reach a provisional agreement on a legislative file at an early stage.

The rotating six-month role in which one Member State chairs meetings of the Council configurations, sets the work agenda and brokers compromises between national delegations.

A free self-assessment tool for public sector organisations, rooted in total quality management, that helps them identify strengths and improvement areas across enablers and results.

The coordinated activities an organisation uses to set quality standards, meet the expectations of users and staff, and continuously improve its processes, products and services.

The deliberate process of capturing, storing, sharing and reusing what an organisation knows, covering both documented knowledge and the tacit experience held by individual staff members.

A four-step improvement loop: plan a change, do it on a small scale, check the results, then act by standardising or adjusting. It underpins most continuous improvement models in public administration.

Comparing an organisation's performance, processes or practices against reference points from peers or recognised best performers in order to identify gaps and adopt improvements.

The EU's strategy for financing infrastructure and connectivity worldwide in digital, transport, energy, health and education, aiming to mobilise up to EUR 300 billion of investment by 2027.

Coordinated action in which EU institutions, Member States, development banks and private partners pool efforts and funding so that external action delivers a single, coherent impact.

The EU's capacity to pursue its own priorities and act independently in critical areas such as defence, technology or supply chains, while remaining open to cooperation with partners.

The political, economic and legal conditions a country must satisfy to join the EU: stable democracy and rule of law, a functioning market economy, and the ability to take on EU law.

The EU's diplomatic service, staffed by officials from the EU institutions and Member States, which supports the High Representative and runs the EU delegations in third countries.

The principle that EU law prevails over conflicting provisions of national law, including national constitutional rules, in the fields where the EU has been given competence by the Treaties.

The principle that certain EU provisions create rights or obligations which individuals can invoke directly before national courts, without waiting for further national implementing measures.

The principle that the EU acts only where the objectives of a proposed action cannot be sufficiently achieved by Member States and can, by reason of scale or effects, be better achieved at EU level.

The requirement that EU action, and the means chosen, must not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives set out in the Treaties.

A procedure in which a national court asks the Court of Justice of the EU to interpret EU law or rule on its validity, so that the case can be decided consistently across the Union.

A fundamental right requiring EU institutions to handle matters impartially, fairly and within a reasonable time, to give reasons for their decisions and to allow access to one's own file.

A directly applicable EU law governing how personal data may be collected, used and shared, granting rights to individuals and imposing duties on data controllers and processors.

An EU directive setting cybersecurity risk-management, governance and incident-reporting duties for a broad range of essential and important entities, which Member States must transpose into national law.

The EU's growth strategy committing the Union to become climate-neutral by 2050, implemented through legislation and initiatives across energy, transport, industry, agriculture, buildings and biodiversity.

The EU's risk-based regulation of AI, banning unacceptable uses, imposing requirements on high-risk systems and creating documentation, transparency and safety duties for providers of general-purpose AI models.

An AI system that may harm health, safety or fundamental rights and is therefore subject to obligations on risk management, data governance, technical documentation, logging, human oversight and conformity assessment.

An AI model trained on broad data that can perform many different tasks and be adapted to numerous applications; providers must supply technical documentation and meet transparency, and for systemic models, safety duties.

The requirement that people remain able to monitor, interpret, intervene in or stop an AI system's operation, particularly where the system may affect health, safety or fundamental rights.

The knowledge, skills and understanding that staff and users need in order to use AI systems responsibly and to grasp their capabilities, limitations and risks in a given context.

A unit within the European Commission responsible for supervising general-purpose AI models, coordinating enforcement of the AI Act across the Union and supporting development of EU AI policy.