EU INSTITUTIONS:

 European Commission

	European Commission The European Commission is the executive branch of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union.
	Directorate-General for Education and Culture (DG EAC) The Directorate-General's work (DG EAC) on education and training follows a twin-track approach of policy cooperation with EU Member States on the one hand and the implementation of the Lifelong Learning Programme on the other hand.
	Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL) EU employment and social policies bring practical benefits to citizens, for example, in finding a job, moving to another Member State for work or other reasons, upgrading skills, etc. In partnership with national authorities, social partners, civil society organisations and other stakeholders, the Directorate-General (DG EMPL) addresses challenges linked to globalisation, the ageing of Europe's population and changing social realities.
	Directorate-General for EUROSTAT (DG ESTAT) Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union. Its task is to provide the European Union with statistics at European level that enable comparisons between countries and regions.
	Directorate-General for Information Society and Media (DG INFSO) The mission of the Directorate General for the Information Society and Media (DG INFSO) is to make every European digital by achieving the digital single market,reinforcing Europe's competitiveness by increasing investment in ICT research and innovation,promoting the access and use of ICT to the benefit of EU society, and implementing the "acquis communautaire" (EU legislation) in the area of Information Society and Media.
	Directorate-General for Joint Research Centre (JRC) The Joint Research Centre is the scientific and technical arm of the European Commission. It is providing the scientific advice and technical know-how to support a wide range of EU policies. Its status as a Commission service, which guarantees independence from private or national interests, is crucial for pursuing its mission.
	Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) The Directorate-General for Research and Innovation's mission is to develop and implement the European research and innovation policy with a view to achieving the goals of Europe 2020 and the Innovation Union.

 European Parliament

	European Parliament The European Parliament is the only directly-elected body of the European Union. The 785 Members of the European Parliament are there to represent you, the citizen. They are elected once every five years by voters right across the 27 Member States of the European Union on behalf of its 492 million citizens.
	CULT Committee, European Parliament Within the European Parliament, the Committee on Culture and Education (CULT) is responsible for education, culture, youth, sport and the cultural and educational aspects of the EU's media policy.
	EMPL Committee, European Parliament Within the European Parliament, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) is mainly responsible for employment policies and all aspects of social policy, working conditions, vocational training and the free movement of workers and pensioners.

 Council of the European Union

Council of the European Union The Council of the European Union is the Union's legislative body; for a wide range of Community issues, it exercises that legislative power in co-decision with the European Parliament.

 Other

	European Economic and Social Committee The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a consultative body that gives representatives of Europe's socio-occupational interest groups, and others, a formal platform to express their points of views on EU issues. Its opinions are forwarded to the larger institutions - the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament. It thus has a key role to play in the Union's decision-making process.
	Committee of the Regions The Committee of the Regions (CoR) is the political assembly that provides the regional and local levels with a voice in EU policy development and EU legislation. The Treaties oblige the Commission, Parliament and Council to consult the Committee of the Regions whenever new proposals are made in areas that affect the regional or local level. The CoR has 344 members from the 27 EU countries, and its work is organised in 6 different commissions. They examine proposals, debate and discuss in order to write official opinions on key issues.

 EUROPEAN AGENCIES:

	CEDEFOP Cedefop is the European Agency to promote the development of vocational education and training (VET) in the European Union.
	European Training Foundation (ETF) The European Training Foundation helps transition and developing countries to harness the potential of their human capital through the reform of education, training and labour market systems in the context of the EU's external relations policy.

 EXECUTIVE AGENCIES:

	Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) is responsible for the management of certain parts of the EU's programmes in the fields of education, culture and audiovisual.
	European Research Council Executive Agency (ERC) The European Research Council (ERC) is part of the EU's Seventh Research Framework Programme (FP7). It is set up by the European Commission to support investigator-driven frontier research and was established in February 2007 on the basis of the FP7 IDEAS specific programme, with a total budget of 7.5 billion Euro (2007-2013).
	Research Executive Agency (REA) The Research Executive Agency (REA), located in Brussels, was created in December 2007. Managing over €6.5 billion, it started its work in 2008, and became fully autonomous on 15 June 2009. The REA reports to the Directorates General for Research, Enterprise, Information Society & Media, Energy, Mobility and transport.
	European Institute of Innovation and Technology The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is an independent, decentralised EU body which pools the best scientific, business and education resources to boost the Union's innovation capacity.

 INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS:

	Council of Europe The Council of Europe, based in Strasbourg, has 47 member countries. It seeks to develop throughout Europe common and democratic principles based on the European Convention on Human Rights and other reference texts on the protection of individuals. Check its Directorate General of Education, Culture and Heritage, Youth and Sport.
	UNESCO UNESCO has 193 Member States and 7 Associate Member States and aims to contribute to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.
	Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) aims to promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.

 OTHER BODIES/PROJECTS:

	EURYDICE The Eurydice Network provides information on and analyses of European education systems and policies. As from 2011 it consists of 37 national units based in all 33 countries participating in the EU's Lifelong Learning programme (EU Member States, EFTA countries, Croatia and Turkey).
	The Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning (CRELL) The Centre for Research on Lifelong Learning  (CRELL) was established in 2005 in order to provide expertise in the field of indicator-based evaluation and monitoring of education and training systems and their contribution to the achievement of Community objectives specified in the EU2020 agenda as regards this domain. It is sponsored by the DG EAC and co-ordinated by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (DG JRC).
	European Expert Network on Economics of Education (EENEE) The European Expert Network on the Economics of Education (EENEE) is a network of internationally renowned education economists that the Commission has been working with since early 2004. It advises and supports the Commission in the analysis of education policies and reforms and of their implications for future policy development at national and European level.
	NESSE NESSE is a network of scholars working on social aspects of education and training. It was set up in 2007 by European Commission's Directorate General for Education and Culture.
	European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education The European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education is an independent and self-governing organisation, established by European countries to act as their platform for collaboration in the field of special needs education. It is funded with support of the DG EAC.
	Knowledge System for Lifelong Learning This website offers information on national policy initiatives and practices in prioritised areas in the field of Education and Training for the development of lifelong learning.