Meeting of the Heads of European Union Agencies

The Heads of the EU agencies will meet on 17 February with European Commission President José Manuel Barroso to discuss ways to strengthen their partnership with the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council and to share their views on the EU’s future approach to the governance of the Agencies.

Mr. Barroso, President of the European Commission, will deliver a keynote speech, highlighting the role and contribution of EU regulatory agencies in the context of a future framework for the EU regulatory agencies.

In its Communication “European agencies – the way forward” of March 2008, the European Commission called upon the European Parliament and Council to give a new momentum to the development of a clear and coherent vision on the place of agencies in European governance. Discussions at the Heads of EU agencies meeting will feed into the inter-institutional dialogue on the future governance of the EU Agencies, which involves an evaluation of existing agencies and reflections on changes which could be made to improve the system in the future.

Representatives from the European Parliament and from the Spanish Presidency of the European Union will also attend the meeting.