Executive Agencies
The European Union (EU) has six executive agencies, established by the European Commission for fixed periods to manage and implement specific EU programs.
In brief - Executive Agencies
Different mandates — one shared responsibility: executive agencies operationalise EU democracy commitments. By embedding safety, flexibility, and learning into programme management, EACEA and REA can ensure that every euro invested in media and information integrity strengthens—not burdens—the sector.
Why it matters
Executive agencies are the operational backbone of EU media support. Their calls for proposals and project management procedures determine whether independent media, research institutions, and civil-society consortia can access funding safely and efficiently. Interviews for this toolkit and the GFMD’s Transforming Media Development report highlight the same challenges: lengthy lead times, complex applications, and a focus on short-term outputs. Simplification, flexibility, and proportionate compliance are therefore key to operationalising the OECD Principles.
Purpose
The EU’s six executive agencies translate policy into practice by managing specific programmes on behalf of the European Commission. These agencies with the include the European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (CINEA), European Research Executive Agency (REA), European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA), European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), European Research Council Executive Agency (ERCEA), and European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA).
Two of them are particularly relevant to media and information integrity:
The European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA), which oversees parts of Creative Europe, Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV), and Erasmus+.
The European Research Executive Agency (REA), which manages Horizon Europe and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, where journalism-related and information-integrity research is increasingly relevant to democracy and digital resilience.
Together, these agencies implement substantial EU funding lines for journalism, media innovation, and information research. Their proximity to implementing organisations makes them critical to ensuring that media support is practical, safe, and aligned with real-world needs.
Strategic Recommendations
1️⃣ Ensure that assistance does no harm
Treat safety, legal defence, and psycho-social care as standard, eligible cost categories across Creative Europe and Horizon Europe calls.
Enable confidential reporting and redacted documentation where disclosure could endanger partners, particularly in repressive contexts.
Add “harm-review gates” before publication of beneficiary lists or dissemination of results to prevent inadvertent exposure.
Maintain coordination with DG CONNECT, DG JUST, and EEAS to ensure consistency in applying visibility waivers and data-protection measures.
2️⃣ Increase financial and other support
Recognise flat-rate organisational costs for safety, compliance, and coordination.
Introduce rolling or staged disbursement mechanisms to ease liquidity pressures caused by long payment cycles.
Pilot “first-time grantee” tracks under Creative Europe and Horizon Europe with lighter compliance and mentoring.
Reward projects that combine research and practical application—for example, linking REA-funded academic research to EACEA-funded media innovation consortia.
3️⃣ Take a whole-of-system perspective
Encourage multi-actor consortia connecting universities, media outlets, civil-society organisations, and technology providers.
Recognise coordination, networking, and learning as legitimate deliverables—not mere overheads.
Prioritise proposals that demonstrate ecosystem complementarity rather than duplication, showing how they reinforce existing EU and Member-State initiatives.
4️⃣ Strengthen local leadership and ownership
Introduce proportionate rules that allow regional and local media to act as partners or leads in consortia.
Budget for mentoring and capacity-building so smaller actors can meet EU administrative standards.
Use REA’s research networks and EACEA’s Creative Europe clusters to share evidence and best practice with partners from the Global South and neighbourhood regions.
Synchronise templates, indicators, and reporting with other DGs to reduce duplication.
Participate in Commission-wide knowledge hubs that collect lessons from media-related projects.
Use joint evaluation panels or cross-programme task forces (EACEA × REA × DG CONNECT) to ensure learning is cumulative.
6️⃣ Invest in knowledge, research, and learning
Commission meta-evaluations across Creative Europe and Horizon Europe portfolios to analyse systemic impact on journalism and information integrity.
Create an internal repository of anonymised project data and outcomes to inform future call design.
Support cross-sector research clusters linking journalism, digital governance, and AI ethics, aligning with the EU Democracy Shield and OECD Principle 6.
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