Directorate-General

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The European Patent Office also comprises Directorates-General. See Directorates-General.

In the European Union, the staff of the main institutions (Commission, Council and Parliament) are organized into a number of distinct departments, known as Directorates-General (DGs), each of which is responsible for specific tasks or policy areas [1]. The administrative head of a DG is known as the Director-General.

In the European Commission a policy area that is within the responsibility of a Commissioner may affect several DGs. Some commissioners are consequently responsible for policy that affects several DGs. There are fewer commissioners in the European Commission than there are DGs.

A Directorate-General is comparable to a government ministry. Most Directorates-General are divided into directorates which cover a specific part of a policy area.

[edit] Structure

The Directorates-General are divided into four groups: Policy DGs, External relations DGs, General Service DGs and Internal Service DGs. Internally, the DGs are referred to by their abbreviations; provided in parenthesis below.

• Policy DGs
  • Agriculture and Rural Development (Agri)
  • Competition (Comp)
  • Economic and Financial Affairs (Ecofin)
  • Education and Culture
  • Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities (Empl)
  • Enterprise and Industry
  • Environment (Env)
  • Fisheries and Maritime Affairs (Fish)
  • Health and Consumer Protection (Sanco)
  • Information Society and Media (Infso)
  • Internal Market and Services (Markt)
  • Joint Research Centre (JRC)
  • Justice, Freedom and Security
  • Regional Policy (Regio)
  • Research (RTD)
  • Taxation and Customs Union (Tax)
  • Transport and Energy (Tren)

• External Relations DGs
  • Development (Dev)
  • Enlargement
  • EuropeAid Co-Operation Office (Aidco)
  • External Relations (Relex)
  • Humanitarian Aid (Echo)
  • Trade

• General Services DGs
  • Communication
  • European Anti-fraud Office (OLAF)
  • Eurostat
  • Publications Office
  • Secretariat General

• Internal Services DGs
  • Budget
  • Bureau of European Policy Advisers (BEPA)
  • Informatics
  • Infrastructures and Logistics
    • Brussels (OIB)
    • Luxembourg (OIL)
  • Internal Audit Service (IAS)
  • Interpretation
  • Legal Service
  • Personnel and Administration
  • Translation (DGT)

	European Commission Directorates-General
Internal policy: Agriculture | Competition | Economic and Financial Affairs | Education and Culture | Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities | Enterprise and Industry | Environment | Fisheries and Maritime Affairs | Health and Consumer Protection | Information Society and Media | Internal Market and Services | Joint Research Centre | Justice, Freedom and Security | Regional Policy | Research | Taxation and Customs Union | Transport and Energy
External policy: External Relations | Development | Enlargement | Trade | EuropeAid | ECHO
Services: General | Internal | Interpretation | Translation
Table of European Commission Directorates-General and Services