Europe Direct is a European information network designated by the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

. The target group is all citizens of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Network

Europe Direct includes EUROPE DIRECT Centres,

European Documentation Centre A European Documentation Centre (EDC) is a body designated by the European Commission to collect and disseminate publications of the European Union for the purposes of research and education. There are 400 such centers in all member states of the ...

s (EDC), the EU Team EUROPE DIRECT

speakers bureau A speakers bureau is a collection of speakers who talk about a particular subject, or a company, which operates to facilitate speakers for clients requiring motivational speakers, celebrity appearances, conference facilitators, or keynote speakers. ...

and the call centre Europe Direct Contact Centre. The network was created in 2005 and restructured in February 2009.

Costs

All European Direct offers are free of charge. Team Europe may require travel costs and a fee.

Mission

The main aim of Europe Direct is to provide European citizens with general information on the European Union. Other aims include the answering of questions on political activities of the European Union and promoting

European integration European integration is the process of industrial, economic integration, economic, political, legal, social integration, social, and cultural Regional integration, integration of states wholly or partially in Europe or nearby. European integrat ...

. Advice and practical tips on rights entitled to Union citizens are provided. Inquiries to the Europe Direct Contact Centre, in any of the current 24 official languages, are processed in a central contact point and answered in the same language. The customer service staff must be fluent in at least three languages and have a university degree. Europe Direct support is available via telephone (free of charge within the EU and on a uniform number), e-mail or web-chat. The EU-wide network of 424 EUROPE DIRECT centres (including 7 in Ireland, 3 in Malta and one in Curaçao (launched in May 2021) ) are open to the public. The current generation of EUROPE DIRECT centres started its activities on 1 May 2021 and will continue until 2025. These centres are run by national or private organisations under a public contract. They are co-funded by the European Commission.

References

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External links

Europe direct
European Commission