The information on external consultancy services published on this page covers professional knowledge-based services provided by an economic operator (e.g. private or public service suppliers, from individual consultants to management and consulting firms, IT and engineering firms, universities, research institutions or NGOs). While external consultancy services may provide the European Commission with important technical input, the European Commission eventually remains fully responsible for the conduct of its own tasks as defined under the Treaty on European Union, including policy development.

The figures for external consultancy services published on this page represent only funding from the EU budget with legal commitments under direct and indirect management for the following types of contracts: ‘consultancy (advisory services)’, ‘evaluation services’, ‘research, development or scientific activities’ and ‘studies’. A large portion of these contracts has been signed for third parties in the field of EU External Action (e.g. technical assistance, cooperation, partnerships) or to the benefit of Member States (e.g. supporting EU countries to design and implement reforms). This page does not show information for the European Development Fund, which can be found on the FTS Analyse page, nor does it include information that is not part of the Financial Transparency System annual publications.