Since January 2002, EBN was awarded a trademark licensing contract from the European Commission, with DG Enterprise and Industry. This contract permits EBN to manage the licence of the BIC European trademark. EBN has the mandate to grant, renew and withdraw these licences on behalf of the European Commission.

EBN implements a certification and quality system enabling the development of a network of excellence through the integration of a quality approach. The BICs that have been granted the BIC trademark commit themselves to respect their obligations within the quality process of the network.

The EBN quality process adds value to the BIC trademark and to the organisations that have received the licence (professionalism, performance, consistency, positioning). The quality process is built on three essential pillars within the network:

• total client satisfaction
• capacity to implement, regional, national and community policies
• benchmarking

For more information on the details of the EBN Quality System please visit the relevant section of the website.