B

Benchmarking
Measuring how well one country, business, industry, etc., is performing in comparison to another or multiple countries, businesses, industries, etc. The "benchmark" is the standard by which performance will be judged. Benchmarking is one of the techniques used in the "Lisbon process"

Beneficiary
The legal entity or person receiving the EU grant for carrying out a project

Brokerage event
A series of prearranged transnational meetings organised at a single venue for SMEs from across Europe. In general, brokerage events are organised at trade shows, exhibitions or conferences, although some are organised as stand alone events. Using another event as a host for a brokerage event can bring added value for the companies in the form of free entrance to the fair, inclusion in the fair’s catalogue and the opportunity to arrange additional and/or extra meetings with other companies attending the event

Brussels has decided…
The term "Brussels" is often used in the media to refer to the EU institutions, most of which are located in the city of Brussels. The European Commission proposes EU laws but it is the Council of the European Union (ministers from the national governments) and the European Parliament (elected by the European citizens) that debate, amend and ultimately decide whether to pass the proposed laws

Bulletin of the EU
It is published by the Secretariat-General of the Commission and provides a monthly updat/ insight into the activities of the European Commission and the other Community Institutions. The annual General Report on the Activities of the European Union supplements it.

Business and Innovation Centres
Regional innovation tools for economic development aiming to promote entrepreneurship, detect innovative projects, support strategic guidelines and sign posting towards business support organisations in order to promote innovative business. Some 160 BICs are grouped in the European BIC Network.