European Union Documentation
A significant amount of European Union documentation is now freely available on the internet. This page aims to provide links to the most commonly used material in this area.
The Library will stock print copies of European Union publications only if they have been requested by staff or students. For access to the full range of European Union materials, readers should apply to the European Documentation Centres at the University of Dundee Library and University of Glasgow Library. These centres are entitled to receive one copy of all publicly available documents released by European Union institutions.
Categories:-
- Major publications
- Other useful EU databases
- Websites of key European Union institutions
- European Union agencies, institutes and centres
- UK European-related websites
- Other useful websites
Major publications
The most important European Union official publications can be accessed via the EUR-Lex database:-
| Official Journal of the European Union |
L Series (Legislation) and C Series (Information and Notices). Direct Access available from 1998, but texts prior to 1998 can also be accessed in pdf, tif and/or html format using the site's search functions. S Series (Supplements) available for the last 5 years in the TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) Database. |
| Treaties | Access to the basic legal texts on which the European Union and the European Communities are founded, plus other essential texts |
| International Agreements | All the instruments generated by the European Communities in the exercise of their international responsibilities |
| Legislation in Force | Legislation in force as classified according to the Directory of Community Legislation |
| Preparatory Acts | Preparatory documents plus other documents of the European institutions of possible public interest |
| Case Law |
Documents from the European Court of Justice, Court of First Instance, and Civil Service Tribunal from 1954. Access is numerical (i.e. by document number) and by year. Case Law from June 1997 is also freely available via the CURIA database. |
| Parliamentary Questions | Questions addressed by members of the European Parliament to members of the Commission or Council. |
Other useful EU databases
| AMECO | Annual Macro-economic database of the European Commission's Directorate General for Economic & Financial affairs |
| Consilium | Register of documents produced in the General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union (the Council of Ministers) since 1999 |
| CORDIS | Community Research and Development Information Service. An important source on EU R&D programmes, which can help you participate in EU funded research programmes |
| CURIA | Case Law from the European Court of Justice |
| Dec.Nat | Information about national case law decisions relating to the EU. A reference database, no direct access to the documents themselves |
| ECLAS | European Commission Libraries catalogue. Contains c.180,000 records in the domain of European affairs. Around.20 Directorates-General manage their departmental collections in ECLAS |
| EIROnline | European Industrial Relations Observatory Online |
| EMIRE | European Employment and Industrial Relations Glossary |
| EURES | Information for European citizens on how to find a job in another country |
| EUR-Lex | Contains the Official Journal of the European Communities (L & C series), Treaties, Legislation in Force, Preparatory Documents, Case Law and Parliamentary Questions. Incorporates CELEX |
| European Legal Database on Drugs | Information on European drugs-related legislation |
| European Navigator (ENA) | Multimedia database documenting the history of European integration and enlargement from 1945 to the present |
| Eurybase |
Community database on education |
| IATE | Interactive terminology database system for the collection, dissemination and shared management of terminology between the institutions and other bodies of the EU. |
| IPEX | Inter-Parliamentary EU Information Exchange. Finds all related documents concerning a specific procedure as well as information about the relevant scrutiny activities in the EU Parliaments |
| Market Access Database | Provides a range of market, customs and legislative information |
| MISSOC | Provides brief, up-to-date and comparative information on the social security systems in each of the member states |
| N-Lex | Experimental project which provides a common access portal for sources of national law. Allows users to search national sites using a single search mask |
| OEIL | Legislative Observatory. Covers the activities of the institutions involved in the legislative procedure and the decision-making process |
| Pre-Lex | Database on inter-institutional procedures which follows all Commission proposals from their transmission to the Council or to the European Parliament, till their adoption or rejection by the Council, their adoption by Parliament or their withdrawal by the Commission |
| RAPID | Press-releases giving a daily view of the activities of the European Union |
| SURBAN | Database on sustainable Urban Development in Europe |
| Taxes in Europe Database | Provides information about the tax structure in member states |
| TED | Tenders Electronic Daily. Contains all European calls for tender published in the Official Journal (Supplement S) in the last five years |
| Whoiswho | Directories of the various European Union institutions |
Websites of key European Union institutions
| Europa | Gateway to and official site of the European Union. Includes access to full text documents, news and press releases, plus links to Institutions, Agencies and related bodies. |
| European Commission | Executive branch of the European Union. Based in Brussels. Proposes and implements legislation, upholds treaties and looks after the day-to-day running of the EU. |
| Council of the European Union (Council of Ministers) | Principal decision-making body of the EU. Takes decisions on Commission Proposals. Also called Consilium. Not to be confused with the Council of Europe, which is a separate institution from the European Union, an international organization of 47 European countries. |
| European Parliament | With the Council of the European Union, forms the other legislative branch of the EU's institutions. Its debates are written up in the Official Journal C Series. Composed of 785 directly elected MEPs. Meets in Strasbourg and Brussels, and its Secretariat is based in Luxembourg. |
| European Court of Justice | Highest court of the European Union. Has the ultimate say in matters of European Law. Not to be confused with the European Court of Human Rights, which is based in Strasbourg and part of the Council of Europe. |
| European Council | Referred to as a European Summit, this is the highest political body of the European Union, and is made up of the heads of state or government of the EU's member states, and the President of the European Commission. It meets at least twice a year. |
| Presidency | Rotates amongst EU member states every six months. |
| Directorates General | The government departments of the Institutions of the EU. Headed by a Director-General and, in the European Commission, by a European Commissioner. |
| European Economic and Social Committee | Consultative assembly, composed of employers, employees and representatives of various other interests. |
| Committee of the Regions | Represents and consults with the sub-national regions of the EU in the EU legislative process. |
European Union agencies, institutes and centres
- CEDEFOP: European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training
- European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
- Eurofound: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions
- European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction
- EUROPOL: European Law Enforcement Organisation
- EUROSTAT: Statistical Office of the European Communities
- Publications Office
UK European-related websites
- European Commission's Representation in the UK
- European Information Network in Scotland
- European Parliament UK Office/Office in Scotland
- Scotland Europa
- SERN: Scottish European Resources Network
Other useful websites
For assistance with this page, or for enquiries relating to European Union documentation, please contact the Academic Liaison Team.