Research guides: UN & Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs): European Union

Background information

Economic & political partnership between European member states
Created to remove economic & transportation barriers as well as promote democracy, peace, & prosperity among member states
Principal documents include:

Three principal legislative institutions:

European Parliament
- Directly elected by EU citizens every 5 years
- Debates & passes European laws and EU's budget, with the European Council
- Oversees operation of other EU institutions
European Commission
- Proposes legislation to Parliament & Council of the European Union
- Represents EU interests as a whole
- Composed of appointed Commissioners from each member state
- Responsible for enforcing legislation as well as managing & implementing EU policies & budget
European Council
- Defines the general political direction and priorities of the European Union
- Heads of state or government of EU countries

Judicial & financial institutions:

Court of Justice of the European Union
- EU's main judicial body
- Designed to ensure EU law & treaties are applied uniformly among member states
- Settles disputes among EU governments & institutions as well as cases between the EU & individuals & organizations

EUROPA: Gateway to the EU
- Homepage of the European Union
- Online, up-to-date coverage of European Union affairs
- Provides access to the websites of each of the EU's institutions
- Includes legislation currently in force or under discussion
European Union: A-Z Index
- Alphabetical links by topic to European Union resources
Eurostat
- Economic, environmental & social data from the Statistical Office of the European Union
EUR-Lex: Access to European Law
- Includes treaties, international agreements, legislation in force, consolidated legislation, preparatory acts, case-law, parliamentary questions as well as the Official Journal of the European Union
- Some content has not been fully migrated to the new EUR-Lex
- Content is currently still available on previous version of EUR-Lex
EU Treaties (EUROPA)
- Full text of EU treaties
Eurobarometer
- Collection of public opinion poll data produced by the European Commission
European Union Open Data Portal
European Commission Library & E-Resources Centre