Since 1995, Linköping University Library is a European Documentation Centre (EDC). EDC’s are collections of official documents from European Union institutions and agencies, established by the European Commission.

The purpose of European Documentation Centres is to provide students, researchers and private citizens access to EU documents and other EU-related information.

By providing access to EU documents, European Documentation Centres encourage education and research about European cooperation. The academic community is invited to participate in the public debate about the European Union and its future.

This page provides a guide to finding EU-related information, including:

  • News
  • General information about the EU
  • The role of European Union institutions
  • Legal material
  • Search services
  • Statistics

You can navigate the page by using the links below the main heading at the top of the page. Contact information regarding EDC at Linköping University is provided at the bottom of the page.

 

General information about the EU

Jobs and trainee posts

The core mission of the European Personnel and Selection Office (EPSO) is to meet the EU institutions’ recruitment needs by selecting candidates through generalist and specialist competitions. EPSO acts as a matchmaker between the EU institutions and high performing professionals and graduates.

Epso

Access EU documents

Information on where to find documents held by the European Commission and other institutions, including legislative information, official documents, and meeting minutes and agendas.

How to access Commission documents

What Europe does for me

Regardless of your work or how you spend your free time, as an EU citizen your life is affected by the European Union. The website “What Europe does for me” offers a wide selection of brief and easy-to-read information from the European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS). 

What Europe does for mer

European Ombudsman

The European Ombudsman is an independent and impartial body that holds the EU’s institutions and agencies to account, and promotes good administration. The Ombudsman helps people, businesses, and organisations facing problems with the EU’s administration by investigating complaints about maladministration by EU institutions and bodies, as well as by proactively looking into broader systemic issues.

European Ombudsman

Official website of the EU

Official website of the European Union with information about the EU and links to further information.

europa.eu

EU's Who is who?

Search, browse or download information from the Official Directory of the European Union.

EU:s Who is who?

Transparency and access to documents

According to the transparency rules as set out in the Lisbon Treaty, EU institutions work as openly and as closely as possible to citizens. Ministers at the Council legislate in public and citizens have a right to request access to Council documents.

The rules of procedure of the Council and the European Council set out basic rules for meetings, including voting rules, which sessions should be public and when documents should be published.

Transparency and access to documents

EU-related information from the Riksdag

General information about the European Union at the website of the Swedish Riksdag. Find out about the interaction between the EU and Swedish agencies and bodies:

How the EU works

Your Europe

Help and advice for EU nationals and their family, for example regarding moving, living, studying, working, shopping and traveling abroad:

Help and advice for EU nationals and their family

Practical guide to doing business in Europe:

Practical guide to doing business in Europe


Learn more about the EU

ABC of EU Law by Professor Klaus-Dieter Borchardt investigates the European project as a legal system and its development. A standard work on the subject:

ABC of EU Law

A brochure with basic information about the EU from the European Commission:

The European Union - What it is and what it does

A publication about the EU by Pascal Fontaine, an expert on European affairs. Published by the European Commission:

Europe in 12 lessons

How the EU performs in various fields:

Actions by topic 

 

The legal system of the European Union forms the political life and society of member states. Individuals are not only citizens of their own country, city or district, but also citizens of the European Union.

EU institutions and bodies

Preparatory material and laws

An EU treaty is a binding agreement between the member states. A treaty establishes the goals of the EU, what rules apply to EU institutions, how decisions are taken, and the relations between the EU and its member states. The European Union can only take measures that are supported by a treaty.

Treaties

The Official Journal of the European Union is the official publication (gazette) for EU legal acts, other acts and official information from EU institutions, bodies, offices and agencies:

Access to official journal 

A Green Paper is a document published by the European Commission with the purpose of stimulating discussion on a specific issue. Interested parties (organisations, citizens) are invited to consultations and debates on the proposals presented in the Green Paper. Sometimes, law proposals are based on a Green Paper. Such as proposal is subsequently presented in a White Paper:

Green Papers

Documents used to prepare EU legislation, produced during the various stages of the legislative and budgetary process:

Prepatory documents

Find consolidated versions of European Union acts that give the view of the act as applicable at a specific point in time:

Consolidated texts 

Find information about procedures which lead to the adoption of legal acts by the European institutions. EUR-Lex gives you access to the procedure stages and to related documents.:

Lawmaking procedures

The EUR-Lex directory of EU legislation currently in force. Search according to subject area to find EU legislation:

Directory of European Union legislation 

Summaries of EU legislation are short, easy-to-understand explanations of the main legal acts passed by the EU – intended for a general, non-specialist audience.
Most cover the main types of legislation passed by the EU: directives, regulations and decisions. But some cover other documents, such as international agreements:

Summaries of EU legislation

White papers from the Commission are documents with proposals within a specific area. In some cases, a white paper has been preceded by a green paper with the purpose to initiate consultations at the EU level. If the white book is received positively, the Council can initiate a plan of action regarding the area in question:

White Papers

Case law

Legal usage since 17 June, 1997. Cases from the Court of Justice of the European Union etc:

Curia

Referencing case law is based on ECLI:

Method for citing case-law

Case law from the Court of Justice:

EU case-law

References and commentaries to doctrine regarding cases notified by the court, the Tribunal and the Civil Service Tribunal:

Annotation of judgments

Legislation process

Regulations and decisions become binding automatically throughout the EU on their date of application. Directives on the other hand, must be incorporated by EU countries into their national legislation. Each directive contains a deadline by which EU countries must incorporate its provisions into their national legislation and inform the Commission to that effect:

Implementing EU law

The member states’ representatives in the Council and the EU parliament are jointly responsible for accepting EU legislation. Usually, both institutions are equal partners as law makers but in some cases other procedures can apply:

Legislative powers

Database provided by the European parliament, linking to documents in full text: 

Legislative Observatory

Explanations

A CELEX number is a unique identifier assigned to a document. It is independent of the language of the document. Most documents on EUR-Lex are assigned a CELEX number:

CELEX numbers

You can use this table to build CELEX numbers. The Celex number is the unique identifier of each document in EUR-Lex, regardless of language:

Types of documents in EUR-Lex

EUR-Lex

A database covering EU law in all official EU languages. EUR-Lex contains many types of texts from EU institutions, member states, EFTA etc.

EUR-Lex

Search publications and documents

Archive of European Integration - AEI

Research papers, articles, conference papers and other material freely available online are collected in the Archive of European Integration. Official documents from the EU from 1952 are available in full text (University of Pittsburgh, University Library System):

AEI

Journals list - Linköping University Library

Search for individual journals available via Linköping University Library, in print and online:

Journals list

CEPS - The Centre for European Policy Studies

The Centre for European Policy Studies is a forum for debate about EU-related issues. CEPS conducts research and hosts a world-wide network of partners: 

CEPS

European Commission Library

Search for documents related to the Commission, including plans, papers, studies, leaflets and more:

European Commission Publications

Publications Office of the European Union

The mission of the Publications Office is to support EU policies as a centre for information, data and knowledge management, and ensure public access to general information from the EU in order to encourage transparency, efficiency and knowledge dissemination:

EU publications

Historical Archives of the European Union

The Historical Archives of the European Union preserves and… archives deposited by EU institutions in accordance with the 30-year rule for access to archive material. The archive also collects and preserves papers from individuals, movements, and international organizations involved in European integration:

Historical Archives of the European Union

National Board of Trade

The National Board of Trade is a Swedish government agency for international trade, the EU internal market and trade policy. Its mission is to facilitate free and open trade with transparent rules as well as free movement in the EU internal market:

National Board of Trade Sweden

OECD iLibrary

At OECD iLibrary, you can access papers, prognoses, e-books, journals, statistics and other information published by the OECD. All material is available to read online, but not all content is available for downloading. Via the following link, you can access all material related to the European Union:

OECD iLibrary European Union 

Glossaries

The Glossary In EUR-Lex lists concepts connected to the EU:

Glossary of summeries

The website EU Vocabularies provides access to terminologies, schedules, ontologies, data models etc. managed by EU institutions:

EU Vocabularies

Interactive Terminology for Europe (IATE) is EU’s terminology management system. It has been used by EU institutions and agencies since summer 2004 for collecting, disseminating and managing EU-specific terminology. The project was launched in 1999 with the purpose to provide a web-based infrastructure for all resources:

IATE

The Publications handbook contains regulations and agreements regarding written communication for all EU institutions and bodies:

Publications handbook

Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies (SIEPS)

SIEPS is a government agency producing research-based analyses of European politics:

Swedish Institute for European Policy Studies

The Swedish Network for European Legal Studies

The Swedish Network for European Legal Studies (SNELS) represents the legal branch of the Swedish Networks for European Research (in economy, social science and law):

The Swedish Network for European Legal Studies

Statistics

Eurobarometer

Eurobarometer is the polling instrument used by the European Commission, the European Parliament and other EU institutions and agencies to monitor regularly the state of public opinion in Europe on issues related to the European Union as well as attitudes on subjects of political or social nature. Eurobarometer provides quality and relevant data for experts in public opinion, researchers, media and the public:

Eurobarometer

Eurostat

Eurostat is the statistical office of the European Union:

Eurostat

Statistics Sweden:

SCB

OECD iLibrary Statistics

Statistical databases published by the OECD (the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) in a wide spectrum of subjects: economics, technology, taxing, commerce, education, employment, demographics, energy, and the environment. All content can be accessed online but all content is not available for downloading:

OECD iLibrary Statistics

The World Bank

The World Bank Open Data provides access to global development data and is designed to make data from the World Bank easy to locate, download and use. Searchable by indicators, countries and subjects:

World Bank Open Data

European Union statistics from the World Bank

World Trade Organization-WTO

The World Trade Organization (WTO) handles global agreements on trade. This web portal provides access to a selection of key databases with statistics and information about various WTO measures relating to international trade:

The European Unionen and the WTO

Contact info and EDC librarian