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Information and resources for the study of the European Union. An organization that unites 27 European countries through common laws, economics, and security.
Carleton University is home to the Centre for European Studies (CES)
A Brief History
- The history of the European Union
- Archive of European Integration (AEI)
- Historical Archives of the European Commission
- Centre Virtuel de la Connaissance sur l'Europe Historical and institutional evolution of Europe from 1945 to the present.
- Chaillot Papers
- European Integration History Index
- Historical Archives of the European Communities
- History of the European Union
Learn the Basics
- Europa - the official website of the European Union.
- A Dictionary of the European Union
- The European Union
- The handbook of European defense policies and armed forces
- The European Union and Global Governance
- European Union Politics
- Europe from A to Z guide to European integration
- The European Union--how does it work?
- The Oxford Handbook of the European Union
- Understanding the European Union : a concise introduction
Treaties
- EUR-Lex Treaties listings
- Founding agreements
- Official Journal - consolidated versions of the treaties, with incorporated changes, through the Treaty of Lisbon
- European Union Legal Materials: An Infrequent User’s Guide (GlobaLex)
Country Information
An analytical database of worldwide economic indicators and forecasts, providing more than 300 series on 150 countries and 45 regional aggregates, running from 1980 and forward to 2005.
Covers key historical events, population, city profiles, social statistics, climate, recent elections, current leaders, defence, international relations, economy, energy and natural resources, industry, international trade, religion, culture, and diplomatic representatives.
From the EU
- EU Newsroom
- European Delegation to Canada Press & Media
- European Commission: Press Corner
- European Parliament: News and Think Tank briefings
About the EU & Europe
- EURACTIV - A media network collecting news from a variety of organizations in various European capitals, in multiple languages, related to the European Union.
- EUobserver - An independent online newspaper based in Brussels covering EU news.
- POLITICO Europe - International news from a European perspective.
- EUTube Video campaigns and relevant information about policies on Europe
- BBC News: Europe
- European Sources Online (ESO) information service
- ENDSEurope -Environmental news and information specific to Europe.
Consult the News Guide for details on additional news sources
- Eurostat -Website for the statistical office of the EU.
- European Values Study -A cross-national study repeated occasionally from 1981-2017 with data about family, politics, work and leisure, environment, religion and morality, and national identity for adult citizens in Europe.
- Eurobarometer -Public opinion polls conducted twice yearly by the EU
- European Parliament Legislative Observatory (OEIL)
- European Quality of life surveys
- European Asylum Support Office
- European Health for All Database (HFA-DB)
- European Drug Report
- European working conditions surveys
- Gender Equality Index
- Statistical Data Warehouse (European Central Bank)
- Paris21 - The Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century
- European Parliamentary Research Service is blogging statistical spotlights
- Index to international statistics
- International historical statistics : Europe, 1750-1993
- EU Open Data Portal - Access to open data published by EU institutions and bodies
- UN data
- World Bank data
- IMF Data
- OECD Statistics portal
European Union Resources
- EUR-Lex Provides access to EU law, other public documents, and the Official Journal of the EU.
- N-Lex - European Union national law
- Curia - Case-law search engine from the European Court of Justice
- European Law Monitor -Non-political, not-for-profit, information service that provides citizens and organizations across Europe with information on the European Union
- eu-LISA - large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice
- European Council on Foreign Relations is a pan-European think-tank
- European Foreign Policy scorecard
- EDRi papers (European Digital Rights)
- Europol - the European Union’s law enforcement agency
- FRONTEX is the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the European Union
- Centre for European Policy Studies: think tank and forum for debate on EU affairs
- Foundation Robert Schuman
European Union Institutions
- European Council - sets the EU's overall political direction.
Law Making
- European Parliament: represents the EU’s citizens and is directly elected by them.
- Council of the European Union: represents the governments of the individual member countries.
- European Commission: represents the interests of the Union as a whole.
- Court of Justice of the EU upholds the rule of European law.
- Court of Auditors checks the financing of the EU's activities.
Single Currency
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European Central BankThe central bank for Europe's single currency: the euro.
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The €uroEuropean Central Bank's page with links to all sorts of information about the euro, including educational games and interactive displays.
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European Economic and Social Committee"The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a consultative body that gives representatives of Europe's socio-occupational interest groups and others, a formal platform to express their points of views on EU issues. Its opinions are forwarded to the Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament. It thus has a key role to play in the Union's decision-making process."
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European Committee of the Regions (CoR)The Eu's assembly of regional and local representatives.
Interinstitutional Bodies
- European Central Bank is responsible for European monetary policy.
- European External Action Service (EEAS) assists the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, currently Federica Mogherini.
- European Economic and Social Committee represents civil society, employers and employees.
- Committee of the Regions represents regional and local authorities.
- European Investment Bank finances EU investment projects.
- European Ombudsman investigates complaints about maladministration by EU institutions and bodies.
- European Data Protection Supervisor safeguards the privacy of people’s personal data.
- Publications Office publishes information about the EU.
- European Personnel Selection Office recruits staff for the EU institutions and other bodies.
- European School of Administration provides training in specific areas for members of EU staff.
There are over 40 other specialized agencies and decentralized bodies that are part of the EU.
The listing below are the websites of major EU institutions:
- Committee of the Regions
- Council of the European Union
- European Court of Justice
- European Economic and Social Committee
- European Agencies and other EU Bodies
- European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
- European Central Bank
- European Commission
- European Investment Bank
- European Ombudsman
- European Parliament
- Europol
- European integration online Portal
The EUR-Lex database provides free access to the following:
- The Official Journal of the European Union
- EU law (EU treaties, directives, regulations, decisions, consolidated legislation, etc.)
- Preparatory acts (legislative proposals, reports, green and white papers, etc.)
- EU case-law (judgements, orders, etc.)
- International agreements
- EFTA (European Free Trade Association) documents
Libraries:
- Libraries of EU institutions and Digital libraries
- European Parliamentary Research Service
- Europeana: source of cultural heritage
- Archives Portal Europe: information on archival institutions throughout the continent
The Run Up to the Referendum
In February of 2015 the Council of the European Union agreed to a proposal that it hoped would keep the UK in the EU.
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Brexit: OverviewA timeline with various activities related to the Referendum and vote
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European Union Referendum Act 2015History of the Bill to authorize the EU Referendum, that was passed in December 2015. Includes links to debates around the bill's passage.
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Outcome of the European Council of 18-19 February 2016 [PDF]Details the legally binding agreement reached with David Cameron at the Council meeting. This agreement would have gone into effect if the vote to Remain had passed.
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The future of the European Union: UK Government policy [PDF]2013 paper from the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs to Parliament outlining some of the issues.
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Northern Ireland and the EU Referendum inquiryDiscussion of the impact a leave vote would have on Northern Island. From the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee in in the UK Parliament.
The Referendum
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EU ReferendumInformation about the Referendum of May 23, 2016 from the UK government
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EU Referendum ResultsFull results from the BBC.
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HM Treasury analysis: the long-term economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives [PDF]UK Treasury (under Cameron) analysis of long term impacts UK withdrawal from the EU.
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HM Treasury analysis: the immediate economic impact of leaving the EU (Archived)Analysis of the short term economic impact of leaving from Cameron's Treasury.
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"The EU Referendum" now says "EU referendum" / "Referendum Results" now says "EU Referendum Results" / "HM Treasury analysis: the long-term economic impact of EU membership and the alternatives" automatically downloads as a PDF / "HM Treasury analysis: thUk Government's argument to remain within the EU
What the referendum means
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Background to the UK's EU referendum 2016From the UK Parliament's Library, this site has links to a number of briefing papers that outline the potential impact in a wide variety of areas, including: taxes, financial services, and pensions.
The Party Positions
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Why Vote LeaveHome page of the those supporting exiting the EU
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UKIP | Save BritainOne of the main parties advocating exit from the EU.
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Press Releases [Labour]Press releases from the party some of which deal with the Brexit.
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EU referendum: Full transcript of David Cameron's last-ditch plea for Britain to RemainTranscript of the speech by the Prime Minister on June 21st just before the referendum.
Other Views
Below are a handful of think tanks and universities who have extensive coverage of Brexit. They are just a starting point. Be sure to search further on these websites for additional studies.
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BrookingsTheir page devoted to research on the European Union, with coverage of Brexit.
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Centre for European ReformBased in London, this think tank has extensive coverage of Brexit and it's potential consequences.
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CER - Centre for European Reform/Open Society European Policy InstituteThis think tank describes itself as "pro-Europe but not uncritical". Lots of good info on the Brexit.
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Chatham HouseAn International Affairs think tank based in Great Britain. Their European Union page has considerable coverage of Brexit.
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Council on Foreign Relations Brexit ResourcesA view from this side of the Atlantic. Use their search function to locate additional resources at CFR
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Topic: Brexit [IISS]As one of the premier international think tanks, IISS has pulled together a collection of material on the impact of the Brexit vote.
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LSE Research Online [London School of Economics and Political Science]High quality scholarly papers from LSE. Check out their main website as well.
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One hundred years of British solitude: Magical thinking about Brexit and securityFrom the European Council on Foreign Relations.
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United Kingdom: Selected Issues [from IMF]An International Monetary Fund assessment of the UK economy as of June 1, 2016. Addresses the potential impacts of a Brexit.
Leaving the EU
Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union, allows any member state to withdraw from the Union.
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Article 50 TEU: Withdrawal of a Member State from the EU [PDF]A briefing report from the European Parliament on process of withdrawing from the EU.
Immediate Reactions
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[PM] David Cameron's EU speech - full textTranscript from The Guardian.
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Boris Johnson Op-edOp-ed by a leading proponent of the Leave Campaign prior to becoming the next Prime Minister. Registration [free] required to view complete article.
