UCF Research Guides: European Union (EU): Laws & Legislation

European Union Law: An Integrated Guide to Electronic and Print Resources

European Union Law: An Integrated Guide to Electronic and Print Resources
A comprehensive guide to European Union institutions and lawmaking, as well as a thorough review of available print and online resources

Essential European Union Law Websites

EU Law
EU legislation is divided into primary and secondary. The treaties (primary legislation) are the basis or ground rules for all EU action.

Legislation Bodies & Policy Sites

Council of the European Union
Proposes legislation to both Parliament and the Council, administers and implements Community policies, enforces Community law (jointly with the Court of Justice) and negotiates international agreements.
EU Treaties
Site dedicated to keeping track of EU Treaties.
EurActiv
Based on independency and close mutual co-operation, the EurActiv Network delivers localised EU policy information in 15 languages, reaching readers across Europe and beyond.
EuroLex
EUR-Lex provides free access to European Union law and other documents considered to be public. The contents of the site amount to some 2 815 000 documents with texts dating back to 1951.
European Commission
Proposes legislation to both Parliament and the Council, administers and implements Community policies, enforces Community law (jointly with the Court of Justice) and negotiates international agreements.
COURT OF JUSTICE OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Consisting of 1 judge from each EU country, assisted by 8 advocates-general, the Court supervises uniform interpretation and application of EU law.
European Parliment
European Parliment AudioVisual
From news coverage to live internet streaming, from managing EP audiovisual facilities to supporting AV journalists covering Parliament activities from outside or within, while also providing both content and technical services.
Parlimentary Questions
A database of questions from the Parliament to the Council and the Commission: searchable by author, political group, etc.
Policies and activities of the European Union
This site, which may be accessed through the EUROPA portal, provides many direct links to EU policy topic areas as well as ample information on grants and funding.
Summaries of Legislation
Presents the main aspects of European Union legislation in a concise, easy-to-read and unbiased way. It provides approximately 3 000 summaries of European legislation, divided into 32 subject areas corresponding to the activities of the European Union.

Backgrounds RSS Feed

Produced by the European Parliament’s press service, background notes provide a detailed explanation of the main subjects that will be discussed in Parliament, generally the key stages in the production of a report.

Treaties & International Agreements

European Union Legal Materials
For more information on Treaties & International Agreements, please consult our extensive research Guide.

RSS Feed of Weekly Briefings

This feed presents the key items of Parliament's activities in the upcoming week such as committee meetings, public hearings, visits, etc. The agenda is presented by the EP spokespersons and the briefing ends with a question and answer session.