http://europa.eu.int/comm/index_en.htm is explained on the main EU web site, EUROPA , which includes information on: the EU institutions, information sources and contacts , EU flag and anthem, Europe Day, the EU's policies and official documents, e.g. White and Green Papers, press releases etc. Europa also contains an interesting website on " The Future of the European Union - Debate " , http://europa.eu.int/futurum/index_en.htm part of the process of discussion and exchange of ideas which will contribute to the preparation of a European Constitution.

Your Voice in Europe http://europa.eu.int/yourvoice/index_en.htm is a new web portal to make it easier for European citizens to make their voices heard in U policy making. The new site replaces the previous version with a one-stop shop in all eleven EU languages allowing the public, businesses and all other stakeholders to tell the Commission what they think about new policy initiatives.

EU Enlargement http://www.europe.org.uk/info/enlargement/default.asp - a new portal site focusing on enlargement and the UK

COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

http://ue.eu.int/cms3_fo/index.htm more commonly known as the Council of Ministers, is an institution that exercises legislative and decision-making powers. At the same time it is the forum in which the representatives of the governments of the15 Member States can assert their interests. Presidency of the Council is currently held by The Netherlands (from 1 July until 31 December 2004).

EUROPEAN CONVENTION

http://european-convention.eu.int/Default.asp?lang=EN&Content=
has been set up to consider key questions about the future development of the European Union and to identify possible answers. It brings together a wide range of governmental, parliamentary and other representatives. Its deliberations are in public, its documents will be made available to the wider public and there will be opportunities for interested organisations to provide input into its debate. See also the Forum site . This displays the contributions of all national and European organisations to the work of the Convention.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

http://www.europarl.eu.int/
comprises 626 members, directly elected in EU-wide elections for five-year terms. The European Parliament United Kingdom Office has its own web site: http://www.europarl.org.uk/index.htm

EUROPEAN COURT OF JUSTICE
http://curia.eu.int/ based in Luxembourg, ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied correctly by other EU institutions and by the Member States. Assisted by the Court of First Instance.

EUROPEAN COURT OF AUDITORS
http://www.eca.eu.int/ based in Luxembourg, is responsible for checking the sound financial management of the EU budget.

ECOSOC - ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE
http://www.esc.eu.int/ advises the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament on economic and social questions.

COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS
http://www.cor.eu.int/ advises the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament on issues relating to Europe's regions.

EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

http://www.ecb.int/home/html/index.en.html is responsible for monetary policy and the euro.

EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK

http://www.eib.org/ finances capital investment and furthers European integration by promoting EU economic policies.

EUROPEAN INVESTMENT FUND

http://www.eif.org/ was established as a joint venture by the EIB, the EU and private and public financial institutions from all 15 Member States. The EIF's objective is to support the integration of the Union by promoting medium and long-term investment in two fields essential to the development of the European economy: TENs (Trans-European Networks) and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises).

EUROPEAN OMBUDSMAN

http://www.europarl.eu.int/ombudsman/default.htm
Citizens of every Member State are both national and European citizens. One of their rights as European citizens is to apply to the Ombudsman if they are victims of an act of "maladministration" by the EU institutions or bodies.

EUROPEAN AGENCIES

http://europa.eu.int/agencies/index_en.htm
exist in the following fields: drugs and drug addiction; the environment; health and safety at work: evaluation of medicinal products; harmonisation (in the single market); the improvement of living and working conditions; reconstruction in the Balkans monitoring; racism and xenophobia; maritime and aviation safety; food safety; plant varieties; training and translation.

EUROPOL - EUROPEAN POLICE OFFICE

http://www.europol.eu.int/ Its website provides basic information on its role, press releases, annual reports, the text of its founding convention and links to national enforcement agencies.

OFFICE FOR OFFICIAL PUBLICATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

http://publications.eu.int/index_en.html

STATISTICAL OFFICE OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/

EU DATABASES

For general information on the range of databases, consult:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/archisplus/htdocs/en/htm/home.htm

For specific databases, look at the following:

- ARCHISplus

http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/archisplus/arcp_central.cfm?lng=en is the database of the historical archives of the European Commission: an online catalogue of files, speeches and studies that is free to consult.

- CELEX

http://europa.eu.int/celex/htm/celex_en.htm

is a comprehensive and authoritative information source on European Community law. It offers multilingual, full text coverage of a wide range of legal acts including the founding treaties, binding and non-binding legislation, opinions and resolutions issued by the EU Institutions and consultative bodies and the case law of the European Court of Justice. It also features hypertext links to subsequent modifying acts, earlier acts and to national legislation implementing Community directives. Special rates are available to academic institutions in EU Member States, as well as to organisations belonging to European Union information dissemination networks and relays (see EDCs below). Methods of payment include: subscription fees, pay-per-view and a fixed fee for individual searches.

- CORDIS

http://www.cordis.lu/en/home.html

is the Community Research and Development Information Service. It helps find projects, partners and results in your area.

- ECLAS
http://europa.eu.int/eclas/

is the European Commission Library Catalogue containing references to 170,000 titles on European Affairs from the last 20 years. It can now be searched via the Internet. You will be asked to register - an email address is required - but use of the catalogue is free.

- EUR-Lex

http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex

is a first step in bringing together in a streamlined environment the whole body of EU legal texts for online consultation. This online service is to a large extent free of charge. The portal, developed and managed by the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities (EUR-OP), offers integrated access to legal texts that can be found in the CELEX, EUR-Lex and Court of Justice's CURIA web sites. It also provides links to PreLex, the European Commission's database on inter-institutional procedures, and OEIL, the European Parliament's legislative observatory, as well as other legislative sites of the EU institutions and in the Member States.

Designed to cater to the needs of both professional and non-professional users, it offers harmonised search functions for all types of documents - the Official Journal, the Treaties, legislation in preparation, legislation, case law, parliamentary questions and documents of public interest. The portal aims to present legal data in a coherent, user-friendly way and also includes explanatory documents describing how EU legislation is drafted and who are the key players in the legislative process.

- EURODICAUTOM
http://europa.eu.int/eurodicautom/Controller is the online multilingual terminological database of the European Commission's Translation Service. Initially developed to assist in-house translators, it is today consulted freely by language professionals throughout the world. The database contains technical terms, abbreviations, acronyms and phraseology in twelve languages.

- IDEA
http://europa.eu.int/idea/en/index.htm

is an electronic database containing the directories of the various European Union institutions. Access is free.

- MARKET ACCESS DATABASE
http://mkaccdb.eu.int/ The EU launched a new market access strategy in February 1996 to make its trade policy more pro-active and to reflect the current needs of European exporters. The strategy established specific new tools, of which this database is foremost. Among the subjects covered are: sectoral and trade barriers, applied tariffs, and an exporters' guide to import formalities. Access is free.

- PRELEX
http://europa.eu.int/prelex/apcnet.cfm?CL=en is the partner database of Eur-Lex. It follows all Commission legislative proposals and communications, from the time they are sent to the Council or to the European Parliament until they are adopted, rejected or withdrawn. Links allow one to follow through to available electronic texts (COM documents, Official Journal, Bulletin of the European Union, documents of the European Parliament, press releases etc.). Access is free.

- RAPID

http://europa.eu.int/rapid/setLanguage.do?language=en provides a daily view of the activities of the European Union as presented by the Commission, the Council and other EU institutions in their press releases.

- SCADplus
http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/

is a bibliographical database containing references to more than 250,000 documents sorted into four sectors: Community legislation; official publications; articles from periodicals; and opinions from both sides of industry. Access is free.

- TAXATION AND CUSTOMS UNION DIRECTORATE-GENERAL http://europa.eu.int/comm/taxation_customs/databases/database.htm develops and operates several free databases in conjunction with Member States' Customs and Taxations Services. They include BTI (Binding Tariff Information), ECICS (European Customs Inventory of Chemical Substances), QUOTA (Tariff quotas and ceilings) and TARIC (Integrated Community Tariff).

- TED

http://ted.publications.eu.int/official/

Tenders Electronic Daily is now available free of charge. Containing European calls for tender published in the Official Journal Supplement S of the European Communities, TED is the one-stop official information source for up-to-date information on public procurement opportunities from the European Union, the European Economic Area and beyond.

Resources
Prime Minister's Statement - Trilateral Meeting Berlin February 2004

European Constitution Links