European Documentation Centre

European Union

This article is part of a series on the politics and government of the European Union

Executive Juncker Commission President Juncker (EPP) Vice Presidents College Civil Service Secretary-General Day

Legislature Parliament President Schulz (S&D) Largest groups; EPP (Manfred Weber) S&D (Gianni Pittella) 8th session (2014-19) 751 MEPs Bureau Vice Presidents Quaestor Conference Legislative procedure EU Council Luxembourgish Presidency Configurations General Foreign Justice and Home Economic Euro Legislative procedure Voting Secretariat Secretary-General Uwe Corsepius Directorates-general COREPER

European Council President Tusk (EPP) Parties List of meetings

Judiciary Court of Justice Members Rulings General Court Civil Service Tribunal

Central Bank President Draghi ESCB Euro EMU Eurozone

Court of Auditors Budget OLAF

Other bodies Agencies Investment Bank CoR EESC Ombudsman National parliaments

Policies and issues Foreign relations High Representative Federica Mogherini Ext. Action Service Foreign Policy Defence Policy Customs Union Enlargement Budget Four Freedoms Economic Area Area of FS&J Schengen Area Policies Agricultural Energy Fisheries Regional Citizenship Identity Pro-Europeanism Euroscepticism Integration Supranationalism Federalism United States of Europe Multi-speed Opt-outs Enhanced co-op Withdrawal

Elections 1979, 1984, 1989 1994, 1999, 2004, 2009 2014 (last election) Political parties Constituencies Referendums

Law Acquis Primacy Subsidiarity Treaties Fundamental Rights Membership

A European Documentation Centre (EDC) is a body designated by the European Commission to collect and disseminate publications of the European Union for the purposes of research and education. There are 400 such centers in all member states of the EU.^[1] The mandate of an EDC is to receive all official EU publications, documents, contracts and electronic databases then make them available to researchers, educators, students, and interested members of the general public. The centers are also legal depositories of Acquis communautaire (EU law).^[2] Although primarily academic in nature, anyone can visit an EDC to consult official EU publications.

History and organisation

European Documentation Centres were founded in 1963 by the European Commission. They are predominantly located at universities, university libraries, affiliated academic institutions, and non-university research institutes, both public and private. EU policy is that at least one EDC should be located in each region of a European Union member state. Candidate states and other countries can also have a designated EDC, supported jointly with local university libraries and the European Commission.^[3][4] EDCs are distinct from European Information Centers (EIC), which are geared more to the general public and consumer affairs.

The official purpose of the centres is:^[1]

• Assist Universities and Institutes in education and research
• Contribute to the transparency of European decision-making
• Promote active debate on European policy and European integration
• Assist interested members of the public to learn about EU policies in more depth.

Function

The European Documentation Centres collect documents and publications that they receive from the various official institutions of the European Union. They also provide training and advice on the organisation and use of electronic information generated by EU institutions. EDCs also provide direct support to the academic staff and employees at universities and institutions in their research and teaching on European integration process.

Official EU Publications:^[5]

• • Proceedings of the European Commission
  • Official Journal of the European Union
  • European Union Contracts
  • Rulings of the European Court
  • Statistical publications of the Publishing Department (OPOCE)
  • Legislative Observatory of European Parliaments
  • Other official documents

Official EU Databases:

• CORDIS: The EU Research Information Service
• Curia: EU Jurisprudence
• EUR-Lex: EU legislation
• PreLex: Inter-institutional procedures
• Eurostat: European statistics
• SCADplus: Scadplus: EU Legislation
• Tenders Electronic Daily: EU contracts and procurement

See also

• German National Library of Economics (ZBW)
• Journal of the European Economic Association

References

External links

• EU Information Centres and Networks
• Searchable map of Documentation Centres
• CORDIS
• Curia
• Eurostat
• EurLex
• PreLex
• Scadplus
• TED
• Europe Direct - Europäische Dokumentationszentren

Administration of the European Commission Table of European Commission Directorates-General and Services DG = Directorate-General Civil Service Directorates-General Cabinets Comitology EPSO Civil Service Tribunal Policy DGs Agriculture and Rural Development Climate Action Communications Networks, Content and Technology Competition Economic and Financial Affairs Education and Culture Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Inclusion Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Environment Health and Food Safety Migration and Home Affairs Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union Joint Research Centre Justice and Consumers Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Regional and Urban Policy Research and Innovation Taxation and Customs Union Mobility and Transport Energy External DGs Service for Foreign Policy Instruments Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations Trade International Cooperation and Development Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection General Services Communication Eurostat OLAF Publications Secretariat-General Secretary-General Europe by Satellite Internal Services Budget European Political Strategy Centre Informatics Data Protection Officer Infrastructures and Logistics (Brussels & Luxembourg) Internal Audit Service Interpretation Legal Service PMO Human Resources and Security Translation Buildings Berlaymont Breydel Charlemagne Convent Van Maerlant Missions European Union portal Brussels portal