Posted on 28 May 2018
The European Parliament’s Official Acts, mainly illustrating European Union interinstitutional relations, are now available to researchers at the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU).
Following their transfer from the European Parliament to Florence, 2.420 new files are being opened to the research community giving them access to two types of records: International agreements and European legislation.
The fonds includes agreements signed by the European Council (1953-2004) relating to the institutions of the European Communities and subsequently the European Union, such as trade agreements, internal agreements, joint declarations, Council recommendations and resolutions. They are organised chronologically by year.
International agreements are used to help the EU achieve its strategic goals. They may cover broad areas, such as trade, cooperation and development, or address specific areas of action such as textiles, fisheries, customs, transport, science and technology. In addition to providing insight into these topics, the agreements also inform researchers on the activities of the EU council, EU parliament, as well as the actions of international organisations such as the World Trade Organisation and the United Nations.
The fonds also comprise European legislation, a collection of original directives and regulations from the time period between 1985 and 2004. The legislation is divided into two categories: ‘primary’ and ‘secondary’. Primary legislation includes all the treaties which are the basis for EU action, while secondary legislation covers all the regulations, directives and decisions which are derived from the principles and objectives set out in these treaties.
The inventory of this fonds can be accessed here.