European Union information

Last revised July 03, 2024

In 1993, the Maastricht Treaty changed the name of the European Economic Community to the European Community.  The Treaty introduced the concept of European citizenship, reinforced the powers of the European Parliament and launched economic and monetary union. It also added inter-governmental co-operation to the existing "Community" system, thus creating the European Union (EU). 

The EU consists of three pillars: the European Communities, Common Foreign and Security Policy, and police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters.

The Maastricht Treaty was amended by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997 and the Treaty of Nice in 2001.

On December 1, 2009, the Treaty of Lisbon came into force, and abolished the pillar structure, merging the Community pillar with the others into a single European Union. The Treaty of Lisbon amends the current EU and EC treaties, without replacing them.

The European Commission represents the general interest of the EU and is the driving force in proposing legislation (to Parliament and the Council), administering and implementing EU policies, enforcing EU law (jointly with the Court of Justice) and negotiating in the international arena.

There are three basic types of EU legislation: regulations, directives and decisions.

1. A regulation is similar to a national law with the difference that it is applicable in all EU countries.
2. Directives set out general rules to be transferred into national law by each country as they deem appropriate.
3. A decision only deals with a particular issue and specifically mentioned persons or organisations.

EU Treaties, the General Report on the Activities of the European Union, the Official Journal of the European Union, Summaries of EU Legislation, Access to European Union Law, Pre-Lex: the Database on Inter-Institutional Procedures and numerical access to case law can be found on the EU website.

A European Union Studies Citation Guide is available on the web.