Pan European Organisations

Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
http://www.osce.org
The OSE has 56 million members across all European nations states, the former states of the Sowjet union, the US and Canada. The OSCE aims at securing pease as well as reconstruction after conflicts. The organisation considers itself as a stabilising factor of the European Community.

Council of Europe
http://www.coe.int/defaultEN.asp
The Council of Europe has been founded in 1949 and counts therefore as the oldest supranational political institution on the European continent. It is concerned with the promotion of a general cooperation among member states to promote economic and social development. The European Council acts independently from the European Union.

European Court of Human Rights
http://www.echr.coe.int
The European Court of Human Rights is an international court based in Strasbourg. It consists of a number of judges equal to the number of member States of the Council of Europe that have ratified the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms – currently forty-seven. The Court’s judges sit in their individual capacity and do not represent any State. In dealing with applications, the Court is assisted by a Registry consisting mainly of lawyers from all the member States (who are also known as legal secretaries). They are entirely independent of their country of origin and do not represent either applicants or States.

Data on Europe

Eurobarometer
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm or https://www.gesis.org/eurobarometer-data-service/home
The Eurobarometer is a public survey commissioned by the European Commission on a regular basis in all European countries. Questions fundamental to the European Union are investigated such as: the social situation, health, culture, information technology, environmental issues, the Euro, defense and the opinion of the European public on the EU expansion

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - Statistics Portal
www.oecd.org/statistics
The Statistics Portal provides statistics needed for the analysis of economic and social development of its member countries.

Eurostat
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu
Eurostat is the Statistical Office of the European Communities. Its task is to provide the European Union with statistics at European level. By harmonising statistics from the Europen statistical system (ESS) to a single methodology, the statistics are made comparable. You may also consult the Eurostat Yearbook under http://www.eds-destatis.de/de/publications/detail.php?f=a&th=&k=1&dok=1353.

European Environment Agency
http://www.eea.europa.eu
The European Environment Agency (EEA) is an agency of the European Union. Our task is to provide sound, independent information on the environment. We are a major information source for those involved in developing, adopting, implementing and evaluating environmental policy, and also the general public. Currently, the EEA has 32 member countries.

European System of Social Indicators
https://www.gesis.org/en/services/data-analysis/social-indicators/european-system-of-social-indicators
The research of constructing and implementing the European System of Social Indicators aims to develop a theoretically as well as methodologically well-grounded set of measurement dimensions and indicators to be used for a continuous monitoring of the quality of life and societies across Europe.

European Social Survey
http://www.europeansocialsurvey.org
The ESS is an academically-driven social survey designed to chart and explain the interaction between Europe's changing institutions and the attitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns of its diverse populations.

Ifo's Database for Institutional Comparisons in Europe (DICE)
http://www.cesifo.de/dice
The Ifo's data-base provides systematic information on institutions and regulations related to the economic life in 25 member states of the EU and other important industrial nations. It also shows the impact of several regulations on the economy.

Luxembourg Income Study
http://www.lisproject.org
The Luxembourg Income Study is a non-profit cooperative research project with a membership that includes 30 countries on four continents: Europe, America, Asia and Oceania. It mainly provides income, demographic, labour market and expenditure information on three different levels: household, person and child. Other surveys provide detailed information on areas like job search, employment characteristics, comparable occupations, investment in education, migration, etc.

GESIS
http://www.gesis.org/en/services
As the largest infrastructure facility in Germany, GESIS provides a variety of services related to the social sciences. It provides the scientific community with a broad spectrum of reliable services which, along with search tools and consultations on any topic, also comprises custom-made and detailed specialist information and services.

World Values Survey
http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org
The World Values Survey is an ongoing academic project by social scientists to assess the state of sociocultural, religious and political values of different cultures around the world. Its data are freely available from the website.

International Social Survey Programme (ISSP)
http://www.issp.org
The ISSP is a continuing annual programme of cross-national collaboration on surveys covering topics important for social science research. It brings together pre-existing social science projects and coordinates research goals, thereby adding a cross-national, cross-cultural perspective to the individual national studies.

Institutes with a European Research Profil

Center for Applied Policy Research Munich (CAP)
http://www.cap-lmu.de/english/index.php
The Center for Applied Policy Research is the largest university-based institution in Germany for political advising on European and international issues.

european forum for migration studies (efms)
http://www.efms.uni-bamberg.de/ins_e.htm
The efms is concerned with the institutionalisation of migration and integration research in Germany and Europe.

european consortium for sociological research (ecsr)
http://www.ecsrnet.eu
ECSR's purpose is to promote sociological research in Europe, in particular by encouraging co-operation between research centres. Membership is open to research institutes and University Departments in all European countries.

The Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University (CES)
http://www.ces.fas.harvard.edu
The Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies is dedicated to fostering the study of European history, politics and society at Harvard. The Center sustains America's knowledge base about Europe, an important contribution to international understanding in difficult times.

Mannheim Center for European Social Research (MZES)
http://www.mzes.uni-mannheim.de/homepage_e.html
The Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES) is an interdisciplinary research institute of the University of Mannheim. In close association with the Department of Social Sciences it has dedicated itself since its founding in 1989 to the investigation of political and societal developments in Europe. Its foci are on comparative research on Europe and an exploration of the European integration process.

Center for European Integration Studies (ZEI)
https://www.zei.uni-bonn.de
The Center for European Integration Studies is a research institute at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University in Bonn. It was founded in 1995. Since then, the institute has engaged in future-oriented research, political consultancy, events that link science with its practical application, innovative concepts of post graduate studies and advanced education. Thus, ZEI contributes to finding solutions to unsolved issues of the European Integration and the shaping of Europe’s international role.

Institute for European Politics (IEP)
http://iep-berlin.de/en
Since its founding in 1959 the Institute for European Politics has been a nonprofit organisation dedicated to the study of European integration. It is one of the first foreign and European policy research centres in the Federal Republic of Germany and serves as a forum for exchange between academia, politics, administration and political education.

European Sociological Association
http://www.europeansociology.org/
The European Sociological Association (ESA) aims to facilitate sociological research, teaching and communication on European issues, and to give sociology a voice in European affairs. ESA is an academic association of sociologists and a non-profit Europe-wide association made up of over 700 members. It was established in the early 1990s, following deliberations and consultations among sociologists from a diverse range of countries.

European Union – Institutions

The European Union
http://europa.eu

European Parliament
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/portal/en
The European Parliament is one of the five main bodies of the European Union.It is the only directly-elected body of the European Union. The 785 Members of the European Parliament are there to represent you, the citizen. They are elected once every five years by voters right across the 27 Member States of the European Union on behalf of its 492 million citizens.

The European Council
http://europa.eu/european_council
The European Council gathers together the Heads of State or Government of the Member States of the European Union and the President of the Commission. It came into being in 1974 and was given formal status by the Single European Act. Its members are assisted by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and by a Member of the Commission. The European Council meets at least once every six months under the chairmanship of the Head of State or Government of the Member State which holds the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, which rotates twice a year. In practice, the European Council meets at least four times a year, and special European Councils are also organised. Since 2000, in accordance with the Lisbon strategy, the March Council addresses economic, social and environmental issues. Presidency conclusions are published after each meeting.

Council of the European Union
https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/institutions-bodies/council-eu_en
The Council is the main decision-making body of the European Union. The ministers of the Member States meet within the Council. Depending on the issue of the agenda, each country will be represented by the minister responsible for that subject.

European Commission
http://ec.europa.eu/
The European Commission is the main executive body of the European Union. It also suggests politcal measures and programs. The Commission is an independent supranational institution of the European Union.

Committee of the Regions
http://www.cor.europa.eu/
The Committee of the Regions is a politcal assembly which represents the local and regional communities within the European Union.

European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
http://eesc.europa.eu
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is a consultative body that gives representatives of Europe's socio-occupational interest groups, and others, a formal platform to express their points of views on EU issues. Its opinions are forwarded to the larger institutions - the Council, the Commission and the European Parliament. It thus has a key role to play in the Union's decision-making process.

The Court of Justice of the European Communities (CURIA)
http://curia.europa.eu
The Court of Justice of the European Communities is the judical institution of the European Community and made up of three courts: the Court of Justice, the Court of First Instance and the Civil Service Tribunal. Their main task is to examine the legality of Community measures and ensure the uniform interpretation and application of Community law.

European Union – Treaties

Documents and Texts on the European Community and the European Union
https://europa.eu/european-union/documents-publications/official-documents_en
From this page you can access the basic legal texts on which the European Union and the European Communities are founded: the founding Treaties (original versions and later updatings), the amending Treaties, the Accession Treaties for each of the six enlargements, plus other essential documents.

Consolidated Version of the Treaty establishing the European Community
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/collection/eu-law/treaties.html
The treaty is part of the Treaty of Rome. It was originally signed by representatives of Belgium, West Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands on 25 March 1957 in Rome.

Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/collection/eu-law/treaties.html
The treaty (also called Maastricht Treaty) has been signed on 7 February 1992 in Maastricht by the European Council. It represents the most far reaching level of European integration until now. 

Treaty of Nice
http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-03-23_en.htm
The Treaty of Nice includes amends the Treaty on the European Union, the Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts. It has been signed on 11 December 2002 by the members of the European Council in Nice.

Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/JOHtml.do?uri=OJ:C:2004:310:SOM:EN:HTML
The treaty was supposed to present the European Union with an uniform structure and entity. After a first draft in summer 2003 it had been offically signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome and was supposed to come into effect on 1 November 2006. Unfortunately this process was interrupted by the negative results of referenda in France and the Netherlands. In consequence, the European Council, during the EU summit in Brussels (June 2006), decided on a one year "pause for reflection". The process of ratification had therefore been delayed until today.

Treaty of Lisbon
http://www.lisbon-treaty.org/wcm/the-lisbon-treaty.html
The Treaty of Lisbon has been a compromise of efforts to establish a constitution for Europe. It is amending the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community and has been signed at Lisbon, 13 December 2007.