Fact Sheets 1999-2002

          Information to the reader
1.       How the European Community works
2.       Citizens' Europe
3.       The single market
4.       Common policies
5.       Economic and monetary union
6.       The Union's external relations


  1. HOW THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY WORKS
    1. Historical bases of European integration
      1. The first Treaties
      2. Developments up to the Single European Act
      3. The Maastricht and Amsterdam Treaties: prospects for the European Union
    2. Main characteristics of the Community legal system
      1. Sources and scope of Community law
      2. The principle of subsidiarity
    3. European Union institutions and bodies
      1. The European Parliament: historical background
      2. The European Parliament: powers
      3. The European Parliament: organisation and operation
      4. The European Parliament: electoral procedures
      5. The European Parliament: relations with the national parliaments
      6. The Council
      7. The European Council
      8. The Commission
      9. The Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance
      10. The Court of Auditors
      11. The Economic and Social Committee
      12. The Committee of the Regions
      13. The European Investment Bank
      14. The European Ombudsman
    4. Decision-making procedures
      1. Supranational decision-making procedures
      2. Intergovernmental decision-making procedures
      3. The budgetary procedure
    5. Financing
      1. The Community's revenue and expenditure
      2. Implementation of the Community budget
      3. Budgetary control
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  2. CITIZENS' EUROPE
    1. 1. Respect for fundamental rights in the EU - general development (1 file)
      2. The Charter of fundamental rights(1 file)
    2. The citizens of the Union and their rights (1 file)
    3. Freedom of movement for persons (1 file)
    4. Voting rights and eligibility (1 file)
    5. EU citizens' right of petition (1 file)
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  3. THE SINGLE MARKET
    1. Principles and general completion of the internal market (1 file)
    2. The main freedoms of the single market
      1. Free movement of goods
      2. Freedom of movement for workers
      3. Freedom of establishment and provision of services and mutual recognition of diplomas
      4. The free movement of capital
    3. Rules on competition
      1. Competition policy and concerted practices
      2. Abuse of a dominant position and investigation of mergers
      3. State aid
      4. Public undertakings and services of general interest
    4. Approximation of legislation
      1. Opening up public contracts
      2. Company law
      3. Banking, insurance and securities
      4. Intellectual, industrial and commercial property
      5. Value added tax (VAT)
      6. Excise duties: alcohol and tobacco
      7. The taxation of energy
      8. Personal and company taxation
      9. Fiscal policy and taxation
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  4. COMMON POLICIES
    1. Common agricultural policy
      1. The Treaty of Rome and Green Europe
      2. Reform of the CAP
      3. Agricultural markets policy - common organisations of the market (COMs) - general concept
      4. bis Common organisations of the market (COMs)
      5. EAGGF - Guarantee section
      6. Socio-structural agricultural policy
      7. External agricultural policy: agricultural agreements under GATT/WTO
      8. The agricultural implications of enlargement
      9. The CAP in figures
    2. Common fisheries policy
      1. Blue Europe: principles and instruments
      2. Fisheries resources policy
      3. Fisheries structural policy
      4. International fisheries relations
      5. Fisheries policy in figures
    3. Forestry policy (1 file)
    4. Regional policy
      1. Economic and social cohesion
      2. The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
      3. The Cohesion Fund
    5. Transport policy
      1. Transport policy: general principles
      2. Inland transport: market access and competition
      3. Inland transport: traffic and safety regulations
      4. Inland transport: harmonization of legislation
      5. Air transport: market access
      6. Air transport: competition and fares
      7. Air transport: air-traffic and safety rules
      8. Sea transport: access to the market and competition
      9. Sea transport: traffic and safety rules
    6. Trans-European networks
      1. Definition of trans-European networks
      2. Financing the trans-European networks
    7. Industrial policy
      1. General principles of EU industrial policy
      2. Steel industry
      3. Shipbuilding
      4. The automobile industry
      5. The chemical and pharmaceutical industry
      6. The aerospace industry
      7. Telecommunications
      8. The audiovisual industry
      9. New industrial technologies
    8. Social and employment policy
      1. Social and employment policy - general principles
      2. The European Social Fund
      3. Employment policy
      4. Social security for migrant workers
      5. Health and safety at work
      6. Social dialogue - information, consultation and participation of workers
      7. Equality for men and women
      8. Disabled persons, the elderly and the excluded
    9. Environment policy
      1. Environment policy: general principles
      2. Air pollution
      3. Water pollution
      4. Treatment of waste
      5. Noise
      6. Dangerous substances and technologies
      7. Nature conservation
    10. Consumer protection and public health
      1. Consumer policy: principles and instruments
      2. Consumer protection measures
      3. Public health
    11. Cooperation in justice and internal affairs
      1. Justice and home affairs: general aspects
      2. Judicial cooperation
      3. Police and customs cooperation
    12. Energy policy (1 file)
    13. Policy for research and technological development (1 file)
    14. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) (1 file)
    15. Tourism (1 file)
    16. Education, vocational training and youth policy (1 file)
    17. Cultural policy (1 file)
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  5. ECONOMIC AND MONETARY UNION
    1. The historical development of monetary integration (1 file)
    2. The EMS and the ECU (1 file)
    3. The stages of economic and monetary union (1 file)
    4. The institutions of economic and monetary union (1 file)
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  6. THE UNION'S EXTERNAL RELATIONS
    1. Common foreign and security policy (CFSP)
      1. Foreign policy: aims, instruments and achievements
      2. Defending human rights
      3. Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) and the WEU
    2. External trade and economic policy
      1. The European Union as a trade power
      2. The European Union and the World Trade Organization (WTO/GATT)
    3. Relations with certain countries or regions
      1. The problem posed by enlargement of the Union
      2. The European Economic Area (EEA)
      3. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe
      4. The new independent states of the former Soviet Union
      5. The Northern Mediterranean countries
      6. Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries: Maghreb and Mashreq
      7. The United States of America and Canada
      8. Latin America
      9. Gulf States
      10. Japan
      11. China
      12. SAARC - The countries of South Asia
      13. ASEAN and other countries of South-East Asia
      14. Australia and New Zealand
    4. General development aid policy
      1. A general survey of development policy
      2. The Community's generalized system of preferences (GSP)
      3. Financial and technical aid
      4. Humanitarian aid
      5. Food aid and food security
      6. The special arrangements for the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, from the Yaoundé and Lomé Conventions to the Cotonou Agreement