'Keeping the lights on' might seem like a flippant cliché to some, but it is a serious business for those tasked with making sure there is enough electricity to go round over the next century or so. Read More

The eurozone crisis refers to the on-going financial difficulties within the euro area which were precipitated by the collapse of the global economy in 2008 and exacerbated by the record budget deficits of certain individual member states.Read More

An overview of the role played by British Embassies, High Commissions and Consulates.Read More

Since the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community under the Treaty of Paris in 1951, no member state has ever left the European Union or its predecessor bodies.Read More

What is EU enlargement? European Union (EU) enlargement describes the process of admitting new member states to join the EU. Since ‘the six’ (Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) signed the Treaty of Paris in 1951, creating the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the EU has successfully enlarged on six occasions: 1973,...Read More

By Jonathan Moore The Election The European elections this year represent the largest trans-national elections in history. From the 27 member states of the European Union (EU) 736 MEPs will be elected by an electorate of more than 500 million over a period of three days between June 4-7. In the UK, elections are traditionally...Read More

The European parliament (EP) is the world’s largest multinational parliamentary body, representing over 456 million citizens. It was originally constituted as the assembly of the ECSC, adopting the title ‘European parliament’ in 1962. As well as exercising an increasingly important legislative and supervisory role, the EP functions as the primary source of democratic authority and...Read More

The European Commission was created by the 1967 Merger Treaty, replacing the 'High Authorities' that administered the ECSC, EURATOM and the early EEC. The European Commission is sometimes called the civil service of the EU, but it is also sometimes called the government of the EU. This seemingly paradoxical situation stems from the unusual position...Read More

Early Day Motions (universally known in Parliament as 'EDMs') are best thought of as petitions put forward by MPs on specific subjects. Other MPs are then invited to add their names in support.Read More

An overview of how Members of Parliament are elected, how elections and by-elections are called, and how the constituency system works.Read More

The Scottish parliament is made up of 129 elected MSPs, elected by the additional member system, a form of proportional representation. Each voter has two votes - one for a constituency and one for a member from a regional list.Read More

Executive Agencies now account for the majority of civil servants employed. Ministers set targets for Executive agencies, whose spending appears on the balance sheet of the sponsoring government department.Read More

The European Union is a supranational and international organisation that brings together 27 member states under a common system of law, established by a series of treaties. The member states are as follows: Belgium, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Italy, Netherlands, UK, Ireland, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,...Read More

The EU agreed to begin proceedings to admit a large number of new member states from Eastern and Central Europe in 1997, and the accession process began in 1998. Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia joined the EU on May 1st 2004. Whilst the EU had...Read More

Economic and monetary union (EMU) was a goal for the EU proclaimed as far back as the 1960s, but one which was not pursued with much vigour or success until the late 1980s, when the Single European Act added a chapter to the treaties formally setting the EU on the road to EMU. Not only...Read More

The principal objective of the EU – when first constituted as the EEC – was to make war in Europe impossible not only by developing a common system of law, but also by making the member states' economies completely interdependent. This has been pursued by the creation of a single market and subsequently the establishment...Read More

There are three sources of law within the EU legal system: 'Primary legislation' – the treaties and agreements of similar status 'Secondary legislation' – laws made under the powers established by the treaties Case law – the accumulated body of legal decisions built up by the European courts Together, this body of jurisprudence constitutes the...Read More

There are two European courts, which have the task of interpreting and enforcing EU law: the European Court of Justice and the European Court of the First Instance. Both are based in Luxembourg. These bodies should not be confused with the European Court of Human Rights, which is an arm of the Council of Europe,...Read More

The European Council brings together the heads of government of the member states and the Commission at least twice a year, and typically four times a year (twice per Presidency). As such, each meeting of the European Council is often referred to as a 'Summit' or simply 'Council' – in conjunction with the name of...Read More