The European Documentation Centre is an EU library, archive and information centre in one. As a point of contact for science and the region, it provides documents, publications and other resources on the European Union (EU). In addition, the EDC researches, advises and informs on all EU-related topics.

Find out more about the EDC

Our services at a glance

  • Wide range of EU literature, media and resources.
  • Support and advice in finding detailed information on European policies and institutions, European law, integration, funding and grants.
  • Help with enquiries ranging from straightforward document searches to in-depth research on European topics, either online or print.
  • Compilation of documents and publications of the EU.
  • Contact details on relevant organisations.

Topics and events with EU relevance

From left: Simon Streib, Deputy Library Director, Denise André, Head of EDC, Prof. Dr. Thomas Stäcker, Library Director, Uwe Becker, Secretary of State for Europe, Dr. Andreas Winkler, Secretary General of Unite!
From left: Simon Streib, Deputy Library Director, Denise André, Head of EDC, Prof. Dr. Thomas Stäcker, Library Director, Uwe Becker, Secretary of State for Europe, Dr. Andreas Winkler, Secretary General of Unite!


The State Secretary for Europe, Uwe Becker, is visited the European Documentation Centre (EDC) at the ULB on 10 May.

Every year since 1911, women around the world have brought gender equality to public attention on International Women's Day.

Gender equality is also a fundamental principle of the European Union, but it is not yet a reality.

With the Gender equality strategy, the EU is pushing to accelerate gender equality, especially in the following areas:

  • Promoting equal economic independence for women and men,
  • closing the gender pay gap,
  • advancing gender balance in decision making,
  • ending gender based violence,
  • promoting gender equality beyond the EU.

Access to a wealth of data aligned with the main dimensions of the Gender Equality Strategy can be found at the Gender Equality Strategy Monitoring Portal.

Progress on gender equality in the EU and its Member States is reported in the 2022 Annual Report on Gender Equality.

To strengthen and promote gender equality across the EU, the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) was established in 2010.

On the EIGE website you will find information on gender equality, the Gender Equality Index and a gender statistics database.

Also at EUROSTAT – the statistical office of the European Union, there are statistics on gender equality, a gender equality database and the interactive edition of 'The life of women and men in Europe', which gives you information on different aspects of life, such as education, work and social habits.


Equal Pay Day and the gender pay gap

Equal pay for equal work for men and women is one of the European Union’s founding principles, enshrined in Article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The implementation and enforcement of this principle remain a challenge. Owing to a lack of pay transparency, pay discrimination often goes undetected, and victims face difficulties in making claims for redress.

The EU is tackling the gender pay gap from different angles. The aim is to promote the principle of equal pay by creating new legislation and monitoring its implementation.

Women in the EU earned on average 13% less per hour than men in 2020.
Still, there are huge differences between the EU countries:

On 4 March 2021, the European Commission adopted a legislative proposal on binding pay transparency measures. The proposed directive to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work, or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms, focuses on measures to ensure pay transparency and better access to justice for victims of pay discrimination.
You can see the current status of the procedure here.

The European Parliamentary Research Service (EPRS) has produced a detailed briefing on “Equal pay for equal work between men and women – pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms”.

The EU also monitors the correct transposition and enforcement of the Directive 2006/54/EC on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation and supports EU countries to properly implement existing rules. The Directive 2006/54/EC consolidated existing directives on gender equality in the field of employment together with the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.

Gender pay gap statistics can also be found at EUROSTAT – the statistical office of the European Union.

You can read about how the gender pay gap has developed in Hesse at the Hessian Wage Atlas of the Hessian Ministry of Social Affairs and Integration.

Citizens' Panel presents 23 recommendations for less food waste

The European Commission has organised a European Citizens' Panel where citizens could make suggestions on how to reduce food waste in the EU more. At the end of three weekends of consultations, the 142 citizens submitted 23 recommendations. They aim to strengthen ongoing efforts to reduce food waste – through more cooperation in the food value chain, promoting relevant initiatives in the food industry and supporting changes in consumer behaviour.

The recommendations of the Citizens' Panel on food waste will complement the impact assessment and open public consultation that the Commission is carrying out as part of the EU initiative to revise the Waste Framework Directive with binding targets for food waste reduction.

The reduction of waste, in particular food waste, is the subject of a legislative proposal in the Commission's 2023 Work Programme, in line with the Farm to Fork strategy and the proposals of the Conference on the Future of Europe.


Reactions of the EU Institutions

Feedback event in Brussels
On 2 December 2022, high-level representatives of the three institutions, the European Parliament, the Council of the EU and the European Commission, presented to citizens who participated in European and national panels and events their follow-up on the Conference and its proposals.

The programme of the follow-up event is available on the Conference’s platform. The public sessions of the event is streamed here.

The European Commission adopted a notification about the Conference on the future of Europe – “Putting Vision into Concrete Action” on June 17, 2022.

As early as June 9, 2022, the European Parliament requested the European Council in a resolution to initiate a convention to revise the EU treaties in order to implement the results of the conference.

The European Council took note of the outcome of the conference in a conclusion on June 24, 2022. The EU Institutions must ensure effective follow-up to the proposals of the conference, within their respective competences and in accordance with the treaties.

Report on the final outcome

The Conference on the Future of Europe concluded its work.

A year-long journey of the Conference on the Future of Europe brought together Europeans from across the EU. And they came up with proposals for a better EU.

The report (opens in new tab) on the final outcome of the Conference, including 49 proposals and 326 measures how to achieve them, was presented to the Presidents of the three institutions on 9 May 2022.

Some 20,000 ideas were shared on the online platform, 178 recommendations were formulated by the European Citizens' Panels.
European democracy was the topic with most contributions, followed by climate change and the environment.

Background

During a final meeting, that took place from 29 April to 30 April at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, the Conference Plenary reached a consensus on its final draft proposals (opens in new tab) . They are based on recommendations from the European Citizens’ Panels, the National Citizens’ Panels and events, ideas recorded on the Multilingual Digital Platform (opens in new tab) as well as discussions held during the Conference Plenary and Working Group sessions.

Further information
EP Research Service – At A Glance: The Conference on the Future of Europe (20.01.2022)
Timeline of the Conference on the Future of Europe
Free photos, video and audio material from Parliament#s Multimedia Centre

European Commission “EU solidarity with Ukraine”

The EU has assured refugees from Ukraine a fast and uncomplicated right to stay in the EU: Information for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. The page is also available in Ukrainian.

Overview of all existing actions at European and national levels to support researchers of Ukraine.

Desinformation EU vs DISINFO

Access to Numerous eMedia about Ukraine Conflict
Suppliers and publishers provide literature on the topic of “Ukraine conflict” or “Ukraine war” free of charge.

The OECD Economic Outlook, prepared by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), is a twice-yearly analysis of the major global economic trends and prospects for the next two years.
See the latest reports for the impact of the war in Ukraine on forecasts for production, employment, government spending, prices and current account balances.

With the new online journal Ukraine War and Law (Ukraine-Krieg und Recht, UKuR), Beck-Verlag is responding to the need for up-to-date legal information in connection with the consequences of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine. It is intended to cover all relevant areas of law, as far as they are affected by the consequences of the war and the sanctions. Access is only possible in the TU Darmstadt network (not via VPN): Beck online in the database information system or Electronic Journals Library

Further Information sources, publications and analyses of selected institutions and think tanks on the war in Ukraine

Read the statement on the situation in Ukraine by the Technical University Darmstadt to find further contact opportunities and support.

If you have missed an event, you will find the past events with recordings and links here