The European Council and the Council of the EU through time is the most recent publication from the Council’s publication workshop. This 66-page booklet traces their origins and evolution for an interested public.
The European Council – The strategic body of the EU is a leaflet describing the role and tasks of the Euro Summits for the general public.
In a similar format, The European Council and the Council in a nutshell equally provides basic information on the functioning of both the European Council and the Council of the EU.

Anyone wishing to dig deeper should get 6-page leaflet on Sources of information on the European Council and the Council. The European Union – facts and figures compilation provides essential information on the European Union, its Member States and candidate countries. On 86 pages, there are lots of figures and useful data about the EU institutions, population figures, official languages, government websites and other information you might dare to ask.

The EU Member States for very young citizens

Europe and you – EU capitals colouring book is for the youngest amongst the EU’s citizens, children from 4 to 6 years of age. With this booklet, they can learn the names of EU capitals, colour in the flags and discover some interesting information about each Member State. This attractive learning material can be used both at home and in school. I colour Europe is a little less comprehensive and enables readers to colour in the flags of the EU Member States. It is for children in nursery and primary school.

The pride of the Council: the Schengen agreement

The Schengen agreement on free movement in the Schengen area is a success story of which the Council is particularly proud. Initially started as an intergovernmental agreement between Member States, it has become an EU instrument with the Lisbon treaty. Three different information tools explain the Schengen agreement to citizens:

• A 12-page brochure called Schengen – Your gateway to free movement in Europe – gives a very good overview of the history and enlargement of the Schengen area. It also provides useful data concerning police and customs cooperation, internal and external borders as well as the Schengen information system.
• The leaflet on The Schengen area is even more popular - it guides readers through the states of the Schengen area and explains the status of other European countries. A map and practical information on the rules applying to travelers make it a “hands-on” experience for the reader.
• Even more attractive is a poster called The Schengen area. This is a geopolitical map indicating 26 countries covered by the Schengen area and the other States. It is something for people to hang on their wall.

Another poster presents The European Union – a Union of Law. It outlines the key stages in European integration with the focus on the main treaties and accession treaties. This is definitely one for the law student.

The remaining nine brochures of the Council’s publication portfolio are food for rather specialised readers, commonly called “stakeholders” in EU lingo. They are:

• EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy: 52 pages on the 2nd Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy covering the period from 2015 to 2019
• Public Register on authentic identity and travel documents online (PRADO). The leaflet is not about famous paintings, but rather about images and technical descriptions of the most commonly used travel and ID documents.
• Shaping our common future – EU-CELAC strategic partnership provides an overview of the summit of 61 EU and Latin American and Caribbean leaders held in June 2015.
• Researchers might find the leaflet on the Central Archives of the European Council and of the Council of the European Union of help and practical value.
• Have you ever wanted to get hold of internal documents of the Council? Then the 31-page 2014 Annual Report on Access to documents might be an interesting read.
• Humanitarian assistance is the focus of a 6-page leaflet presenting major facts about humanitarian assistance provided by EU countries.
• The EU policy cycle to tackle organized crime is a 6-page leaflet and provides information on the steps of the “policy cycle methodology” and the crime priorities for the 2014-17 cycle.
• Fundamental Rights compatibility is so specialized that this 20-page brochure is reserved for “Council preparatory bodies”. But anyone can order it, all the same.
• The legal, political and technical texts relevant for the functioning of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) are put together in a 360-page handbook, appropriately called Economic and Monetary Union – Legal and political texts.

All the aforementioned publications can be ordered free of charge in 23 or 24 languages from the EU bookshop or this website: http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/documents-publications/publications/

Some of the publications are available for bulk orders for privileged partners. For bulk orders, please contact: publications.documentation@consilium.europa.eu