About European Law Monitor
Why are we here?
Most businesses, not-for-profit organisations, and individuals have little idea as to how new EU legislation comes into being, what democratic processes it passes through, and how EU legislation eventually becomes enacted in the EU member states.
More importantly, they do not know how to engage with the legislative process to make sure their voices are heard. Consequently most feel alienated from the EU, seeing it as remote, autocratic, interfering, undemocratic, and unresponsive to the needs and desires of its citizens.
So what are we trying to achieve?
Our aim is quite simple. To help close the gap between the European Union legislative process and its constituents by establishing a service which will allow individuals, NGOs, charities, businesses, and anyone else interested, to find the proposed directives and regulations emanating from the European Commission that affect them, providing the opportunity for them to engage in the consultation process, and thereby doing our bit to help ensure that the laws the EU creates are the laws that the people of the European Union want.
The idea of European Law Monitor was born of the frustration of many hours spent trawling for information from a plethora of sources when employed as a legal advisor to a not-for-profit organisation in the UK. Time and time again, the thought occurred "there MUST be a better way..."
Hopefully you will find this is it.
Do we charge for our services?
Not-for-profit doesn't mean not-without-cost! We receive limited public funding to provide our public information service. This allows us to provide free access to all the information and alert services on the site. This extends to providing a free enquiry and general information service on the EU, its policies and institutions. We can also provide you with a whole range of EU information leaflets and books (these can also be ordered free from the EU Bookshop).
Some more complex enquiries relating to legislation or legal problems can incur a charge, but this will be made clear before any work is undertaken.
What don't we do?
We do not under any circumstances carry out representational work. Ours is an information and research service, and we are just not equipped to do this. We can provide background information on EU law and how it might affect your case, but we would always recommend that if you have a situation that may result in court or tribunal proceedings that you gain proper legal representation to prepare your case taking into account both national and EU law.
Feedback
Finally, PLEASE, if you think our service doesn't do quite what you want or expect, don't just vote with your mouse - please contact us and tell us what you think.