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A day to celebrate archival heritage
- 15 June 2023
- Event report
- gsclibrary
Culture Research & technological development
Guest blogger: Central Archives of the Council of the European Union
Last week, on 9 June, archivists all over the world celebrated International Archives Day.
It marks the date when the International Council on Archives (ICA) was established under the auspices of UNESCO in 1948, but it was only on 9 June 2007 that archives services all over the world started celebrating their international day.
Archives play a crucial role in collecting and preserving the history of human activity, ensuring its integrity, authenticity and value for future generations.
40 years of access to EU historical archives
This year, the Archives of the Council of the European Union also commemorated the 40th anniversary of the regulation adopted on 1 February 1983 ensuring public access to the archives of what was then the European Economic Community (EEC).
This regulation, approved during the 823rd Session of the Council, did two important things.
- firstly, it permitted public access to EEC documents once 30 years had elapsed after their creation. As a result, any person who makes a request and agrees to abide by the rules established by each institution may access these valuable historical archives.
- secondly, from an internal point of view, it obliged the Council – and the Commission – to send their documents to the European University Institute (eui.eu) in Florence for permanent preservation, 30 years after their creation.
The regulation brought Europe closer to its citizens, promoting transparency and the right to information. These rights, which continue to be part of European values 40 years later, deserve recognition and appreciation.
For more information about the regulation:
Visit the Archives website to consult inventories, access documentation online and discover our oral history project.
The Council Library reading room is open from Monday to Friday from 12.30 to 15.30. The Info Desk operates during office hours from Monday to Friday.
It is open to all staff of the Council of the European Union and the European Council, trainees, permanent representations of member states, staff of other EU institutions and bodies, and researchers and students on request. Access to some library holdings may be restricted to on-site consultation.
