Historical Archives Service
The historical archives of the European Commission are opened to the public 30 years after their creation. Each EU institution has its own archives service. At the Commission the opening of the historical archives is carried out by the Historical Archives Service (HAS).
Historical Archives of the European Union
After opening them to the public, the EU institutions deposit their historical archives at the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU), which is part of the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. The HAEU provides the public access to the archives of the EU institutions. Any interested citizen can visit the archives’ reading room in Florence. The EU Historical Archives also provides online finding aids (catalogues) for the holdings as well as a search engine. These catalogues and some of the documents are also available via the Archives Portal Europe.
The various EU bodies cooperate wherever possible with the aim of harmonising the treatment of their archives. To this end the Interinstitutional Working Group on Archives meets twice a year.