The European acts are binding in many languages. A book which reproduces all of them would be desirable, but, for its price, impossible to sell. This book is conceived so as to provide a synoptical reproduction of different language versions of one and the same act, and to allow for a permanent comparison. It follows that it is limited to four languages which are selected in accordance with their frequency within the Community.

They include the working languages used by the Community agencies in the legislative process. The acts are reproduced as amended by later secondary legislation, but without taking into account the renumbering of the provisions of the EC Treaty by the Treaty of Amsterdam.