The policy of an international institution: How the European Union preserves its web archives

The act of archiving is not just driven by neutral concerns for preservation. It is very much embedded in ways of prolonging and solidifying one’s identity, status and position. According to Janne Nielsen, who proposes a clear distinction between “macro” and “micro” archiving, it is important to differentiate, for example, between a powerful institution that designs a preservation strategy for prosperity with a broad imaginary future audience in mind (“macro”) and a scholar at the end of a funded project who manages to conserve her data for future use within her academic career (“micro”). In the case of the EU, as the examples below show, preservation is also relevant for reasons of transparency about how decisions are taken or how legal frameworks intended to protect citizens and their cultural heritage evolve over time. The case study presented here – how the European Union deals with the preservation of its web archives – is an example of macro-archiving. The “level” of archiving in this context should be kept in mind throughout the example.

Watch the ENTIRE history of Europe unfold before your very eyes

4.a The European Union Web Archive

The European Union) was created within a specific geopolitical context in the aftermath of the Second World War to stimulate trade and collaboration between European countries and diminish the risk of future violent conflict. As this context developed and new countries joined the EU, the EU changed accordingly, and one of these changes was the increase in the number of EU agencies. With the advent of the web in the 1990s, the way in which these institutes could present themselves to their audiences was also affected. Thus, when consulting a web archive for an EU agency, it is important to understand what the function of the website was for that agency at that point in time. Ask yourself: Was creating a website and publishing texts about the mission of the agency something completely new at the time, or was it a continuation of an existing practice – such as informing the outside world about what an organisation does – through the new medium of the website? Reflecting on this question will help you understand the value of a website as a historical source.

There are two ways of consulting the web archives of the EU. You can use the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine, which has taken random snapshots since the very beginning of the web in 1996 on a non-profit basis, or you can consult the European Union Web Archive), which consists of web pages that are covered more systematically by the Internet Archive’s paid service, Archive-It, which started to offer these services in 2006. The institution responsible for preservation policy is the Publications Office of the European Union. Based in Luxembourg, this inter-institutional organisation has the task of producing and disseminating the EU’s publications, providing free access to official information and data from the EU, and ensuring the long-term preservation of content produced by EU institutions and bodies. For this assignment we will use the Wayback Machine and our corresponding “cheat sheet” to compare the archived content of two EU agencies over time: the European Court of Justice and the European Institute for Gender Equality.

Tip: The best way to compare the two is to take a screenshot of each home page, decrease the size, and then place them next to each other on your screen.

European Court of Justice

European Institute for Gender Equality

Open the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine) in two different tabs. In the first tab, search for the snapshots of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) using the URL of its home page. In the second tab, search for the snapshots of the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) using the URL of its home page. Then, using the web archives and any additional web research needed, complete the table below:

European Court of Justice European Institute for Gender Equality
Overview
In what year was it founded?
(if necessary make use of Wikipedia)
What is the mission of the agency?
Older archived web pages
What are the first archived web pages that you can find with the Wayback Machine?
What year and what date?
In what language(s)?
What are the titles of the different pages of the website? Does the structure make sense to you?
With the oldest archived web page available, try and find the page that gives the best overview of what the website contains and share the heading and the link of that page (often this is the home page, but not always)
Is there a search function that gives access to one or more databases?
What do these databases contain?
Can you upload or download content?
The most recent archived versions of the websites (this year)
Reflect on the changes that you can identify between the first and the last archived website of the respective EU institutions
Do the changes reflect a different course that the agency took during this period? This could be:
  • expanding its mission and/or services
  • merging with other agencies or moving its premises to cut costs
  • adjusting its policies to adapt to new countries joining the EU
Do the changes consist of a more modern design and/or an increase in functionalities?
This could be :
  • from static to interactive
  • providing access to databases with search functionalities
  • moving from face-to-face to online services
  • offering streaming services
  • providing a web design that is responsive to tablets and
    • smartphones
use the answer form to write down the answers

4.b The websites of the two EU agencies within the broader picture of web history

Write a short essay of 500 words in which you try your best to find an answer to this key question:

What kind of historical information does a website offer us?

Take into consideration the following:

write the essay in your answer form

Reading/viewing suggestions

  • Amaro, Silvia. “How does the EU work.” CNBC International. March 28, 2019. Video, 5:29. Youtube Video
  • European Comission. “Archiving.” Accessed December 7, 2022. Website