The European Commission is worried about the under-use of EU law by lawyers throughout the Union.

It believes their failure to use EU law comes mainly from a lack of training and information.

The commissioners have set out to improve this.The form which their initiatives will take depends on the results of a Commission survey which were published recently.

One section concentrated on lawyers' needs and difficulties with sources of EU law whether paper-based, computerised or audio-visual.It is interesting to note how lawyers responding to the survey felt about access to sources of information on EU law.

Their answers tend to confirm the long held belief that there is a general lack of awareness in the UK of where EU law can be found.

About a quarter of UK lawyers said they experienced difficulty in obtaining EU legislation and cases.

A fifth had problems obtaining national implementation of EU rules.

Nearly half found it hard to obtain irregularly published Commission decisions or notices.

And 42% did not know how or where to find clear and up-to-date information.Some of these concerns have already been addressed by the Law Society in a book it has recently produced, Solicitors and the European Union: making EU law work for your client.

aimed at non-specialist lawyers, this book is an introduction to the concepts of EU law.

The Brussels office of the Law Society produces a newsletter each month called Brussels Agenda.

This keeps solicitors up to date with developments in EU policy and law, professional practice in the EU and what the Law Societies of England and Wales and of Scotland are doing in Europe.

The Brussels office can often supply copies of documents outlining EU policy and proposals for new Directives and regulations as soon as they become available.

However, it is not a reference source for EU documentation: this role is played by the Law Society's library i n London.

The library holds a comprehensive collection of EU law from its beginnings up to the most recent developments.

Because it also runs an enquiry service the library can provide information on how and where to access EU law and on any current developments.

The library's role is particularly important in view of the policy of the European Commission's office in London which is now known as the Representation of the European Commission in the United Kingdom.

The Representation supports the library's activity and has designated it an information relay centre for solicitors.

A relay is a system for referring queries on to other bodies which are in a better position to answer them.The relay concept is more than five years old, but is finally taking shape.

Providing information to British businesses and the public is no longer a primary role for the Representation which is keen to develop an integrated network of information providers to whom it can delegate this task.

A number of information points supported by the Commission, for example European Documentation Centres (EDC) in academic institutions and Euro InfoCentres (EIC) in chambers of commerce, have existed for a number of years.Sectoral relays, including the Middle Temple for barristers and the Law Society for solicitors, have been around for five years.

These are based in libraries which already offered information services to their members, including information on the EU, but which are now supported by the Representation in this task.

Any solicitor who now makes an enquiry to the Representation will be automatically transferred to the Law Society library.Solicitors may use the resources of other information providers such as EICs, EDCs and public libraries if that is more convenient.

However, the Law Society library's EU legal information service is provided specifically for English and Welsh solicitors based anywhere in the world.Because the library holds a comprehensive collection of EU materials and keeps up to date with developments in EU law, most enquiries can be dealt with successfully using the resources of the library or the Brussels office.

Occasionally the information has to be requested from the Representation.

The library has produced a leaflet on its EU legal information service and three guides on how to find information on adopted legislation, current developments and case law.

These are available on 0171 320 5699.

The enquiry service is available on 0171 320 5946.

If you would like your firm to be added to the mailing list for Brussels Agenda please fax your firm's name, address, DX and a contact name to the Brussels office.

The Brussels office representative is Patrick Oliver, Boulevard du Regent 58, Post Bus 4, 1000 Brussels, Belgium; fax 00 322 5022292.