Timeline of the European Union

1
Timeline of the European Union

• So, now that you have a better idea of what the
  European Union actually is, lets see how the EU
  has evolved over the years.
• Follow through this slideshow to find out about
  significant events in the history of the EU.

2
1946 - 1950

• Europe needs to recover from the effects of WWII
• With aid from the United States, European
  countries begin post-war reconstruction.
• Discussions start about the possibility of
  cooperation between several countries.

3
1951

• April 18 France, Belgium, the Netherlands,
  Luxembourg, Germany, and Italy (also known as The
  Six), sign the Treaty of Paris.
• This establishes the European Coal and Steel
  Community (ECSC)
• Purpose to make decisions about the coal and
  steel industry in these countries.
• First President Jean Monnet

4
1957

• The Six signs the Treaties of Rome treaties
  that established the European Economic Community
  (ECC) and the European Atomic Energy Community
  (Euratom)
• Recap Now there are three European
  communities the ECSC, the EEC, and Euratom.

5
1965

• April 8 The Six signs the Merger Treaty in
  Brussels
• The treaty merges the executives of the three
  Communities (the ECSC, ECC, Euratom), giving them
  a Single Commission and Single Council
• Entered into force 1 July 1967
• From this point in time on, this web site will
  refer to these three communities as the European
  Community.

6
1973

• 1 January Denmark, Ireland, and the United
  Kingdom join the European Community
• Oil crisis affects the European Community

7
1979

• 13 March The European Monetary System (EMS)
  enters into force. The EMS is based on a European
  currency unit, whose value is based on several
  national currencies, weighted according to the
  relative strength of each.
• 7-10 June for the first time, the members of the
  European Parliament are selected by direct
  election.

8
1981

• 1 January Greece joins the European Community

9
1986

• 1 January Spain and Portugal join the European
  Community
• 17 28 February The Single European Act is
  signed (to come into force 1 July 1987). The SEA
  is a wide revision of the 1957 Treaties of Rome,
  and includes issues such as the single market.

10
1989

• 9 November the Berlin Wall opens. East Germans
  can now travel to West Germany via Berlin.

11
1990

• 19 June The Schengen Agreement is signed. This
  abolishes border checks between participating
  member states of the European Communities.
• 3 October Germany is reunited.

12
1992

• The Maastricht Treaty on the European Union is
  signed (to enter into fforce on 1 November 1993).
  The basic components are
• a common foreign security policy
• Closer cooperation on justice and home affairs
• Creation of an economic and monetary union

13
1993

• 1 January The Single Market is created

14
1995

• 1 January Austria, Finland, and Sweden join the
  European Union.

15
1997

• 2 October The Amsterdam Treaty is signed (to
  come into force 1 May 1999). This treaty gives
  the EU new powers and responsibilities.

16
1999

• 1 January The Euro replaces the currencies of 11
  EU countries (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France,
  Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the
  Netherlands, Portugal and Spain). This single
  currency is first launched on the money markets.
• Greece eventually joins these Euro countries.

17
2001

• 26 February To prepare the EUs decision making
  system for enlargement, the Treaty of Nice is
  signed (to come into force 1 February 2003).

18
2002

• 1 January The Euro (bank notes and coins) comes
  into circulation in the Euro area countries.
• 31 May The 15 EU member states ratify the Kyoto
  Protocol, which calls for worldwide reduction of
  air pollution.

19
2004

• 1 May Ten new states join the European Union
  Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,
  Latvia,, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and
  Slovenia

20
2007

• 1 January Romania and Bulgaria join the European
  Union, bringing the total number of member states
  to 27!