History of the EU
When Winston Churchill
envisioned a united states of Europe, he perhaps didn't see it
as spanning so many nations. In the early days, the focus was
on common trade policies for coal, steel
and agriculture. Today, in addition to member states,
Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Turkey are 'candidate
countries' - so the community could get even bigger.
1940s - out of the ruins of war an idea is
born
- After the end of World War II, people were
desperate to secure a lasting peace. Many millions of people
had died. A reconciliation was sought between France and
Germany, who had fought each other three times between 1870 and
1945.
- Winston Churchill calls for a 'kind of United
States of Europe' in a speech in 1946 – he can claim
the original vision.
1950s - the first community is formed for
trade
- In 1950, the French Foreign Minister, Robert
Schuman, suggested integrating Western Europe's coal and steel
industries.
- So, in 1951 the European Coal and Steel
Community (ECSC) was established. It had six members: Belgium, West
Germany, Luxembourg, France, Italy and the Netherlands. The venture
was very successful.
- In 1957 the ECSC's six members decided to pool
other areas of their economies. They signed the Treaties of Rome,
creating the European Atomic Energy Community (EURATOM) and the
European Economic Community (EEC). The members began to remove
trade barriers to form a 'common market'.
1960s - the main European institutions are
created
- In 1967 the institutions of the three European
Communities - ECSC, EURATOM and EEC - were merged. A single
European Commission, Council of Ministers and European Parliament
were created.
1970s - citizens vote for MEPs
for the first time
- Denmark, Ireland the the UK joined the EU.
- In 1979 the first direct elections to the
European Parliament were held - citizens of member states were able
to vote for candidates. Members were previously drawn fromn
national parliaments.
1980s
- The Single European Act set out the timetable
for the creation of the Single Market by 1993.
- Greece joined the EU in 1981, with Spain and
Portugal joining in 1986.
1990s
- The creation of the Single Market brought about
the world's largest trading area and the free movement of goods,
capital, people and services. It took time for the member states to
remove all barriers to trade and turn their 'common market'
The
term, 'European Union' was introduced by the Maastricht Treaty in
November 1993. The Treaty established new areas of co-operation on
defence, justice and home affairs.- The Maastricht Treaty was also important because
it set out a timetable for economic and monetary union and the
introduction of a single currency.
- In 1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the
EU.
- In 1999 the Treaty of Amsterdam extended the
power of the European Parliament.
2000s
- On 1 January 2002, the euro was
introduced in 12 EU countries. Currencies like the French
Franc and the Italian Lire disappeared. Denmark, Sweden and the UK
remained outside the 'eurozone'.
- The Treaty of Nice, which came into force in
2003, set out new rules about the size of EU institutions and the
way they work, paving the way for a much larger EU.
The
EU welcomed 10 new countries in 2004: Cyprus, the Czech Republic,
Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and
Slovenia. The image on the right was created for the
enlargement.- The candidate countries, Bulgaria, Croatia,
Romania and Turkey are expected to join in 2007.
- If all the countries ratify it, the new EU
constitution will replace the Treaty of Nice in 2006.