European Union
The European Union is a hybrid intergovernmental and supranational organization, which consist of 27 European states.[1]
History
The devastating wars of the first half of the 20th century convinced some European politicians that some form of cooperation was needed, so that future wars could be avoided. One of the main proponents was Robert Schuman, foreign minister of France. Schuman proposed an European federation, and the first step would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The first step was the European Coal and Steel Community, formed in 1951. The original six members were France, West Germany, Italy, Belguim, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.
The Treaty of Rome (1957) formed the first common European market, the European Economic Community (EEC). The EEC guaranteed “the four freedoms”: The free movement of goods, services, capital, and people.
In 1967, the Economic Community, the Coal and Steel Community, and the European Atomic Energy Community were merged into the European Community (EC). The EC created a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament.
The early 1970s saw the first enlargement of the EC. The United Kingdom, Ireland, and Denmark joined. Norway was also invited into the EC, but the electorate rejected it in a referendum.
The EC was further enlarged in the 1980s, when Greece joined in 1981 and Portugal and Spain in 1986.
The Maastricht Treaty was signed in 1992, and transformed the European Community into the European Union.
Sweden, Finland, and Austria were admitted into the union in 1995, but the Norwegians were again refusing to join.
The next round of expansion came in 1995, when Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta, and Cyprus joined. This was the first time countries in Eastern Europe joined the EU.
In 2007, Romania and Bulgaria joined the union.
Politics
Member states
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malta
- The Netherlands
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Spain
- Sweden
- United Kingdom
References
- ↑ CIA. The World Factbook: European Union. Accessed 2007-05-24.