European Union

The European Union (EU) is a hybrid intergovernmental and supranational organization, which consists of 27 European states.

History

The devastating wars of the first half of the 20th century convinced 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 a European federation, and the first step would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. This led to the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community, formed in 1951. The original six members were France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium, 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 again declined to join.

The next round of expansion came in 2004, 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.

The Amsterdam Treaty of 1997 amended the Maastricht Treaty. It gave more power to the European Parliament, and was the beginning of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).

One of the most important events in the history of the European Union came in 1999, when eleven countries adopted the Euro as their common currency. Two further countries have since joined the Eurozone.

The 2004 Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe was ratified by 17 member countries, but was rejected by the French and Dutch voters.

In 2007, Romania and Bulgaria joined the Union.

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