1. Timeline of the European Union
So, now that you have a better idea of what the European Union actually is, let’s 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 EU’s 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!