1. The European union explained
1. Why the European Union?

3. An ideal of peace
“ Europe will not be made all at once, or according to a single plan. It will be built through concrete achievements which first create a de facto solidarity”
Robert Schuman (1950)
“The sovereign nations of the past can no longer solve the problems of the present: they cannot ensure their own progress or control their own future. And the Community itself is only a stage on the way to the organised world of tomorrow.”
Jean Monnet (1976)

4. At the core of the European Union there are the 28 Member States and their more than 500 million citizens.

5. The founding countries (ECSC) Paris 18 april 1951/1952
Belgium
The Federal Republic of Germany
France
Italy
Luxembourg
The Netherlands
Common market in coal and steel among the six founding countries
Secure peace between victorious and vanquished nations
Bring them together as equals, cooperating within shared institutions

6. Expanding energy-economy Rome 25 march 1957
European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom)
European Economic Community (EEC)
Wider common market covering a whole range of goods and services.
Custom duties between the six countries were abolished on 1 July 1968.
Common policies, notably on TRADE and AGRICULTURE were put in place during the 1960s

7. The first enlargement (1973)
Denmark
Ireland
United Kingdom
New social and environmental policies were introduced
European Regional Development Fund (EDRF) was set up in 1975

8. The first elections in the EP (1979)
All citizens of the EU were called to the elections by direct universal suffrage of their representative Members of the European Parliament for the first time in 1979.
The elections are held every five years

9. Further enlargement Greece 1981 Spain and Portugal 1986
Need to implement regional aid programmes

10. The ‘jacques delore’white paper (EC president, 1985)
A timetable for completing the European single market by 1 Jan 1993.
Single European Act February 1986/1987

11. Historical turning points
1989 The fall of the Berlin wall
1990 Unification of Germany
1991 Fall of the U.S.S.R.
The EEC were negotiation a new Treaty adopted by the EUROPEAN COUNCIL (the meeting of presidents and/or prime ministers) at MAASTRICHT in 1991.
The MAASTRICHT TREATY CREATED THE EUROPEAN UNION (came into force 1 Nov. 1993)

12. 1995: Further enlargement Austria Finland Sweden
New challenges: globalisation, internet, social and cultural tensions
On agenda: THE EURO , a single currency to make life easier for businesses, consumers and travellers in 12 EU countries which made up the EURO AREA

13. The biggest enlargement
Six former Soviet bloc countries:
Bulgaria, the Czech republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia
Three Baltic states that had been part of the Soviet Union
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
One or the republics of former Yugoslavia
Slovenia
Two Mediterranean countries
Cyprus and Malta
Negotiations started in dec. 1997, ten countries joined in May 2004, Bulgaria and Romania in 2007
CROATIA JOINED IN 2013 BRINGING THE EU ‘S MEMBERSHIP TO 28

14. UNITED IN DIVERSITY
The EU is a Union of European Independent Member States, which pooled SOME of their ‘sovereignity’ to gain STRENGHT and the benefits of SIZE in order to maintain peace and stability.
Decisions on SPECIFIC MATTERS OF JOINT INTEREST can be made DEMOCRATICALLY at European level
The EU thus sits between the fully FEDERAL SYSTEM found in the USA and the loose, INTERGOVERNMENTAL COOPERATION SYSTEM in the UN

15. The EU symbols 15 The motto: United in diversity The European anthem
The European flag
Europe Day, 9 May 15

16. 24 official languages Български Čeština dansk Deutsch eesti keel
Ελληνικά
English
español
français
Gaeilge
hrvatski
Italiano
latviešu valoda
lietuvių kalba
magyar
Malti
Nederlands
polski
português
Română
slovenčina
slovenščina
suomi
svenska 16