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.
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.
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
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.
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

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From this point in time on, this web site will refer to these
three communities as the “European Community.”
1973
1 January: Denmark, Ireland, and the
United Kingdom join the European
Community
Oil crisis affects the European
Community
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.
1981
1 January: Greece joins the European
Community
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.
1989
9 November: the Berlin Wall opens.
East Germans can now travel to West
Germany via Berlin.
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.
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

1993
1 January: The Single Market is created
1995
1 January: Austria, Finland, and
Sweden join the European Union.
1997
2 October: The Amsterdam Treaty is
signed (to come into force 1 May 1999).
This treaty gives the EU new powers
and responsibilities.
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.
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).
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.
2004
1 May: Ten new states join the
European Union: Cyprus, the Czech
Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia,,
Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and
Slovenia
2007
1 January: Romania and Bulgaria join
the European Union, bringing the total
number of member states to 27!