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European Union Timeline
• 1950
• French Foreign Minister Robert
Schuman presented a plan for
cooperation between European
states, ‘The Schuman Declaration’.
This plan led in April 1951 to the
Treaty of Paris, which set up the
European Coal and Steel Community.
It included six countries: Belgium,
France, Italy, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands and the Federal Republic
of Germany (West Germany). It
brought them together as equals,
cooperating within shared institutions.
• 1957
• Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg,
the Netherlands and West Germany
signed the Treaty of Rome, which
launched the European Economic
Community (EEC) and the European
Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or
Euratom). A Common Market was
created where goods, services, capital
and people could move freely.
European Union Timeline
• 1968
• The Customs Union was created:
all import tariffs among the six
EEC countries were eliminated.
• 1979
• The first election of the
European Parliament took place
through direct elections.
European Union Timeline
• 1986
• The Single European Act was
adopted, setting out a timetable
for the completion of the
Common Market by 1 January
1993.
• 1989
• The Iron Curtain fell, creating an
opportunity to unify Europe.
This led to the reunification of
Germany on 3 October 1990.
Democracy took root in the
countries of central and eastern
Europe.
European Union Timeline
• 1992
• The Maastricht Treaty was
signed, which created the
European Union (EU). It set new
ambitious goals: monetary union
by 1999, European citizenship,
new common policies –
including a Common Foreign and
Security Policy (CFSP) – and
cooperation in matters of
internal security.
• 1997
• The Treaty of Amsterdam was
signed, which further developed
the CFSP as well as employment
and social protection policies.
European Union Timeline
• 2001
• The Treaty of Nice was signed,
which reformed the institutions
and reinforced fundamental
rights, security and defense and
judicial cooperation in criminal
matters.
• 2002
• Euro notes and coins came into
circulation in a number of
Member States as national
currencies were phased out. The
euro continues to be adopted by
more and more EU countries –
the seventeenth and most
recent country to adopt the
currency was Estonia.
European Union Timeline
• 2009
• The Lisbon Treaty came into force in December. It strengthened the
EU’s ability to act on the global stage, and gave a greater voice to the
European Parliament, national parliaments and citizens.