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Speech by Robert Schuman
French politician Robert Schuman is seen as the driving force behind Europe's integration, due to his speech for seeking tools to ensure peace, prosperity and influence lost after the end of World War II. -
ECSC was founded
The treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands established the European Coal and Steel Community, and this gave rise to what would later become the European Union. -
Treaties of Rome were signed
The Treaties of Rome are two of the treaties that gave birth to the European Union. The first established the European Economic Community (EEC) and the second established the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC). -
EEC was founded: The "Inner Six"
The European Economic Community (EEC) was an economic union created by the Treaty of Rome.
These first EEC member countries introduced new measures. • They set up common economic policies for member countries • They introduced free movement of goods, services, workers and capital between member countries.
• They created new laws in common to help to strengthen political cooperation. -
EEC was enlarged to nine members
This was the first enlargement: Ireland, United Kingdom and Denmark. -
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) was founded
The European Regional Development Fund is the main financial instrument of the European Commission's Regional and Cohesion Policy aimed at contributing to the correction of the main regional imbalances within the Union. -
EEC was enlarged to ten members
In this year Greece becomes the tenth member. -
EEC was enlarged to twelve members and Single European Act was signed
After five years, Spain and Portugal join the European economic community. -
Maastricht Treaty came into force
The Treaty of Maastricht officially enshrines the name "European Union", which will henceforth replace the European Community. The term Union has been used since the beginning of the Treaty to mean the advancement of a historic project. -
EU was enlarged to fifteen members
In 1995, three more countries joined the EU: Austria, Finland and Sweden. -
European Central Bank was founded
The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank of the European Union countries that have adopted the euro. Its main function is to maintain price stability in the euro area in order to preserve the purchasing power of the single currency. -
Adoption of the Treaty of Nice, which came into force in 2003
The Treaty of Nice is a treaty in force since 2003, which wanted to amend the Treaties establishing the European Communities to meet the challenges posed by the new enlargement. The Treaty of Nice gives Parliament more legislative and control powers and extends qualified majority voting in the Council to a greater number of areas. -
The euro came into circulation.
On 1 January 2002, euro banknotes and coins were put into circulation in twelve countries (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) with a total population of 308 million. -
EU was enlarged to twenty-five members
Ten new countries join the EU: Slovakia, Slovenia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Czech Republic and Cyprus. -
EU was enlarged to twenty-seven members
Bulgaria and Romania join in 2007 -
Treaty of Lisbon came into force.
The Lisbon Treaty is a treaty that modifies the Treaty on the European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Community. The Lisbon treaty was signed in the city of Lisbon (Portugal) on December 13, 2007 and entered into force at the end of 2009. -
EU was enlarged to twenty-eight members
Finally in 2013 Croatia joins, leaving 28 countries in the EU: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Romania and Sweden.
