EUROPEAN UNION By MARIARR2009 1950 The beginnings 1951 Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg join the European Union 1973 Denmark, Ireland and the UK join the European Union 1981 Greece joins the European Union 1986 Spain and Portugal join the European Union 1989 The Berlin wall is pulled down 1995 Austria, Finland and Sweden join the European Union 2002 Euro become the legal curreny in 12 countries 2004 Eight countries of central and eastern Europe join EU 2007 Bulgaria and Romania join the EU 2012 The EU is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2013 Croatia joins the EU 2016 United Kingdom voted to leave the EU 2020 United Kingdom leaves the EU