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Birth of England
The United Kingdom only became a united kingdom in 1707. -
Period: to
Other states have joined
The community established a common market for the free movement of goods, capital, services, and people, and was so successful that others wanted in. The UK tried to join in 1963 and in 1967 but both times were blocked by France and General de Gaulle who just said, "Non." The UK were finally allowed to join in 1973, along with Denmark and Ireland. And in 1981, Greece was the word. -
Belgium and Germany also join
As the community grew, it evolved. Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany signed the Schengen Agreement in 1985, which began the process of removing border controls and making the free movement of people that bit freer. -
The development of the union
Modern Belgium and Italy came along later. And places like Slovakia and Croatia only popped up again in the 1990s, along with Latvia, Estonia, and the Spice Girls. -
The flag/symbol.
They also got branding, picking a flag, a motto, and an anthem. And in 1986, Spain and Portugal joined, followed by the freshly reunified Germany in 1990 once the wall had come down and David Hasselhoff had left. Then in 1992, the big one, the Maastricht Treaty, creating the European Union and also the euro, even if choosing a name took a bit longer and despite The UK and Denmark holding tight to their own currencies.
