The European Union

  • The situation in Europe after WWII

    positives:
    -defeat of Nazism and Fascism
    negatives:
    -shaken economies and political system
    ->economic and political crisis
    -destroyed cities and towns
    -many losses
  • The goal of the foundation of the ECSC

    -"any war between France and Germany" has to become "merely unthinkable, but materially impossible"
    ->stopping France and Germany from fighting each other and causing bad damages for Europe
    -Robert Schumann, French Foreign Minister
  • The actual / official foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community

    The actual / official foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community
    -members: West Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands
  • The foundation of the European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community

    The foundation of the European Economic Community and European Atomic Energy Community
    -Treaty of Rome
    -members: same countries as at the European Coal and Steel Community
  • The merge to the "European Communities"

    -the three communities combined as the EC -their (main) focus: cooperation in economic and agricultural matters
  • Period: to

    When more countries joined the EC

    -1973: Denmark, Ireland and the UK
    -1981: Greece
    -1986: Portugal and Spain
    -1995: Austria, Finland and Sweden
    -note: every member joining after 1957 has officially joined the EC at 1st January (year)
  • Period: to

    When countries adopted the Euro

    -1999: Belgium, Germany, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco*, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, San Marino*, Spain und Vatikan*
    -2001: Greece
    -2002: Kosovo* and Montenegro*
    -2007: Slovenia
    -2008: Malta and Cyprus
    -2009: Slovakia
    -2011: Estonia
    -2014: Latvia and Andorra*
    -2015: Lithuania
    -note: 19 EU members have the Euro as their currency, other countries* have the Euro as their currency without being a member of the EU, but possibly wanting to be one in the future
  • The Treaty of Maastricht

    The Treaty of Maastricht
    -birth of European Union
    -EU=successor to the EC
    -Common Foreign and Security Policy
    -coordination of policy on asylum, immigration, drugs and terrorism
    -EU citizenship
    -no "borders" between member countries
  • The European Currency

    The European Currency
    -11 member countries adopted the "Euro" in 1991 as bank deposit money
    -other countries (EU- and non EU members) joined the single-currency-group afterwards
    -Denmark, Sweden and the UK did not join