European Union Milestones: Treaties and Enlargement

European Construction After the Second World War

In 1951, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was created.

The European Economic Community

The Treaty of Rome, signed on March 25, 1957, established two key organizations central to the construction of Europe:

• The European Economic Community (EEC), commonly known as the Common Market.
• The European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom).

The Treaties of Rome set the objective of free movement of persons, goods, services, and capital throughout the territory of the member states.

The Treaty on European Union

On November 1, 1993, the Treaty on European Union (TEU), signed on February 7, 1992, in Maastricht, Netherlands, came into force. Approving the TEU, also known as the Maastricht Treaty, renamed the EEC to the actual name, European Union, and granted a series of rights:

• The right to move and reside freely within the territory of Member States.
• The right to vote in European Parliament elections and local elections.
• The right to address the European Ombudsman.

The Treaty of Lisbon

On December 13, 2007, the leaders of the 27 member states of the European Union signed the Treaty of Lisbon, which came into force in 2009. The number of Parliament's MEPs was set to 750, plus the president. It also established a permanent president of the European Council for a term of two and a half years. Decisions taken by the European Council must be adopted by qualified majority, requiring at least 55% of Member States representing 65% of the EU population.

The Accession Criteria

To join the European Union, a state must be European and meet the Copenhagen criteria, which are:

• Political criterion: Requires stable political institutions that guarantee democracy.
• Economic criterion: Must have a strong and viable market economy.
• Full community with the EU: This expression refers to the entire set of laws and European political and economic objectives.

Chronology of Expansion

• 1958: The European Community was formed with France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy.
• 1973: The UK, Ireland, and Denmark joined.
• 1981: Greece joined.
• 1985: Greenland withdrew.
• 1986: Spain and Portugal joined.
• 1990: The former German Democratic Republic joined.
• 1995: Austria, Sweden, and Finland joined.
• 2004: Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Cyprus, and Malta joined.
• 2007: Bulgaria and Romania joined.