After World War II , moves towards European integration were seen by many as an escape from the extreme forms of nationalism that had devastated the continent. [26] The 1948 Hague Congress was a pivotal moment in European federal history, as it led to the creation of the European Movement International and also of the College of Europe , a place where Europes future leaders would live and study together. [27] 1952 saw the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community , which was declared to be a first step in the federation of Europe, starting with the aim of eliminating the possibility of further wars between its member states by means of pooling the national heavy industries. [28] The founding members of the Community were Belgium, France , Italy , Luxembourg, the Netherlands , and West Germany. The originators and supporters of the Community include Alcide De Gasperi , Jean Monnet , Robert Schuman, and Paul-Henri Spaak . [29] The continental territories of the member states of the European Union (European Communities pre-1993), coloured in order of accession. In 1957, the six countries signed the Treaty of Rome, which extended the earlier co-operation within the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and created the European Economic Community (EEC), establishing a customs union . They also signed another treaty on the same day creating the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) for co-operation in developing nuclear energy. Both treaties came into force in 1958. [29] The EEC and Euratom were created separately from ECSC, although they shared the same courts and the Common Assembly. The executives of the new communities were called Commissions, as opposed to the High Authority. The EEC was headed by Walter Hallstein ( Hallstein Commission) and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand ( Armand Commission) and then Étienne Hirsch. Euratom would integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union between members. [30][31] Throughout the 1960s, tensions began to show with France seeking to limit supranational power. However, in 1965, an agreement was reached and hence in 1967, the Merger Treaty was signed in Brussels. It came into force on 1 July 1967 and created a single set of institutions for the three communities, which were collectively referred to as the European Communities (EC), although commonly just as the European Community .[32] [33] Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission ( Rey Commission ). [34] In 1989, the Iron Curtain fell, enabling the union to expand further. ( Berlin Wall ) In 1973, the Communities enlarged to include Denmark (including Greenland , which later left the Community in 1985, following a dispute over fishing rights), Ireland , and the United Kingdom . [35] Norway had negotiated to join at the same time, but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum . In 1979, the first direct, democratic elections to the European Parliament were held. [36] Greece joined in 1981; Portugal and Spain in 1986. [37] In 1985, the Schengen Agreement led the way toward the creation of open borders without passport controls between most member states and some non-member states. [38] In 1986, the European flag began to be used by the Community [39] and the Single European Act was signed. The euro was introduced in 2002, replacing 12 national currencies. Six countries have since joined; the latest entrant, Latvia , in 2014. In 1990, after the fall of the Eastern Bloc , the former East Germany became part of the Community as part of a reunited Germany.[40] With further enlargement planned for former communist states, Cyprus, and Malta, the Copenhagen criteria for candidate members to join the EU were agreed upon in June 1993. The European Union was formally established when the Maastricht Treaty—whose main architects were Helmut Kohl and François Mitterrand—came into force on 1 November 1993. [16] In 1995, Austria , Finland , and Sweden joined the EU. In 2002, euro banknotes and coins replaced national currencies in 12 of the member states. Since then, the eurozone has increased to encompass 18 countries. In 2004, the EU saw its biggest enlargement to date when Cyprus, the Czech Republic , Estonia , Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania , Malta, Poland, Slovakia , and Slovenia joined the Union. [41] Europe Day in Warsaw , Poland, a celebration of the European integration and peace between the European nations, awarded with the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize. On 1 January 2007, Romania and Bulgaria became EU members. In the same year, Slovenia adopted the euro, [41] followed in 2008 by Cyprus and Malta, by Slovakia in 2009, by Estonia in 2011 and by Latvia in 2014. In June 2009, the European Parliament elections were held, leading to the second Barroso Commission , and by July, Iceland formally applied for EU membership, but has since suspended negotiations . On 1 December 2009, the Lisbon Treaty entered into force and reformed many aspects of the EU. In particular, it changed the legal structure of the European Union, merging the EU three pillars system into a single legal entity provisioned with a legal personality, created a permanent President of the European Council , the first of which was Herman Van Rompuy, and strengthened the High Representative, Catherine Ashton . [42] The European Union received the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize for having contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy, and human rights in Europe. [43][44] On 1 July 2013, Croatia became the 28th EU member. [45][46][47] The 8th European Parliament election in May 2014 saw euroskeptic parties gain a larger voteshare than previous elections.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Nov 2014 15:57:10 +0000
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